Adults Only

The bus ride to our hotel was uneventful aside from the tour guide, I’m guessing, who talked over the PA system about why we made the right choice in coming to Cuba for a vacation, mentioning the warm weather, the sunshine, and that there are plenty of activities to do.

After around 35 minutes, the bus dropped us off at the 5 star hotel resort called Melia Las Americas. The all inclusive adults only (18+) resort is located on an 18 kilometre strip of land that looks like a hook from the air. This strip in the of is strictly used for tourism and is the most populous in the with fifty resorts spread across the sandy coastline.

The spacious lobby, filled with many chairs, couches, and tables, was alit by Christmas decorations and several ceiling lights, as my family and I entered. We proceeded to the check in counter to claim our room reservation. Upon inquiry about upgrading to a junior suite, it would cost an extra 20 dollars per person each day. However, the check in clerk gave it to us without the extra charge. My guess was that she did it to be nice and maybe get something out of it. During the USSR times, this kind of informal agreement & transaction was known as blat, helping someone out to get ahead and/or to get something in return.

She handed us our keycards, safe key, and special bracelets which subtly indicates to staff that we paid for the all-inclusive treatment: free drinks at the 24 hour bar, access to the breakfast & lunch buffet, free beach towels, and 3 free dinners at any of the resort’s exclusive restaurants (Cuban, Italian, & Japanese).

A bellhop who spoke pretty good English took our baggage & lead us through the deserted resort to our junior suite, located near one of the pool areas, and not connected to the main building. The room has three beds, small kitchen, living room, closet & safe, washroom, and patio that looks towards the sea. The refrigerator is stocked with complimentary water, canned cola drinks & beer, which are replenished every day upon request. At first, I was surprised to see ‘two’ toilets facing each other in the washroom, making me think it was for conversation purposes. But upon closer inspection, one was a toilet and the other was a bidet. People still use such a device? I guess Melia Las Americas really goes all out to earn the 5 star rating.

With our bags unpacked and passports locked up in the safe, there was nothing left to do except freshen up and go to bed because we were tired from our travels, and it was the dead of the night. We could have gone to the bar for a drink but no one was in the mood for alcohol. Rest was needed to tackle the following day.