Hello, my two friends, boyfriend and I (ages 23, 23,25, 26) spent one week at El Senador resort in Cayo Coco November 18-25. In advance, this will be a long review, as I hope to be as helpful to other travelers as other reviewers have been for me. When I travel, I do have fairly high standards, and have been to the Bahamas, Aruba, and the Dominican Republic in the past, so I do have a lot to compare El Senador to.

Booking, Airport, Arrival

We booked through Sunwing Vacations and flew on the brand new Sunwing airlines on it’s second day in operation. Check in with Sunwing went smoothly. Our flight was on time, but the plane had to be de-iced… 15 minutes later we were on our way. Inflight service was per usual, with free champagne to celebrate the new airline.

Arrival in Cayo Coco was fine, but be careful what you have in your carry on! My small alarm clock radio was almost taken away! My boyfriend didn’t bring his ipod for fear of it being taken away by security, although we saw several people with them at our hotel.
The bus ride to El Senador was only 20 minutes. Bus was air conditioned and comfy ( I wish the plane was that comfy!)

Hotel Check-In

We checked in at the Laguna Azul lobby. Both sides of the hotel were open for high season even though we were told that it opens for high season December 1st. We all had the VIP package (simply because we wanted the villa rooms on the lagoon). I thought we were supposed to have a separate check-in, but we didn’t. There were only 2 parties in front of us anyway. While waiting, we were promptly served fruit punch to drink. We were pleased to learn that our rooms were ready (it was about 1:30 pm). We were assigned villa #2442 and #2460. We had requested to be close together, but it didn’t work out. I understood beforehand that it probably wouldn’t. It did make it a little difficult for us to meet up, as there was no room-to-room calling. We were taken by trolley/golf cart to our rooms.

Rooms (Villas)

Clean! Beautiful! It was our own little cabin! Dark wood interior with tiled floors. The living room had a pull out couch, and a door that could be closed off from the rest of the room. There was also two chairs and a coffee table.

The bedroom had tow double beds that were pushed together to make a huge king, but they were made up as two separate beds. The bathroom had a sink, full length mirrors, closet, bidet, toilet, shower and tub.

The little patio was nice too. Lots of previous reviews said the lagoon reeked…..occasionally it did for a brief minute, like when the wind caught it just right. Even though our villa faced the beach, its true that you can’t see the ocean or beach from it. A bank of mangrove trees separates the lagoon & hotel from the beach. It works really well to protect the hotel from wind, so even if its cool and windy, its hotter on hotel grounds.

Water pressure was good. Water was warm, not hot during peak shower hours in the morning and evening. It was hotter later at night 9-10pm.

Our room was cleaned everyday and our sheets changed. I put the towels I wanted changed on the floor & they were always changed. One day the floor wasn’t swept and was a little sandy. Each day I left 2 convertable pesos & little trinkets like candles, slippers, bandaids for the maids. There were 2 of them that clean the rooms together. They were very nice & appreciative. On our last day they left us a thank you note in broken English!

**Note: Bring Kleenex, there is none provided. Also washcloths, an alarm clock.
Electricity is 220V, not 110V like home. Same kind of plugs, but it fried my friends alarm clock!

The mini fridge was stocked daily with cola, juice boxes, canned beer, and water. It wasn’t the coldest, but was ok.
The air conditioning in my villa was ok…didn’t make it cold, but kept it good enough. Same with my friends’ villa. I think the problem is there is a skylight in the villa, so the sun shines in all day. Keeping the curtains closed helped. I never opened the windows because there were no screens and I didn’t want mosquitos to get in. There were quite a few mosquitoes. Not just around the lagoon, but throughout the hotel grounds.

Orientation Meeting, Sunwing Rep

I must complain about the time this meeting was scheduled. Everywhere wlde I have been, they have it in the early morning. We arrived at 1:30 pm Friday, and our meeting was at 3pm Saturday. Kind of broke up our day!! We were able to book our excursions at least so it wasn’t a total waste.
Another complaint I have is the hours that the Sunwing rep was available. One hour a day, 5 days a week! I find that unacceptable! We should not have to schedule our vacation to suit the rep’s schedule. It is not his fault, he works at 8 hotels, and the Sunwing company makes his schedule.

Beach

There were 4 different walkways leading to the beach. The beach itself was gorgeous. It was a little narrow when the tide was in, but got wider between 3-5pm. There was some seaweed, but not mounds of it, and it was raked everyday. Lots of shells for the shell seekers! We never had a problem getting a beach hut. We would walk down towards the end of the beach, and there was always 5-6 deserted huts… I guess some people didn’t want to walk down that far!

The sand was very fine and white. Overall it was great, however I enjoyed the beach in Punta Cana Dominican Republic better. There was a coral point on the eastern end of the beach, and it was nice to snorkel there during high tide. Lots of little fish and urchins, sea fans, brain coral. You can borrow masks and snorkels from the water sports center. Kayaks, and catamarans were also available to borrow. Paragliding is available for $40 CUC, but you can haggle over the price. One of my friends went and loved it!

There is a man that sells coconut drinks on the beach. Be sure to bring $3.50 CUC to try one!

Pools

Very nice! Looked clean and inviting. No signs of algae or slime mentioned in other reviews. We never swam in either, as we prefer the beach, but there were lots of lounge chairs and bars near by.

Hotel Grounds and Lobby Areas

Both lobbies were nicely decorated and open air concepts. Lots of little sitting areas with comfy wicker chairs and tables. Both lobbies have their own gift shops for souvenirs, snacks, rum , etc. We found that both lobby bars had the best selection of liquor. The bartender in the laguna azul bar is AMAZING! You should see the tricks he can do with ice, bottles, and glasses.

One night at supper time they sprayed for mosquitoes and it fogged out the whole lobby. It was very foul smelling and unhealthy. Why they would do it at peak hours is beyond me! I’d rather get a few bites than lungs full of insecticide fumes.

The hotel grounds were gorgeous and very spacious. It was never crowded at all! A lot of the palm trees are only 6-10 feet tall as the resort is only 5 years old, but this didn’t bother me at all. It was still plenty lush looking. The walkways were always clean too. The lighting could have been better at night , and there could have been a trolley service to bring guests around the resort because it is so huge. All in all, the atmosphere was great, and we didn’t mind walking a lot through the beautiful grounds.

Excursions

There are numerous excursions available. For the full list, email me. These are just the ones that we went on.

Boat Adventure (formerly jungle tour)
This is offered every day at 8, 10, 12, and 2. We went at 8am. We got to drive our own speedboat through the mangroves for about 35 minutes to our snorkel site. At the snorkel site, there were coypus in the trees.. They’re like little otters and were very friendly. I fed them some bagel that I had brought for the fish. The snorkeling was ok. Water was a little murky because of the mangroves. We had a 35 minute boat ride back through open water. It was a lot of fun!

Colourful Cuba
We were picked up and driven to mainland Cuba. Our guide was helpful in telling us a lot about Cuba in general and the area.
Our first stop was at La redonda marina, where we were taken on a boat ride on a fresh water lake through the mangroves.
Next we stopped at a sugar mill that had closed in 2000, where we toured the mill, and watched a show of how the sugar cane used to be processed. We went on a steam train ride through the plantation to where we were served a traditional Cuban lunch. We had sugar cane juice, roast pork, black beans and rice, fried plantains, fresh fruit, cheese, rolls, and drinks. Delicious!
After lunch we stopped at an alligator farm to hold and see alligators.
From there we went on to the town of Moron, where we took a horse and buggy rise through the town. Then we had an hour of free time to walk around and shop. There wasn’t a lot of shopping, but the town was quite nice.
The last stop was at a local bar, where there was live music and drinks. We were dropped back off at the hotel around 4:30pm.

Half Moon Island Catamaran
About a 45 minute drive to Playa Pilar, a nice beach, where we were taken by boat to Half Moon island. The beach was rocky and small. We got 45 minutes to snorkel. The snorkeling was good, but there was a fair current, making it a little difficult. We had a lunch of lobster, shrimp, and drinks.
We caught the boat back to Playa Pilar, where we had 1 ½ hours to enjoy the beach. Beach chairs could be rented for $1 CUC.

Restaurants

We ate at all the restaurants at the hotel. Reservations can be made between 8-11 am each morning, As VIP guests, we were able to book all our meals in advance. Also, as VIP guests, the VIP restaurant was available at no extra charge, but would be well worth the extra $$.

“El Crucero” Vip Gourmet

We ate here twice. The piano player is very good, and the service was excellent. The food was awesome. Menu items included:
Lobster bisque, beef carpaccio, and escargots were appetizers.
Rack of lamb, duck, lobster, and filet mignon in 3 pepper suace were some main dishes.
For dessert, pear cheesecake, chocolate cake, ice cream, and fruit were available.

“La Sirena” Snack Bar 24 hours

A variety of fresh fish, poutine, pizza, hotdogs, hamburgers (actual ham, not beef) were served and were all delicious!

“El Malecon” Seafood

Located on the lagoon, the food here was really good as well. Menu included:
Grated seafood crepe, gazpacho, salmon pate, and soup marinara were appetizer choices.
Entrees included chicken Florentine and grilled squid among others.

“El Pincho” Steakhouse

Located near the Emperador lobby, the steakhouse was excellent as well. The service was a little slow here, but it was also really packed when we were there.
Appetizers included marinated vegetable salad, and French onion soup. Both were tasty, but the vegetables we mostly peppers, so beware of heartburn!
Entrees: Steak, skewer with peppers, onions, ham, steak, and sausage. Tasty!

“El Gallo” Cuban and International

The international section of the menu was available for suite and VIP guests only. I don’t think any of us ordered anything off of the international menu section.
Appetizers include vegetable salad, salad campenisa, and fish cocktail (just like tuna salad). Each was tasty.
Entrees included Cuban chicken- awesome! Deep fried pork, pork loin (was very dry) and steak (very tough)

Beach Snack Bar

Located right off the beach… BEWARE THE CHICKEN FAJITAS! They were deep fried and stuffed with something like chicken salad. They made my boyfriend and I a little sick.
Quesadillas were yummy, as was the poutine and hamburgers. They were out of nachos while we were there.

“La Piazza” Italian and Mediterranean

Mediterranean section was only available for suite and VIP guests. It is a small section of the menu and wouldn’t be worth the extra $$.
For appetizers, there was an antipasto table with lunch meats, pasta salads, breads, etc.
The menu included a variety of pastas with choice of 6-8 different sauces. Also different pizzas were available. All were tasty!

Buffet Restaurants

DINNER- ok, not a lot of choice. Usually pork, chicken, and fish. Vegetables were kinda mushy. The a la carte restaurants were much better.
BREAKFAST- good, wide selection of yogurt, cereal, breads, bacon, sausage, pancakes, French toast, potatoes. They had a custom omelet/ egg bar.

“El Caney” Cigar Lounge

We loved the cigar lounge. It had a really nice atmosphere, comfy couches, good selection of drinks, and of course a cigar shop. It was only open until 10pm, and would’ve been nice if it was open longer.

Money Exchange

The rate of exchange at the airport was $.02 cheaper than at the hotel. The bank at the hotel is open about 5 hours per day. Lines can get quite long, and it isn’t always open at the time it says it will be.
NOTE: You pay extra when you use your credit card to buy anything. EG. 65 cash became $73 with credit card.

Checkout and Departure

Checkout was quick, no line.
There was quite a few shops in the airport, as well as duty free.
Our flight was delayed ½ hour, and we boarded the plane which still had people on it, to find out we had to fly into Holguin to drop them off and pick up more people.

Everyone was unimpressed, especially since we had paid to preselect seats at the front of the plane, only to have to sit at the back. The plane had not been serviced, and was dirty and stinky as it had come from Toronto full of passangers.
The flight to holguin was only 25 mins, and we had to get off the plane for them to clean it. They were quick, only took ½ hour, then we were on our way home. Normally this would have really upset me, but since the airline had been in business for one week at this point! They were working out some kinks!

Overall, the trip was wonderful, the hotel was a true Cuban 4.5 star, and I can’t wait to go back this coming April.

Please feel free to email me with any questions, additional pictures, or excursion information.

Thank you to all the trip advisor reviewers that helped me to choose this hotel!

Melissa