Cayo Largo - Things to know

Things to know

Here are some additional information and practical things to know. These information are from the documentation given by our tour operator representative at Cayo Largo, and also from my own observations and experience :-) There is many other basic information (language, currency, water, et.) about Cayo Largo and Cuba available in this website, at this page: About Cayo Largo

An All-inclusive
island! All the hotels in Cayo Largo offer a all-inclusive package. And also, if you stay at any of the 7 Gran Caribe hotels, you can eat or drink at any restaurant and bars of the other hotels, you can also make use of all the facilities, services and activities offered everywhere in the Gran Caribe hotel resort. People at the Melia hotel Sol Club also benefit from an all-inclusive package and can also have dinner at any of the 3 "a la carte" restaurants of the Gran Caribe resort, but a reservation is required. The same applies to the Gran Caribe guests who wish to eat at the Sol Club restaurants.

Medical services You can contact the hotel reception and the doctor will come to your room. It is also possible to see a doctor directly at the mini-clinic at Hotel Sol Club, Villa Iguana and Hotel Pelicano, or at the clinic in the village. Doctors are available 24 hours a day. Cost will vary depending on the time of the day and care received.
Prices in USD (january 2001):

At the hotel miniclinic : $25-$30
At the clinic in the village : $25-$30

In your room : $30-$50

Safety box: The safety box are inside the rooms, the key is available (at no cost) at the reception. If your safety box doesn't work you can take one at the reception.

Pools, beaches and
beach towels Every hotel except Villa Soledad have a salt water swimming pool. There are no private beaches. Clean beach towels are put in your room everyday, they are exchanged for the ones from the day before. At Hotel Pelicano, you exchange them at the club house near the pool.

Tipping They are of course at your discretion. Barmans and bus drivers all have a small tip basket. For the maid, it is recommended to leave it on the pillow. For the restaurant waiters and waitresses, you give the tip directly to them. At Cayo Largo, the common tip seems to be $1USD for most services, so be sure to have a good provision of one dollar bills! :-) Generally, people leave $1 per day for the maid, $1 every couple of drinks for the barman (not for each cocktail served), and also $1 for table service (restaurant). Small gifts, such as toiletries, medecine, clothes, nylon stocking, school supplies, etc., are also VERY much appreciated. And of course ...all of this accompanied by a nice Muchas Gracias and a big smile! :-) You may find your clean towels folded as swans or hearts! :-)

the buffets All the hotels, except Soledad and Coral have a buffet restaurant. Breakfast is served from 07h30 to 10h30, lunch is served from 13h00 to 14h45, and dinner is served from 19h30 to 22h00.

Grill restaurants (ranchon) and snack bar Thee is a beach Ranchon at Sol Club, Pelicano and Lindamamar. At the Ranchon of hotel Lindamar, you can order crayfish (langusta) for $20 USD. There's a snack bar near the pool at hotel Sol Club, hotel Pelicano and hotel Isla del Sur (bar medusa). They are opened all afternoon. There's also a pizzeria at hotel Villa Iguana, it's opened late afternoons and evenings.

"A la carte"
restaurants
(dinner only) In the Gran Craibe resort, there are 3 "à la carte" restaurants :

Restaurant Universal ___ Hotel Pelicano ___ International cuisine
Restaurant La Piazzoletta ___ Villa Coral ___ Italian cuisine
Ranchon ___ Hotel Pelicano ___ Cuban & creole cuisine
At Sol Club Melia, two à la carte restaurants :

Restaurant Las Trinas ___ Gourmet restaurant (specialties)
Restaurant SolAzul ___ Italian cuisine
Important: For all "à la carte" restaurants, you need to make a reservation. In January 2001, the reservations for all the restaurants were taken in the lobby of hotel Pelicano, in front of the italian restaurant at Villa Coral at 17h00, and at the club house of hotel Sol Club. They will give you a coupon to present at the door.

Shopping Cayo Largo is really not a shopper's paradise! There is a small boutique at every hotel (except Soledad) and one in the village. They are called Caracol and all have a similar marchandise (souvenirs, postal cards, a few clothes, toiletries, drinks, snacks, bottled water, rhum, etc.). At Hotel Pelicano and Hotel Sol Club you will find a cigars shop. At some hotels, usually in the evening, you may find tables near the restaurant or the bar with local handicrafts. Don't forget to keep a $20 USD for the departure tax! :-)

Beauty parlor
and massage A hair salon is located at Hotel Isla del Sur. Prices in january 2001 :
Braids : $25
Cut : $8
Shampoo : $3-4
Styling : $6-8
Manicurist : $6
There are 3 massage rooms, one at Hotel Sol Club, one at Hotel Pelicano, one at Villa Iguana. Prices in january 2001 (Villa Iguana):
Full body massage 40 min. : $15
Anti-stress massage 60 min. : $20
Local massage 20 min. : $10
Facial massage 20 min. : $10
Full body & facial massage 60 min. : $22
Mud therapy, full body 40 min. : $20
Mud therapy, facial 20 min. : $10
Mud therapy, local 20 min. : $10
Mud therapy, anti-cellulitis 10 min. : $10
Reflexotherapy 25 min. : $12

Customs and
black market Cigars bought on the black market and sea shells or corals found in your luggage when leaving Cuba will be subject to a $250-$500 USD fine.

People sensible
to sun For people who prefer to stay in the shade on the beach, please note that there are beach umbrellas only in front of the hotels and they go fast! On the other beaches there's no natural shade during all day, since most beaches face south. This is why some people prefer to bing a small beach umbrella with their luggage.

Roads There is only one main paved road, connecting the hotels with the airport and the village (marina), so it's impossible to get lost in Cayo Largo! There's very few traffic and driving is on the right side. Other roads are small sand trails, so take care if you rent a scooter!

Clothing During the day : light sport clothing and beach clothes. Evening: you may want to bring a couple of sweathers and long pants for the evening, especially between December and February when the evenings could be cooler. Generally, casual attire are worn all the time, but at dinner time and for the evening most people dress up a bit more.

Departure tax Do not forget that there is a tax ($20USD) to pay at the airport when you leave Cayo Largo.

An All-inclusive island!	All the hotels in Cayo Largo offer a all-inclusive package. And also, if you stay at any of the 7 Gran Caribe hotels, you can eat or drink at any restaurant and bars of the other hotels, you can also make use of all the facilities, services and activities offered everywhere in the Gran Caribe hotel resort. People at the Melia hotel Sol Club also benefit from an all-inclusive package and can also have dinner at any of the 3 "a la carte" restaurants of the Gran Caribe resort, but a reservation is required. The same applies to the Gran Caribe guests who wish to eat at the Sol Club restaurants.

Medical services	You can contact the hotel reception and the doctor will come to your room. It is also possible to see a doctor directly at the mini-clinic at Hotel Sol Club, Villa Iguana and Hotel Pelicano, or at the clinic in the village. Doctors are available 24 hours a day. Cost will vary depending on the time of the day and care received. Prices in USD (january 2001): At the hotel miniclinic : $25-$30 At the clinic in the village : $25-$30 In your room : $30-$50

Safety box:	The safety box are inside the rooms, the key is available (at no cost) at the reception. If your safety box doesn't work you can take one at the reception.

Pools, beaches and beach towels	Every hotel except Villa Soledad have a salt water swimming pool. There are no private beaches. Clean beach towels are put in your room everyday, they are exchanged for the ones from the day before. At Hotel Pelicano, you exchange them at the club house near the pool.

Tipping	They are of course at your discretion. Barmans and bus drivers all have a small tip basket. For the maid, it is recommended to leave it on the pillow. For the restaurant waiters and waitresses, you give the tip directly to them. At Cayo Largo, the common tip seems to be $1USD for most services, so be sure to have a good provision of one dollar bills! :-) Generally, people leave $1 per day for the maid, $1 every couple of drinks for the barman (not for each cocktail served), and also $1 for table service (restaurant). Small gifts, such as toiletries, medecine, clothes, nylon stocking, school supplies, etc., are also VERY much appreciated. And of course ...all of this accompanied by a nice Muchas Gracias and a big smile! :-) You may find your clean towels folded as swans or hearts! :-)

the buffets	All the hotels, except Soledad and Coral have a buffet restaurant. Breakfast is served from 07h30 to 10h30, lunch is served from 13h00 to 14h45, and dinner is served from 19h30 to 22h00.

Grill restaurants (ranchon) and snack bar	Thee is a beach Ranchon at Sol Club, Pelicano and Lindamamar. At the Ranchon of hotel Lindamar, you can order crayfish (langusta) for $20 USD. There's a snack bar near the pool at hotel Sol Club, hotel Pelicano and hotel Isla del Sur (bar medusa). They are opened all afternoon. There's also a pizzeria at hotel Villa Iguana, it's opened late afternoons and evenings.

"A la carte" restaurants (dinner only)	In the Gran Craibe resort, there are 3 "à la carte" restaurants : Restaurant Universal ___ Hotel Pelicano ___ International cuisine Restaurant La Piazzoletta ___ Villa Coral ___ Italian cuisine Ranchon ___ Hotel Pelicano ___ Cuban & creole cuisine At Sol Club Melia, two à la carte restaurants : Restaurant Las Trinas ___ Gourmet restaurant (specialties) Restaurant SolAzul ___ Italian cuisine Important: For all "à la carte" restaurants, you need to make a reservation. In January 2001, the reservations for all the restaurants were taken in the lobby of hotel Pelicano, in front of the italian restaurant at Villa Coral at 17h00, and at the club house of hotel Sol Club. They will give you a coupon to present at the door.

Shopping	Cayo Largo is really not a shopper's paradise! There is a small boutique at every hotel (except Soledad) and one in the village. They are called Caracol and all have a similar marchandise (souvenirs, postal cards, a few clothes, toiletries, drinks, snacks, bottled water, rhum, etc.). At Hotel Pelicano and Hotel Sol Club you will find a cigars shop. At some hotels, usually in the evening, you may find tables near the restaurant or the bar with local handicrafts. Don't forget to keep a $20 USD for the departure tax! :-)

Beauty parlor and massage	A hair salon is located at Hotel Isla del Sur. Prices in january 2001 : Braids : $25 Cut : $8 Shampoo : $3-4 Styling : $6-8 Manicurist : $6 There are 3 massage rooms, one at Hotel Sol Club, one at Hotel Pelicano, one at Villa Iguana. Prices in january 2001 (Villa Iguana): Full body massage 40 min. : $15 Anti-stress massage 60 min. : $20 Local massage 20 min. : $10 Facial massage 20 min. : $10 Full body & facial massage 60 min. : $22 Mud therapy, full body 40 min. : $20 Mud therapy, facial 20 min. : $10 Mud therapy, local 20 min. : $10 Mud therapy, anti-cellulitis 10 min. : $10 Reflexotherapy 25 min. : $12

Customs and black market	Cigars bought on the black market and sea shells or corals found in your luggage when leaving Cuba will be subject to a $250-$500 USD fine.

People sensible to sun	For people who prefer to stay in the shade on the beach, please note that there are beach umbrellas only in front of the hotels and they go fast! On the other beaches there's no natural shade during all day, since most beaches face south. This is why some people prefer to bing a small beach umbrella with their luggage.

Roads	There is only one main paved road, connecting the hotels with the airport and the village (marina), so it's impossible to get lost in Cayo Largo! There's very few traffic and driving is on the right side. Other roads are small sand trails, so take care if you rent a scooter!

Clothing	During the day : light sport clothing and beach clothes. Evening: you may want to bring a couple of sweathers and long pants for the evening, especially between December and February when the evenings could be cooler. Generally, casual attire are worn all the time, but at dinner time and for the evening most people dress up a bit more.

Departure tax	Do not forget that there is a tax ($20USD) to pay at the airport when you leave Cayo Largo.