Hotel berhampiran Plaza Jose Marti, Cienfuegos

I loved the food. It was amazing. Also along side the food was the awesome music that really catched my attention at nights on the balcony. The live music of Mr. Juan Carlos and his orchestra made me have good nights at hotel Union. One of his songs that I love is Volare which is originally by Gypsy Kings but Mr. Juan Carlos sings it even better than Gypsy Kings. Listening to his live music along with beer and salty peanuts brought me alot of joy after nice dinner at the hotel on those lovely nights.

We arrived around midday for an overnight stay and Marlene in reception made a special effort to get our room cleaned so we could check in early. Had sandwiches and Cuba Libres in the bar, served by the beautiful and very friendly Yanet, who understood our English. After lunch Yainier showed us to our room, which was bigger than normal for Cuba, and definitely 5-star. Power outages are common in regional Cuba but the hotel has a generator which automatically starts up when the power goes off. A tour guide told us the power was out from 3pm to 3am that day/night so to have airconditioning was a bonus. The only negative was our dinner on the top floor. Nice restaurant with good views but most items on the menu were unavailable, obviously due to the food shortages in Cuba. Our meals were ordinary but breakfast the next morning was first class. One of the best we have had on our many hotel stays around the world. Great stay, but Marlene, Yanet and Yainier made it extra special.

Las instalaciones están adecuadas para un hotel de esta categoría, la comida no fue tan variada como esperaba.

For the price I dont know what else you could ask for. Beautiful beach with Great staff that are happy to take one out for a sale on a Hobicat. Comfortable bed to sleep in every night with a ductless split to keep one cool. Entertainment nightly. Good variety in the restaurant albeit a little heavy on the pork but delicious omelettes for breakfast. (hey its Cuba where they dont believe in spices so bring your favourite sauce and condiments, all the seasoned travellers do) The staff are friendly and helpful if they can help and all the refreshing Crystal lager you can drink so bring a travel mug for the beach. Free rum drinks at the bar and a great espresso coffee machine so if that is your thing bring your own coffee mug. Lots of Cubans and others from different Hispanic nations in the Caribean to interact with maybe even participate with in a fun competition. The average age of Canadians mostly from Ontario and Quebec does tend to lean to the older as the two of us are however there is always someone to talk to and enjoy the place with. Bring some books to read or a deck of cards. Cienfuegos the ”Pearl of the South” is worth the trip in for a day trip or an evening of entertainment, take a taxi in and share it with friends.(there is often a 1952 Chevy parked outside or within calling distance and they will come and pick you up for your return or get a door person at a restaurant to call someone) Give the upper level of the Union a try you have to walk up the 5 floors but worth going up for a drink and view the sites at night. It is a good idea to bring a flashlight as the city does have intermittent blackouts for periods not the whole city but you might just happen to be in the neighbourhood that is off for a period. Please bring cash for tipping and be generous with beach staff, house staff, maids, everyone. The wages there are very low compared with ours (you would't be able to go there on what they make) $1 USD or larger $CAD Euros but not Loonies they cant change them easily or Cuban Pesos. USD are quoted for many things like cigars or rum some bring extra if you plan on purchasing them and the little convenience store at Rancho Luna only accepts $ or credit cards. You cant buy Cuban money outside of Cuba but people around the hotel or beach can help you get fair trade for your money.