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We were at this hotel in early July. Unless it has improved, this hotel was definitely on the way down.
There are two types of rooms available - ocean view and garden view. Basically this means that you are on the ground floor for the cheaper rooms, higher floors for the more expensive. Rooms were musty smelling, the bedspreads smelled as well - we had to ask that they be washed. Air conditioning cut out quite often - in the two weeks we were there, it was off completely both Mondays (coincidence?) and intermittently almost every day. At the time the back up generator was not working either - we were told they were waiting for parts.
The swimming pool was not kept very clean, a number of people developed severe ear infections while we were there. The overall care of the hotel seemed to be slipping severely.
The hotel is sold as an all inclusive, but they try to get as many dollars out of tourists that they can - Havana Club premium rum costs extra, capucchino costs extra, bingo costs $1 to play, some of the evening entertainment costs. Drinks at the disco are extra...many people felt "nickeled and dimed" by the end of their stay. Staff responded to those who tipped. Those who didn't tip received poor service. Although kids activities were advertised, people with children found that there were very few activities organized for children.
The beach is dark sand (although they had trucked in white sand a couple of years ago - but it has pretty well disappeared). The water was stirred up all the time, and snorkelling is non-existant. Lifeguards would take people to a reef on the Catamaran, for a fee.
There is a trip to an island that while we were there was free, but you had to pay for any food, water, or drinks. For the winter, two trips a week are included - any extra trips cost $15.00.
We have travelled many times to Cuba, and have stayed at many different places from no-star to four star. Although Farallon is advertised as a 4 star all inclusive, at best it is a 2 star semi inclusive. Far better budget hotels are available for instance at Guardalavaca.
If anyone has stayed at the hotel recently, we would be very interested in knowing whether things have improved. During our stay many people submitted complaints - it would be wonderful to know if the complaints were taken seriously and an attempt made to improve the conditions.
Thanks to Susan for this trip report ...
November 2001
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