Brisas Los Galeones

My wife and I, in our late 30's, visited this hotel recently. The hotel primarily caters to older guests and some guests are long-term residents there. There were only Canadians at the resort during our visit. Most of the Cubans working at the resort spoke at least some english. It was always possible to figure out a solution to any communication problem anyhow. As you will read in other reviews, this hotel is up on a hill overlooking the town of Chivrico. This means that if you want to go to the beach, you have to walk down (and later up) a lot of stairs. Similarly, if you want to go into town, you will have a walk down (and later up) the steep roadway that leads to the hotel. One interesting thing about this hotel is that it in in "real" Cuba. So if you want to actually see what Cuba is like for Cubans that live there, you can use this hotel as a launch point to explore the local area. We enjoyed doing this ourselves but it did make us feel a bit guilty and exploitative for travelling to this country for such a low cost and taking advantage of Cuban poverty. And the country is very poor indeed. However, despite the impoverishment of the people, we have consistently found them to be welcoming, friendly, extremely generous, genuine, and most of all - happy. This is a nice change from the stress, hustle and bustle of North American culture. As far as the resort goes, we'd rate it a 2.5 star. The rooms are very basic yet clean. The beds uncomfortable and old. The food on the resort was very good but also limited by the fact that this is Cuba and it is an isolated country without access to the things that we are accustomed to. A few travelers got diarrhea during the week, but we didn't hear a lot of that so it is likely that the food is handled sufficiently. The beach is beautiful and very nice to sit and read on. However it does not provide a nice place to swim as the reef in the area comes right up near to the shore. Some people went in the water there but we didn't. We ended up swimming at another beach nearby. The small pool at the resort is also nice to have a quick dip in and we found it clean every day. If you are ok with basic accommodations and being in "real" Cuba, give this place a try. We have also stayed at the sister hotel, Brisas Sierra Mar and preferred it to this hotel. [Details]

This is a gem. If you are looking for a quiet, friendly, and relaxing experience, this is the hotel for you.
The rural hill top location directly in the sleepy village of Chivarico is ideal.
The road to the hotel has been totally redone, so the trip to Santiago is only 1 hr and an easy taxi, or scooter ride. [Details]

This was our 9th stay at Los Galeones, just keep going back to enjoy our visit with the most friendly staff, being as active or as lazy as we want to be. That would mean deciding to take the stairs down to the beach and have our BBQ lunch at the beach-bar or make the trip down (and back up) to the village to visit with friends in Chivirico. Major improvement; the road from Santiago de Cuba to Sierra Mar/Los Galeones is now an almost all the way paved 2-lane highway. [Details]

It's a quiet small hotel with attentive staff, family atmosphere. Interesting people open to interesting conversations.
Great views from top of the hill. The 300 steps to the beach offer opportunity for a workout. This place has its fans returning there regularly.
The last stretch of the famously bumpy road lately has been considerably improved. Want to know what real life in Cuba looks like, have a walk in the town at the bottom of the hill. [Details]

The views from this property are absolutely spectacular as the hotel is perched up on a hill and offers 360 degrees of unobstructed scenery . You have the perfect marriage here of sea and mountains and most important relaxation and tranquility. Los Galeones is a very modest and small (only 30 some rooms) all-inclusive which makes you feel more like you're a guest in somebody's home rather than a hotel. There's nothing flashy here and while the decor could benefit from a little updating (like many other properties I saw on the island), it is meticulously clean. Buffet style service is reserved only for breakfast, but don't worry - you will not go hungry during the a la carte service. Again, food is simple but adequate and tastes fine. However, I would recommend taking lunch down at the hotel's beach bar - the bbq (I found) tastes better (and is more of a buffet style) and being right by the water just creates a wonderful atmosphere (better than the somewhat drab restaurant decor). Speaking of the beach, as other reviewers have stated, it is some 297 uneven steps down from the main property and is not of the pristine white sand and water variety. Nonetheless, I found it to be just fine. I enjoyed the shade trees under which you can stay comfortably and enjoy the scenery, and there is very good snorkelling not too far from shore. As well, there are rudimentary rocky paths to the right and left of the beach that once again provide wonderful views of the rugged shoreline.
Overall, this resort is for an older crowd who just want quiet and relaxation - not for party people or families with young children. And while the rooms are all on one level, people with mobility issues could have problems getting to and from the beach. As well, anyone suffering from arthritic pain or other ailments may have problems with the current road conditions between the larger Brisas property at Sierra Mar and Los Galeones, although in a year's time, this might actually be fully repaired.

I had done my research on this property and for my purposes, it was perfect for my vacation goals which were to relax, be surrounded by beautiful scenery, and not be part of a wild party scene. However, if you do want the traditionally big, action-packed, 24hr food and bar service, pristine beaches etc. all-inclusive, then Los Galeones may not be for you. [Details]

Hotel was clean but needs some tlc.Food was good always something in the buffet to eat. Breakfasts were outstanding. Great pizza and frech fries. Best burger ever in cuba at the ecological retaurant. Road to the resort is bad but in a way that is good as you go slow and can see the beautiful counrtyside.Grab a couple beers at the airport and enjoy the bumpy ride.Part of the experiance.check in was done on the bus so we went direct to our room on arrival that was great [Details]

beautiful view great service

good food

lots of long term repeat visitors

nature lovers hidden jem [Details]

Many repeat visitors, small and friendly, the staff makes you feel like family [Details]

Los Galeones is a delightful little hotel (34 rooms) on top of a small mountain at Chivirico (Santiago) Cuba.
The views are spectacular and the staff were the nicest we have encountered.
The only complaint was that the food needed more variety. The nightly entertainment was local but very talented. Many of the guests are returnees (some multiple times). We would go back. [Details]

Clean and spacious room and bathroom, breathtaking views, good food, good staff, one hell of a nice beach. No animators, music blasting around the pool till wee hours of the morning, no drunk idiots.
294 steps to the beach are another attraction. 2.5 hours bus trip from/to Santiago on truly horrible road, well, look at it as a part of the package. When it takes place in daylight, views are worth it. [Details]

Great hotel, loved the quiet, the staff were exceptional. Clean and well maintained for an older resort.
Hated traveling to the resort. We will definitly go again. [Details]

Excellent place Felt like family. A hidden jewel of a resort [Details]

32 room resort high atop a hill is everything I hoped for in Cuba. This is not for lovers of cookie cutter resorts though. The visitor is surrounded by nature, the sounds of the sea and friendy professional staff. [Details]

The hotel is small and intimate and there are so many "repeaters" who are regular and dedicated visitors. Some refurbishing was done in 2009 and this has resulted in some improvements in terms of new lampshades and room painting etc. The pool has been fixed and is not leaking any more.
The wost thing (as usual) is the road from Santiago - dreadful potholes and wash-outs; it just never gets any better! [Details]

I have been going to this hotel for 18 years. this last trip, there were unexplained shortages. I don't blame the hotel, only the higher ups. There is usually many different meats and vegetables in the freezer. I realize it was a bad hurricane season so I wasn't expecting a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. There were also shortages of liquor, soda water. I believe Brisas head office was resposible not the hotel. [Details]

Our winter home-away-from-home. The second time we visited - we were greeted with hugs from the staff. Love everything about this little hotel. [Details]

small hotel with friendly staff [Details]