Cuba 14.2 Marea del Portillo - Part 3 / At The Resort
Check in was smooth although a couple of Canadians with European accents behind us complained that they felt they were not getting the VIP service either here or in Toronto that they had paid for.
These same two ladies later complained to us that their rooms were unacceptable. I don’t know what made them think we would care. We seemed to be running into a lot of negative people that we made mental notes to be sure to avoid over the next couple of weeks.
I had requested a room on the ground level as close to the pool bar as possible as walking long distances is often difficult on my back. We were shown to a room on the ground level as far as one could possibly get away from the pool bar.
After making a request to move us closer the next day, we were told there were none available, but we could switch next week as many of the guests would be leaving. But after spending our first week there, we decided it was not worth the effort to move. The extra walking, although sometimes painful, was probably good for me anyway.
We walked around the resort on the first day to renew acquaintances with staff and guests we remembered from last year and those that we only pretended to remember from last year.
It had rained during the night and was overcast in the morning. I overheard one of the bartender’s telling one of the guests, “be better tomorrow.” This seems to be a pat answer and as was usually the case, accurate. In fact the sun was out and shining just a couple of hours later.
Every day the ocean was a bit rough and the beach carried a yellow flag for caution. Some days the under tow was worse than others and swimming required a bit more energy than it was worth but we still managed to spend a bit of time in the ocean most days.
The conditions of the water also stirred up the sand making the conditions not very good for snorkelling at the resort.
Most of the discos at the resorts we have stayed had seldom had much activity. The disco at Marea del Portillo is a considerable walk down a poorly lit road that is riddled with potholes so we chose not to investigate. The stories we heard from those that did however, seemed to indicate it might have been a worthwhile adventure.
Being our second visit to Marea del Portillo we are officially “repeaters” and entitled to have our faces painted on the “Repeaters Wall”. We commissioned our friend Bethoven whom we met and befriended last year through another guest. Bethoven and his partner Adriel did such a great job of it, we also had our likeness painted on a rock to bring home for our bar.
As repeaters we were also invited to a special “Repeaters Dinner” on our last night. The dinner was very elegant starting with appetizers of garlic toast and a very good cheddar cheese, then soup, followed by a plate of potato, vegetables, breaded shrimp, lobster tail and chicken. As Shirley doesn’t like seafood she only ate part of the rest. I enjoyed only a sample of each before I was full.
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These same two ladies later complained to us that their rooms were unacceptable. I don’t know what made them think we would care. We seemed to be running into a lot of negative people that we made mental notes to be sure to avoid over the next couple of weeks.
I had requested a room on the ground level as close to the pool bar as possible as walking long distances is often difficult on my back. We were shown to a room on the ground level as far as one could possibly get away from the pool bar.
After making a request to move us closer the next day, we were told there were none available, but we could switch next week as many of the guests would be leaving. But after spending our first week there, we decided it was not worth the effort to move. The extra walking, although sometimes painful, was probably good for me anyway.
We walked around the resort on the first day to renew acquaintances with staff and guests we remembered from last year and those that we only pretended to remember from last year.
It had rained during the night and was overcast in the morning. I overheard one of the bartender’s telling one of the guests, “be better tomorrow.” This seems to be a pat answer and as was usually the case, accurate. In fact the sun was out and shining just a couple of hours later.
Every day the ocean was a bit rough and the beach carried a yellow flag for caution. Some days the under tow was worse than others and swimming required a bit more energy than it was worth but we still managed to spend a bit of time in the ocean most days.
The conditions of the water also stirred up the sand making the conditions not very good for snorkelling at the resort.
Most of the discos at the resorts we have stayed had seldom had much activity. The disco at Marea del Portillo is a considerable walk down a poorly lit road that is riddled with potholes so we chose not to investigate. The stories we heard from those that did however, seemed to indicate it might have been a worthwhile adventure.
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| Betoven painting our portraits on the "Repeaters Wall." |
Being our second visit to Marea del Portillo we are officially “repeaters” and entitled to have our faces painted on the “Repeaters Wall”. We commissioned our friend Bethoven whom we met and befriended last year through another guest. Bethoven and his partner Adriel did such a great job of it, we also had our likeness painted on a rock to bring home for our bar.
 |
| Betoven and Adriel painted our portrait on a rock to enhance our bar. |
As repeaters we were also invited to a special “Repeaters Dinner” on our last night. The dinner was very elegant starting with appetizers of garlic toast and a very good cheddar cheese, then soup, followed by a plate of potato, vegetables, breaded shrimp, lobster tail and chicken. As Shirley doesn’t like seafood she only ate part of the rest. I enjoyed only a sample of each before I was full.
- 30 -
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