On the original row of resorts at Cayo Coco, Cuba, the abandoned resort stands out like a sore thumb. What was to be the Iberostar Cayo Coco has not brought in guest in for an all-inclusive vacation since 2011.
This area became a tourist destination in 1993 with the opening of the Guitart Cayo Coco. That resort still stands and is now called the Iberostar Colonial. The abandoned resort began as the El Senador and was partly owned by a group of Canadian investors that included Hockey Hall of Fame legend Serge Savard.
Renovations were supposedly underway. However, that all came to a halt when Hurricane Irma came to town back in September, 2017. I was able to photograph and take some video of the outside of the resort when we visited in April, 2019. I regret not pushing to get security to let me in for a better look.
Below are some photos, more detailed information and a video. By the way, on this latest visit, we stayed at the Hotel Playa Paraiso, located on Playa Flamenco.
Abandoned Cayo Coco Resort Video
The video below was taken from the outside of what once was the Emperador Resort. I’ve mentioned it over and over again since I returned from this latest trip to Cuba, but I really regret not trying to get inside. I’m sure that something as simple as a 20 Convertible Peso bribe would have been enough to get around the stealthy security guards.
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Video edited with Corel VideoStudio Ultimate 2018.
Abandoned Cayo Coco Resort Image Gallery
The images below were taken from just outside the property. For larger versions of the photos, simply click on the individual pictures.
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Emperador Resort
It’s a bit of a confusing history. First, it’s Cuba. Nothing is documented for the public. I’m certain that an abandoned resort is seen as a national failure and not something of interest. Second, all-inclusive resorts are an international mess. Ownership changes hands and country of origin at a pretty rapid pace (Of course, always 51% owned by the Cuban Government).
The El Senador was the first name of this resort. It was jointly owned by Cubanacan and a group from Canada. As mentioned, the face of that ownership group was Montreal Canadiens legend and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Serge Savard.
The Canadians sold their share in 2005. Somewhere along the way, it was (or may have been) called the NH Krystal Laguna Villas and Resort.
In its last years as an operating resort, it was called the Emperador. Iberostar stepped in in 2011 and it has never re-opened. It was to be operated together with the neighbouring Iberostar Mojito (which is still in business today).
As mentioned, some form of renovations were underway. However, Hurricane Irma came along in September, 2017. That cyclone devastated much of the north coast of Cuba and really honed in on Cayo Coco and Cayo Santa Maria.
So, now, it stands empty. The grounds are overgrown. Windows are broken. Mother Nature is taking over. In the Caribbean, Mother Nature works at an accelerated rate. I would doubt very much that this place can be salvaged.
Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma formed on August 30, 2017 and dissipated on September 13, 2017. At its worst, the highest wind speeds were 285 km/h or 180 mph. In all, 52 deaths were directly attributed to the storm. 82 more fatalities were indirectly related.
Irma comes in at the fifth most costly tropical cyclone on record. An estimated 64.76 billion USD in damage occurred.
Affected by this devastating hurricane were: Cape Verde, Barbuda, St. Bathelemy, Anguilla, Sint Maarten, U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas and the Eastern United States (mainly Florida).
In Cuba, Hurricane Irma made landfall on September 9 at the Camaguey Archipelago (Santa Lucia tourist area). At that time, the sustained wind speeds were 165 mph or 270 kmh.
Significant coastal flooding occurred along the north coast of Cuba. The storm surge at Villa Clara Province (specially the city of Cabarien) brought ocean waters inland as far as 1.9 km or 1.2 miles. Nearly 15,000 homes were completely destroyed and many more damaged.
Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo and Cayo Santa Maria receive the worst damage, as far as the tourism sector goes.
Cayo Coco, Cuba
Cayo Coco is an island in the Jardines Del Rey Archipelago, in Ciego de Avila province. The island is named for the White Ibis bird, locally dubbed the coco or coconut bird.
This island was once a hideout for buccaneers. A small fishing settlement existed here until 1955. Now, there are no permanent residents in Cayo Coco.
A causeway between the mainland and the island was opened on July 26 1988. The distance is 27 km or 17 miles across Bahia de Perros. This connects Cayo Coco to the closest city, Moron.
The first resort on the island was the Guitart Cayo Coco, opened in 1993. That resort is no the Iberostar Colonial Cayo Coco or Colonial by Iberostar. In 1994, and again in 1995, the resort was attacked with machine guns by exile group Alpha 66. No guests were harmed in the attacks.
There are now around 12 resorts in the Cayo Coco / Cayo Guillermo area, providing about 5,000 rooms. The plan is to increase this number to 32,000. That plan may erode away the appeal of visiting Cayo Coco.
The island is the setting for two of Ernest Hemingway’s classic works of fiction. These two include Islands In The Stream and The Old Man And The Sea.
