Club Amigo Ancon

Solid, comfortable hotel, decent rooms, decent pool and decent food.

The beach is nice unless sea grass washes onshore.

The morning crepes are delicious.

Would recommend. [Details]

This is my forth time in this hotel, every year hotel is in worse condition then year before, last year we stayed for two weeks, we didn't have hot water for six days. This year we didn't have water at all. [Details]

This is NOT an acceptable hotel. No running water, filthy food and full of prostitution. Not a place for Canadians with any decency. [Details]

I was going for the beach and it was fantastic. Not many people, clean, long beach with very clean warm water. What else do you need?
Hotel is 3 stars and it was 3 stars , so I do not complain.
There was a problem with hot water and cash exchange but rather than that, it was pretty nice. [Details]

It was my second time on this resort. Hotel is old bulging but very well maintained. Room was clean and sheets .I just want to say I love everything about this place.This is my destination in Cuba. [Details]

This is a decent 3 star Cuban hotel, so don't go expecting a 4 or 5 star. The food is adequate, the beach is excellent. It is a great place if you want to lay on the beach and do nothing. The clientele is a little older and this is not a party place, more for the retirement set. There is a bus into Trinidad if you want to get away. Lots of bus tours coming in for a night or two made some days hectic at the desk and the buffet [Details]

Hotel was as expected for the money, although tired and in need of attention but functional. Room was on the 5th floor to the west end of the hotel in what looked like the older section. The room was very quiet and had a great unobstructed Caribbean Sea view. The mattress could have used replacing. No balcony but some rooms had them. Mostly clear nights with a bright moon. Great sunsets from the room or on the beach. A nice cooling breeze most days and nights. Good food, good staff, AC worked as required, clean room, grounds do need attention but leaves are raked, hotel washrooms were adequate, clean and had paper. The pool was closed with no apparent repair in process, some beach chairs should be recycled, beach sea-grass was cleaned most every day, decent swimming, calm seas. Cable/satellite TV channels (English with Canadian content, news and shows) was good until the signal was lost in our section of the hotel only and never returned from half way through our stay. We could walk on the beach in both directions for a mile or so to the west and for miles to the east, I got a few sand flee bites on the east secluded portion of the beach otherwise no problem with insect bites on groomed beach or anywhere. Sand flee bites were my fault and I should have sprayed, I know better from experience. Walking was good closed to the hotel and for miles to the west along a quiet little used paved road directly on the beach. This road starts at the west end of Brisas and for the most part extends 4km or so to a small fishing village call La Boca. There is a couple of beachside restaurant/bars on the way. Elevators worked without incident (we used the stairs most of the time to the 5th floor for exercise). Elevators are brushed stainless steel inside and outside doors and showed no signs of washing or polishing fingermarks for the term of our stay. Now for big problem that affected the hotel staff most of all. The front desk was the money exchange location. Their hours were through the day and most days had CUC (Convertible Pesos) after noon only. We could exchange Canadian cash. The problem was that they had no or a very, very limited amount of small coins or bills, 1 peso etc. Because of the shortage of small denominations it was mostly impossible to tip the staff for good service. Very unfair to deserving staff. We did attempt to walk next door to the Brisas and exchange Canadian or larger CUCs for small denomination CUCs for tipping. So that worked for us. Not sure if Brisas should have done it for us but the hotel was slow. If they had been busy it may have been a different story. All lot of info I know but some of our experience may help visitors what to expect and Hotel management to make some adjustments. All in all a good vacation for the money with no major complaints. One last thing. Do not attempt to take CUCs out of the country. Upon leaving one lady was relieved of approx 600 CUCs ($900 Canadian dollars or so). Her Cuban cash was confiscated by Cuban Cienfuegos Custom authorities at Jaime Gonsalez Airport with no indication of return. Very unfair but apparently it is the law. It should be made clear prior by our tour guide or travel agency. There is a money exchange after security at the airport in the waiting lounge (30 feet from Customs in plain view) and she could have been directed to exchange it there. Not to confiscate it. If CUCs are not to leave the country you can bet that all 200 passengers in the waiting lounge had CUCs in their possession. There is a minimum 2 hour wait for flights and drinks, food, beer, crafts, liqueurs etc are all for sale in CUCs. In my view this incident is very bad for Tourist/Cuban relations and travelers to Cuba should remember this. [Details]

Dislike the place. Staff are not the most friendly.
Sometime obnoxious and rude.
Will never go back. Food atrocious [Details]

I will have a great time to visit Cuba. This hotel is very comfortable and clean.
Night show was very good and every day was different program. I recommend this hotel for everyone. [Details]

We're repeat customers to Ancon. We return because of the staff and the superior oceanview rooms (view, big balconies, access to beach). We also support a family of 5 in Casilda. This trip, end of June 12 days, 2104, was the worst we've had. Normally we make due with Cuban food and have never complained. Breakfasts are always good, the beach bar food was almost non-existent. Frozen pizzas and limited numbers. French fries once. Dinners were terrible. Unknown cuts of chicken (bone and gristle), oversalted everything. We love black beans and rice and even that was terrible. Mattresses in room need replacing. Pipes need to be unclogged. Lots of hot water this time though. Beach chairs all had cracks. Long bus ride from Santa Clara (which is even longer than previous Cienfuegos connection (2 hr bus ride), which we prefer. Seriously considering not returning. Probably only if flight is to Cienfuegos and will try hotel next door. [Details]

This is a wonderful, simple hotel, with a lovely beach, comfortable rooms with hot showers, tasty buffet and friendly staff. Tennis court ( we brought rackets and balls ) and snorkling were daily activities. Excellent excursions included hiking in the mountains and a visit to the coral reef. We love this hotel! Fourth time for us, and as it was the 500th anniversary of Trinidad, the town was full of music and celebration. Always friendly and very safe. [Details]

It was our third time going to this hotel. It was like coming home allot of the staff remembered us and were very happy to see us. No problems at all with the hotel. [Details]

Although I have stayed in Trinidad several times, this was my first time at Amigo Ancon. The hotel is a short ride to town and the mountains. The property was clean and reasonably well appointed for a Cuban resort. Many returning guests attest to its popularity. We stayed in the most expensive and newly-built rooms,and recommend spending the extra money. The facility was quiet and filled mostly with older guests, reflecting the time of year. There was plenty of food if not much variety. Staff were friendly, the beach, nearby mountains and beautiful historic Trinidad magnificant. I would not hesitate to recommend this facility to anyone. [Details]

I often travel to Cuba alone and Iusually meet many interesting people,usually at the hotel bars. The bars at ancon were not user friendly in that they were not coducive to encouraging such meetings. The lobby bar had only 4 tables and on the afternoon of Dec. 5 3 of the tables were occupied by very loud hotel employees (appeared to be management). The employees were there on other days also, it seemed to be at the end of their work day, but not in such large numbers. The sandwich bar next to the pool, while providing adequate seating had no shade in close proximity to the bar. The shaded sections were farther out and normally provided no service.
Otherwise I was pleased with with everything else I experienced at the hotel. [Details]

We booked last minute and didn't expect much for 3 star in Cuba; Such a nice surprise when we got here; the rooms are basic but the resort was clean quiet friendly, we made our own fun with other people, the restaurants hade great food and service everywhere was excellent, beach nice, pool nice. Nightly shows were top notch. No complaints at all and will definitely go back. Not much if you want to be entertained for kids. [Details]

The resort and region has a lot of potential! The rooms (upgraded) are spacious and come with a personal balcony, and there was nothing wrong with the bathrooms or water pressure (odd, but on a previous visit at another resort, the water pressure was horrible). There wasn't much hot water in the afternoon, however after spending the day in the sun, I looked forward to a cool shower.

The downside is that during the 'off season', which in my case was early August, the majority of the resort's restaurants and services close, meaning your only option for food was the buffet or grill. Additionally, since the majority of guests were Cubans, there were few English-speaking staff outside of the front desk.

The beach was fine (public beach, but I believe the security kept an eye out for the guests), except it was a bit pebbly / prickly close to shore. Once you waded in above your hips, however, it turned into perfectly smooth sand. Perfectly cool water too!

I'm sure this is a great place to visit, as long as it's during the high tourism season! [Details]

We've been to Cuba many times (2-4 star places) and at different times of the year, but this was our first time in Cienfuegos. We went for the "Superior Oceanview Rooms", which I would highly recommend doing - they are bigger, nicer, and (in our case) only $20 more. But even so, don't expect the Ritz. Mattresses were squeeky, the bathroom was slightly in need of repair, and the AC was noisy. But nothing too bad.

Drinks were always readily available - with good wine at lunch and dinner. The food selection was quite scarce, but no less than expected for 3 stars, and in the summer.

The great part about this hotel is that, unlike the neighbouring 4-star Brisas, this one was engineered in such a way as to let a breeze into just about all parts of the hotel. This proved invaluable for keeping the summer heat (and the mosquitoes) at bay. We visited Brisas several times, and while quite beautiful (and with a magnificent selection of food), the stifling heat was overwhelming.

The worst part: the locals. Given that this was mid-summer, the hotel was only 50% full at most. But of those people, 75% were locals. They generally keep to themselves, but sometimes you'll get things like people ordering 40 burgers at the snack bar for their family. Also, July 26th is an important holiday in Cuba, so the hotel staff invited a famous Cuban singer and had a concert. It was a success in that everything was just PACKED. The bad part was that this was all locals, all visiting for the day. We tried to spend most of that day as far away from the hotel as we could.

The best part: the coral reefs! The snorkeling here was just amazing. But there's a few things you should know:

1) Ancon has a nice, big, sandy beach. If you snorkel you'll see sand, seaweed, some shells, some stars, some urchins, jellyfish, and fish. But to get to the actual reef, you need to swim a good 1500 meters straight out into the ocean. You can also take the catamaran (it's free just to sail, but to go to the reef and have them wait for you while you swim, it's $10/p).

2) If you go out of the hotel, to the beach, and walk right, you'll see a small local beach, then Brisas's tiny beach, and then a bunch of other local beaches. BUT, if you walk all the way to the little peninsula that juts out after the local beaches end, you'll find the most amazing coral reefs, full of absolutely everything you can imagine, and starting about 30 meters from shore. From here, you can just keep swimming along in the same direction away from Ancon, along the shore, and you'll make your way to Costasur. This hotel has a small lagoon where most people swim, and beyond are more of the same, beautiful reefs. Depths range from less than a meter to a good 15 meters (obviously more too, but I just didn't swim further myself). Water clarity is impeccable.

OVERALL: Definitely don't recommend Brisas. Ancon was good, but for the same price, I would prefer to go to Costasur (and stay in the bungalows) to be closer to the reefs. I'll be sure to write about it when we go there next.

PS: Say hello to Jesus in the Cafe Bar in the lobby - he makes the best coffee cocktails. Tell him that the guy who won the Brisas barman competition sent you :) [Details]

I went for the scuba diving and the proximity to Trinidad. The diving did not disappoint nor did the city of Trinidad.
The small town of Casilda that is even closer than the city of Trinidad also has some good restaurants.
The hotel itself is not pretty to look at, having been built during the Soviet era but all the amenities are there and the beach is fantastic.
The diving is very good lots of tunnels to swim through and great hard and soft corals, marine life is present in abundance but the really large species were more rare.
The dive staff are incredibly friendly and very professional. All dives are boat dives with some just a 5 minute ride from the beach.
There are 2 small wrecks that are close to the hotel.
The food at the buffet is abundant and typical of any all inclusive resort. I did not try any of the a la carte choices.
The restaurants and paladars of Trinidad are the place to spend your evenings. I have visited many Cuban cities and Trinidad has the highest number of quality dining choices in the smallest area that I have ever seen.

I will certainly return. [Details]

If you want a clean room. This is not the place for you. We arrived to a very dirty room and waited 2 hours to have it cleaned. This was unacceptable as we arrived 2 hours late for check in. Staff are very corrupt here with connections to change foreign currenty at the hotel bank without a passport. Receipts for services or goods are avoided at all costs because then the staff can steal part of the money and ring the transaction in later. I saw this happen at the bank, reception, and the store. The coffee bar, pool bar, beach bar were good but during the week the liquor was watered down. The restarants are good as well and the beach was pretty good. You can stay at a much better hotel without all the staff problems for the same price. I would come back to Trinidad but not in this hotel! [Details]

Frequent visitor to this hotel. [Details]

beach good, food good, staff unfriendly
caribisol rep did not show up on time so that we could go on our excursion, they tell you to go morning of trip, sign up at go to Marina for 9am bit she came after 9.Other rep tried to accomadate us after seeing us sitting there for over half hour but did not help us in time to make it. Brochures posted telling us about departure,etc only in frnch or spanish. We speak english only and this resort did little yo accomadate us. Catarmorans and paddle boat guys were useless and kept most of it closed until we bugged them enough and then they opened it up. Often was not there after first hour. [Details]

too many people at this hotel to only have one buffet.
Beautiful beach, clean rooms, a short bus ride to Trinidad. definitly get the superior room. [Details]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my stay and would probably go again....
But...
Staff in the buffet dining room, front desk and all of the bars (notably except for the pool bar, Hector rocks!), where largely disinterested in dealing with customers and generally doing their jobs. This did not appear to be the case at the neighboring Breezes resort.
Food was repetitive and of limited verity though fresh and tasty.
The whole hotel seems to be in need of a coat of paint. The rooms look dated and things like doors and tiles are in need of replacement. [Details]

We are a bit disappointed for the plane ride from Toronto was delayed for more than 1 hour. The flight was so bumpy and the plane was outdated. The trip from the airport was almost 2 hours. The resort was clean, peaceful and and the beach was lovely. [Details]

exelent for 3 star hotel....24 hour service!!!! friendly staff...old city of
Trinidad 20 min drive ...hotel bus $2 both
ways!!! [Details]

This hotel is good value for your money. The food was very good, lots of variety. If you wanted to do lunch at the snack bar the sandwiches were good.
The beach is the best for swimming, snorkling or just suntanning. Most of staff helpful. Rooms are fine in superior section with small fridge in room and chambermaid staff excellent. [Details]

The hotel was good, a nice definate 3 star hotel. Rooms were modern, with all the requirements, clean and a 15 second walk to the beach. Food was ok and International Restaurant was very good. People were very nice. [Details]

This was my sixth visit to the Amigo Ancon. I feel as if I am family now. Most staff members know me by my first name. I have made some good friends in Trinidad, Cuba. The beach is fantastic, the rooms on the paradise side are great, the staff is amazing and yes the food can get a little boring after two weeks but you are in Cuba at a 3.0 star. Overall I would highly recommend the Ancon to anyone with an open mind willing to enjoy the life put in front of them. [Details]

The food was awful, there were flies everywhere in the dining hall, crabs all over the hotel (and even one in our room), the pool had algy on the bar seats, the beach smelled like eggs and was dirty. the staff was nice, but pushy into making you give them your stuff before we left.. overall, never again. [Details]

The hotel was exactly as we expected. The staff was very nice and friendly for most part. The food was not the greatest but I expected that before I went there. However, there are fishermen who will sell you freshly caught fish and lobster for dirt cheap. The view from the ocean view room is spectacular. Walking a few mins from the hotel will provide you with a much better beach. Overall quite satisfied with the experience. [Details]