I just returned from Los Galeones. I went by myself for my first trip to Cuba. I will preface my thoughts/observations below by saying the whole vacation was beyond excellent and I definitely appreciated the whole experience.
Los Galeones is probably best for those who don't want to go to "Factory" resorts of 200+ rooms, organized activities, and buffet line ups. Los Galeones only has 32 rooms and is adults only. The staff are absolutely wonderful! They are so friendly. As well, I really enjoyed meeting all the guests and even though I was traveling by myself I was made to feel at home and made new friends. The view offered from Los Galeones is unbelievable since it is on the hill.
Los Galeones is located about 2 hours from Santiago de Cuba Airport. The main road leading to the resort is interesting at best. There are many potholes and some sections of the road were water-logged. I would suggest taking a bus/taxi to get around because when I was there, a couple of rental cars belonging to some guests were damaged pretty good. Los Galeones is affiliated with Brisas SierraMar, where you can go there to eat, drink and use their amenities. It is about 20 minutes in between the resorts and will cost about 5 CUCs (Cuban Convertible Pesos) each way including tip. I went to SierraMar originally for the day, but after staying at Los Galeones I found it so impersonal there and couldn't wait to get back. There are about 200 rooms at SierraMar and some access to recreational equipment/trips, but they are in short supply and may not be available.
There is one restaurant and one bar up at the resort. The atmosphere is so casual that people can go behind the bar and make themselves a drink. The bar is open until 1 AM. There is a wide array of liquors. There is beer and wine. I did not like the juice, it was not the same type here. The water is very safe and clean to drink. Don't expect fancy food - however, that being said, their a-la-carte menus offer quite a few options and the food in my opinion tastes pretty good. Breakfast is part buffet and you can order eggs & bacon from the kitchen. Lunch and Dinner are a-la-carte. Breakfast runs from 7:30 - 10 AM, Lunch runs from 12:30 - 2 PM, Dinner runs from 7 - 9:30 PM. There is live music every day at dinner. Most nights we passed the hat around and threw in a peso or two. After dinner, a lot of us gathered outside the bar for the rest of the night.
The rooms are pretty basic. I stayed in the 100 block of Rooms, which offered out my front door a view of the town of Chivirico at the bottom of the hill of the resort and a view of the entrance and Caribbean Sea out my back door. However, it's the set of rooms located farthest away from the main area. The 200 block of rooms offer the best view of the Caribbean Sea. The 300 block of rooms offer a great view of the sunset and mountains and are closest to the main area. The 400 and 500 blocks of rooms are directly fronting the main area but face Chivirico and the Mountains - very little water to see. I had a TV in my room which received local TV, Showcase, CTV, CNN, and TNT. A few people said they had a refrigerator, but I did not. I had two twin beds pushed together. There was an air conditioner in the room, but it can be a bit nosey. The beds were a bit on the firm side and the pillows were really firm so if you need a soft pillow, I would suggest bringing one. I could not open the balcony glass door because there was no screen door. Someone I met said she brings down some netting and affixes it to the door so she can have the door open. I received quite a few mosquito bites while outside and there are small creatures like crabs, lizards, etc. that pass by outside the room so I kept the doors closed. I had a desk in my room with a little dinette table. A great feature in te room is a small safe. I felt great knowing that I can put the 25 CUCs for the departure tax, passport, etc. in a safe place while I was at the hotel. There were a couple of small lamps and one oddly placed overhead fluorescent in the corner. In the bathroom in my room, I had a small hairdryer with a couple of overhead lights. The water pressure in my room was a little weak and it took a few minutes for the hot water to kick in. I would recommend bringing a couple of flash lights as the power was knocked out a few times, not an uncommon occurrence. As well, I brought some small things for the cleaning staff as well as some small pesos for tips at the end of the vacation.
There is a private beach for the resort, however it is 296 steps down and is quite a walk. Be careful coming back up, pace yourself. There is a beach side bar that runs from 10 AM to 4 PM and they may have lunch if there are enough people down there. The sand is very dark. In the water, there is quite a bit of rocks/coral/sea weed, so I would suggest bringing water shoes.
Also, I went to town and walked down the road from the top of the resort. This is a very steep walk down and again, pace yourself coming back up. It probably takes about 20 minutes to walk each way. For every week you are there, you can received a complimentary massage. I found that very helpful at the end of my vacation as I pulled a muscle coming up the hill. In the town there is a small art gallery, a few basic stores in and around the square. There is a bank to exchange money. You can also exchange at the airport and also with the Front Desk. Someone told me the resort offers a slightly better exchange rate than the Airport.
So those are pretty much my thoughts/observations on Los Galeones. Again, if you want a place where you can go at your own pace, want to purely relax, to not have the hustle of big resorts, then this may be the place for you.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
