My husband and I just returned from a great week at the Bellevue Palma Real. This is our 5th trip to Cuba, so we knew what to expect of the food and were pleasantly pleased with the food at this Resort. There was a great variety - lots of fresh vegetables and fruit. There was fresh grilled meat at every meal. By Cuban standards, the food was great and we enjoyed it. The Staff were very friendly and 'gifts' are greatly appreciated and you will get great service. We went to the Cuban and the Italian and it was good. We did not go to the Chinese but heard that it was hit and miss.

The walk to the beach was ok and we enjoyed it.

Our room was 1219 - 1st building - second floor overlooking the pool w/pool bar. We did not go to our room throughout the day except to change clothes so the afternoon entertainment at the pool did not bother us. Our friends that travelled with us were in building 4 - 4th floor and had a great view of the ocean - however the elevator was not working for the last 3 days there - so a bit of an inconvenience. The resort is laid out nicely. Buildings 1 and 4 (I don't know about the other buildings) had a lobby bar and we enjoyed socializing there in the evenings - it was a bit quieter than the main bar in the reception area. There was lots of cuban music throughout - from trios in the evening in the buffet restaurant - to small bands in late afternoon in the main reception area.

The only problem I would mention is that we found there were emission smells - I would say from the local refinery that seemed to come throughout the night. We slept with our patio door open and we had to shut it. We also noticed these same smells on the beach briefly on our last day.

The beach is a beautiful beach. The water temperature was wonderful and on our last 3 days, we had great waves to 'play' in. There are not a lot of lounges so we went before breakfast to reserve our chairs then returned to the beach following breakfast.

We did not do the tours on this trip as we have done them on other trips - but we did take the Varedaro Beach Tour on the double decker bus - 5 pesos for unlimited rides throughout the day. You can get off where ever and when ever you want and catch a later ride back - but check the times if you are doing it late in the afternoon. It took us 2 hours from leaving our pick-up and getting back to the same spot without disembarking at any of the markets - we just took the bus tour. It would be a good idea to do this tour early in your vacation if you want to visit the markets as you will see where they are - and if you enjoy walking - it looked like there was quite a few within walking distance. Once you are on the bus, you will see the other restaurants on 1st avenue if you want a change from the hotel restaurants and also see the shopping available.

All in all, we enjoyed our vacation at this resort and would return. As noted in other emails - remember the people in these areas are very poor and appreciate your used clothing. It means so little to us - and so much to them. We did notice a difference in the area (as being better off) than when we last visited 5 years ago - but there is still impoverished people. As well as the folks working at the resorts - if you see a gardener, a street cleaner or any other general labourer, they too can use your 'extras'. It feels good to 'give'.

A vacation is what you make of it. Having no expectations leads to having no disappointments. Visit - enjoy the people - enjoy the culture - enjoy Cuba. It is a great safe place.