Travel period: January 31 - February 7, 2012
Party: 2 adults and a 15-month old

This was our second stay at Ensenachos, the first being when it was still the Royal Hideaway and adults-only. Our primary thought the first time around was that it was a shame we would not be returning for many years because we were already pregnant with our first child. But as luck would have it, the property became a family resort just as we were planning our first beach vacation as a family!

For prospective visitors, please do not be deterred by the less-than-welcoming attitude of some of the reviewers towards children...the reality could not have been more different. There was an abundance of smiles and coos for all kids at the resort - both from guests and staff. Not once did we feel that children were an unwelcome presence. But onto the review:

GROUNDS, BUILDINGS and ROOMS
The property is immaculately maintained and as lovely as we remembered it. While it wouldn't be to everyone's taste, we love that the grounds are immense and that you have to do a lot of walking - it's probably the only exercise you'll get for a week anyway. You will never have to share your "space" with anyone unless you are actively seeking company. Facilities are spotless and the only thing I really noted is that the mattresses in the room (maybe it was just our room) are in sore need of replacement. We could feel every coil when we lay down ... but it was just a few nights and it didn't kill us.

SERVICE
Can't say enough about how excellent the service is in this resort. Staff works very hard to please. I dropped by reception on our first day and told them our shower head was leaking and that I hated to see water wasted. Guy at the front desk assured me it would be addressed immediately and sure enough, a repair man was walking with me on my way back to the room. This same promptness marked all of our requests of the staff, whether it be for a crib, fresh beach towels, drinks etc. All I can tell fellow guests is: please, please tip as generously as you can. These people have long commutes, work long hours and what is a tiny amount to you means a lot to them.

Many thanks to the ladies and gents who manned the tables by the back windows day and evening (Pavel and colleagues), Roberto who supplied drinks at Playa Enenachos and Yoli et al who took care of our rooms!

FOOD AND DRINK
I really don't get the negative comments about the food. Both my husband and I are foodies and found nothing to complain about. We didn't bother with any of the outlets because they have crazy late dining hours and we couldn't keep our baby up that long. If you want to stretch out the buffet, then don't eat the same food everyday. Day 1, go seafood, Day 2, go salads, and so on. Also, you have to take consider that some food varieties and cooking styles are simply not native to the area and as such will have different quality.

For example, we live in Alberta so I wouldn't judge Cuban beef by the same standards (it was rather tough). Same goes for dairy: yoghurt is thinner than what we're used to, milk is pasteurised but not homogenised. If you want real excellence, focus on the seafood ... the grilled whole (head, shell and feelers) shrimp is to die for and something you will not likely get in a big city.

The fridge drink selection is good. Wine so-so. Beer is good. Mojitos and Pina Coladas are excellent. And the cappuccino is amazing. Be sure to bring home a bag or two of their whole bean coffee.

BEACHES
Both Megano and Ensenachos are excellent. Megano's restaurant will be finished any day now and will be convenient for people who can't do without lunch. Ensenachos is a tad prettier and a lot quieter and for those of us who can live on a (ahem) liquid diet throughout the day, it is the beach of choice.

TIPS RELATED TO SMALL KIDS
1. A stroller is a must. The property is huge and the stroller will do double-, triple-duty as an all-around stuff lugger.

2. A baby tent (Kidco's PeaPod) is a lifesaver for kids 0-6. The kiddo can nap in it and thus parents can stay all day at the beach, if desired. Our boy was not a fan of the sand and so preferred to chill in his tent while not actually wading. The PeaPod folds up very small and light and will not add significant weight to your luggage.

3. Bring lots of empty food containers and food grade resealable plastic bags. Raid the breakfast buffet for fruit, yoghurt, bread, cheese and beans. You can store these in your room fridge or bring them for lunch to the beach if you want to stay the whole day. In particular, stock up on yoghurt cups as these are not available every day. In the evenings, you can also stock up on the very delicious soups for picnic-style lunches the next day.

4. As others have advised, bring at least a litre of UHT milk if your kiddo is picky. Milk at the resort is not homogenised and so has a "richer" taste that some younger children do not like.

5. There are still a limited number of baby chairs in the dining room so you may sometimes have to use your stroller to feed the baby in. Aim for the earliest dining hours to avoid this issue.

6. The water park is just about finished and might already be open as I write this review. It looks fantastic.

We plan to make Ensenachos a yearly tradition for our family and hope to find it as amazing next year as we did this year. Kudos to the new management for a job well done!

ABOUT US:

Myself and my wife sayed at the Iberostar ensenachos from Jan 29 to Feb 5th 2012, this was our first visit to this resort, our second visit to this area (cayo santa maria area) and 5th visit to cuba, we have traveled yearly to the carribean for the past 14 years.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

we were very satisfied with the resort, very few negatives but I will break my review down ny catagories. During the current transition from the occidental to the Iberostar brand, it seems that they are keeping the occupancy very low, some of the staff said they were keeping it to 400-600 people, which is 45 to 50% of thier capacity, so the resort seemed really empty, in addition to the waterpark construction, they were also building some beach side resturants at megano beach and at the villas, and it also appeared that they were renovating alott of rooms, as it appeared that half of the buildings in the park section were closed.

ROOM:

We stayed in a park suite 2nd floor in building 39, which is about as far as you can get from the main building (except for the villas). The room is very large and was extremly clean, was outfitted with a very comfy king bed (and i am picky about beds!), a large balcony, a large walk in closet, a safe, a sitting area, a very large bathroom with a glass shower and a soaker style tub and a large vanity, also a toilet area with its own door. it all marbel floored, and again extremly clean, no visible signs of wear or mold or dirt, AC worked perfectly. the only downside was the TV is small and the cable reception was poor, but this wasn't an issue for us, as this was a couples vacation, and we wern't there to watch TV!!,

over the years of travelling, I am used to getting stuffed up in my sinus's in carribean hotel rooms due to moisture/mold issues, this is one of the few resorts that i did not experience this.

HOUSEKEEPING
was flawless, with daily service, fresh towels every day and towel art, and mini bar re-filled daily, also an evening turn down service and changing of the beach/pool towels, top notch service, we tipped the maid $3 CUC daily.

BEACHES
I can say with confidence these are the best in the carribean, icing sugar soft and, mild surf, lots of available seating and palapa's, and full service for bar service and setup by the beach staff. the ensenachos beach was my personal favorite.

POOL'S

Same here, 2 distinct pool area's:

One "activity pool" with a good bar area and resturant and full service around the pool deck and entertainment staff, they are also building a kids waterpark adjexent to this pool.

One "quiet pool" with a good bar area and resturant with full service all around the pool deck, a really unique "plunge pool" built into one area of the pool was really neat, this area is adjecent to the resort spa, we spent most of our pool time here.

THE GROUNDS:

the buildings appear to be in mint shape, and the grounds are picture perfect, the thought and planning that went into the landscaping is amazing, hands down the nicest resort grounds i have ever seen, and with all the variations of trees/shrubs/plants/flowers, the place smells awesome!

FOOD:

generally, I don't get excited about cuban food, it is not thier speciality, but here I found the food really, really good. The only downside was that there was not alott of variety of foods, and it did become a little routine. We ate all our breakfasts at the buffett, lunches at the pool resturants and 3 suppers at the a la carte''s and the remainder at the buffett. I liked everything I had.

BAR'S

Generally we spent all of our evenings at the piano bar, it was very laid back and good music, and met some really nice people, the piano player was very good and so was the singer. most of the bartenders were good, there was only one that didn't make a good Mojito.

THE PEOPLE

The people of cuba are what set's it apart from from all the other travel destinations, I just haven't found people anywhere else in the carribean that were so real, passionate and proud. They are very similiar to canadians (espicially Manitobans!)

CLIENTELE:

This resort demands a much more mature,and upscale clientele, the bulk of the people were 30 plus, and a good portion of that was 40 plus. It's not a party hotel for spring breakers (thank god!). they are trying to transistion this from a complete adults only hotel to a mixed resort with families(park section) adults only(spa section) and Upscale(villa section). I think with the layout of the resort they will be sucessfull at this.


I will return to this resort again, and that doesent happen often.

We were at Iberostar Ensenachos for 2 weeks from January 22nd, 2012. I will give you the good points, and then the bad.

GOOD: The people are amazing, the facilities, rooms, pool areas, lounges are all beautiful and immaculate. If you like the beach, though, it was too far away so you had to take a golf cart ride to it. They did have a bathroom and bar at one end of the beach but if you wanted food, back to the resort with a golf cart. We also found the water too calm and way too shallow. Great for kids and non-swimmers so we stayed at the pool and were more than satisfied with that.

BAD: The food was TERRIBLE. At the buffet, they served the same food every day both for lunch and dinner. The food was usually overcooked, and everything was cold. Breakfasts too were not very appetizing. The bacon was usually almost raw and no variety whatsoever. We were not impressed with the A la carte restaurants either. We also did not appreciate all the smoking (both cigarettes and cigars) in the lounge area where people sit after dinner.

We will not be returning and suggest you give it a pass too.

Ok folks listen up , we stayed here Jan 27-Feb 3 2012 , flight down on the big A330 airbus via air transat was smooth and easy easy on easy off , bus ride to the resort is 1hr and 40 mins so if ya need to pee geter done ,if ya got kids make them go , bus on way there had a washroom that worked , bus on way back did not so beware , bus ride was very senic as it takes you directly into the hearts of the small towns , to my suprise every single house leaves there front door wide open i was a little shocked at that but theres no crime even tho some parts look like the getto , anyways we got to the hotel about ten pm ish and was escourted to the lobby were you are welcomed with a glass of champange (nice welcome) we then get our keys to our spa room 2704 ground level and are asked if we are hungry and shown were the buffet is to eat , im not sure why people say the cuban food has no flavor ,let me tell you this is not the case here the food was great so we ate there all week long,(no sickness) , waiters are awesome and have a great memory everyday of how you like things for example i like ketchup in the morning with my eggs so everyday apon my entrance the waiter would have my ketchup ,coffee and orange juice ready on the table ,fresh omlettes everyday made by ivonna were the best as she is truly one of a kind and knows how to put a smile on your face every morning with some sort of a wise crack comment (tip her well she is great) ,
The beaches : we spent most of our days at megano beach a bit of a walk from the hotel lobby but no big deal as it helped me work off breakfast , when you get to the beach there are beach attendants that ask you were you would like to sit and get your lounge chair out and ask if you preffer sun or shade and clean your chair and place your towels on them ,agian this is great service for that extra touch of class ,the beaches are top notch with turquios waters and sand like flour between your toes,i did snorkle off the beach a saw starfish and many other fish ,oh ya and drink service to your beach chair (again great service)It is true there are currently no washrooms or snack bars on the beaches but they are very close to fixing this within days by the looks of things as the buildings are so close to completion ( so pee in the ocean and suck it up you cry babys whom cant handle it )
Spa rooms :the spa rooms are wonderful with private balcony or terrace depending if your on the ground floor or not (ask for top level if you want to see above the jungle) king size beds , fully stocked mini bar w flat screen tv , stand up glass shower with a huge tub to the side, very clean room that was cleaned twice a day with clean beach towels daily , the spa section is very nice and private i must say and close to the main pool w swim up bar , the grounds are very well kept daily , large tennis courts and basketball court that are well kept up along with a half decent gym and full spa if u wish to get that special treatment,construction almost done as well on the kids water park ,there are no party type bars here were ya can get your drink on unfort, if you wanted to that is , they have a cigar bar with cuban fresh cigars and piano bar after 10 pm the night life was toast, they also have a make shift disco bar down stairs but it was very quiet with one or two people there at night max , they did have a a band near the lobby one night which was ok (attention stefano : people love to dance under the stars to great music and the band was just ok but a dj would do the trick maybe twice a week with some really good music) also to mention if you want to keep in touch with family back home it is rather dificult as there is no wifi at this resort available to the guests but there is a business center (aka computer room )were u are required to purchase a internet card from front reception for 6 cuc pesos for 30 mins , but let me tell you its dial up and slow as molases and your 30 mins goes real fast. Hey stefano open up the wifi to the guests and charge twenty bucks a week for anyone that wants it and put a password on the wifi and change it once a week , you will actually make money at it as a suggestion .i will recomend you book a villa suite from your travel agent or upgrade when you get there for 100 cuc based on 2 ppl per night as we upgraded to a villa on or last day and omg im glad we did we moved to villa 6601 at the very tip ocean facing with full kitchen (not sure why i guess back in the day they would come make you dinner in your room perhaps is the rumor)full living room and dining room , humungus bedroom , massive bathroom with huge soaker tub and glass shower , best part of all was the beach lounge chairs and jaccuzi tub on the deck outside overlooking the ocean and stars at nite (villa suites are the only rooms with outside jaccuzis , make sure you take my advise and take the walking trail beside room 6601 to watch the sunset at the farthest point of the resort a very special spot ,next time i go i will book a villa as its super private with alot of comfort with your own butler , the villas are very close to ensanachos beach , that beach is incredible and makes you feel like its your own deserted beach as its away from everything , so dont be cheap and get the villa , i have tried to touch on everything i can recall , tip the staff as much as possible they work six days a week and do it very well with really long hours and are great people that can really use the extra cash in there pockets that you can spare , my first time to cuba and wont be my last to the iberostar as its getting better daily and to that i bring my review to a end and thank the kind cuban people for everything they do with the limited means they have to bring such great service to us Canadians ,i have also added many photos so you can see this is truly a great resort see you soon S&J