Our southern trip was late this year, going to Iberostar Ensenachos in Cuba the week starting April 11, 2017. The reason was that we went with a large group of family for an anniversary celebration and the wedding ten years ago also took place in Cuba in April. Still, the weather was crap in Southern Ontario right up until the day before we left so it was a welcome escape.
Last January, we went to Memories Paraiso Azul Beach Resort in neighbouring Cayo Santa Maria. Cayo Ensenacho is a much smaller island and houses just the Iberostar resort. Ensenachos was less crowded and more compact that the Memories resort. However, not that much less crowded. According to those that had been there before, it was the busiest they’d ever seen it. The staff seemed to be trying but really seemed to be overwhelmed with what must have been a booked to capacity resort.
One other difference from last year’s trip is that this year we went with Air Transat. Last year, it was with Sunwing. You fly into the same airport, regardless of airline. Abel Santamaria Airport in Santa Clara, Cuba is around 100 kilometres from Cayo Ensenacho. This equates to an hour and half bus ride on Cuban roads.
Air Transat doesn’t serve a snack on the flight, unless you pay. Sunwing gives you an airplane meal and a cheap, small glass of sparkling white wine. I found the Air Transat rep to be much easier to work with. And, Air Transat didn’t lose our baby’s car seat at Toronto Pearson and make us wait until 2AM before we could even start the drive home.
In fact, Air Transat is completely left out of the ‘Complaints Department’ section below. That part of the article is reserved for the resort and some pet peeves about cheap Cuban all-inclusive resort customers in general.
See our great video from the flight from Santa Clara back to Toronto: Air Transat Santa Clara to Toronto. The video shows the takeoff, flying low over downtown Toronto and the landing, coming in from the north beside downtown Brampton.
Why not book directly through Iberostar? Check out what deals they have to offer here: Iberostar Official Website.
Image Gallery
Resort Description
Cayo Ensenachos Beaches
Complaints Department
Iberostar Ensenachos Cuba Video
Iberostar Ensenachos Cuba Image Gallery
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Iberostar Ensenachos Resort Description
Iberostar Ensenachos is located on the tiny island of Cayo Ensenachos in the province of Villa Clara in Cuba. The island is part of the Jardines del Rey Archipelago and, more specifically, one of the Cayos de Villa Clara, along with Cayo Santa Maria and Cayo Las Brujas.
To get here, you must fly to Abel Santamaria Airport in Santa Clara, Cuba. Santa Clara is in the middle of the island and serves both resorts on the south coast around Cienfuegos (like Rancho Luna) and those resorts in the Cayo Santa Maria area. The drive from the airport is around 100 kilometres and can take up to an hour and a half drive.
The closest real Cuban city is Caibarien. The city is at the start of a 48 kilometre causeway that connects the mainland to the islands. There are no permanent residents in the Cayos de Villa Clara with all resort employees making the commute from Caibarien each day.
Iberostar Ensenachos is the only resort property on the island of Cayo Ensenachos. This is in stark contrast to Cayo Santa Maria which houses several large resorts. On Cayo Las Brujas, there are very large resorts set to open.
This resort is divided into three sections with a total of 506 rooms. The Park Section (family section) has 270 rooms, all in two story ‘bungalows’, uniquely shaped with access from a middle courtyard (see video). The Spa Section is adults only and has 190 rooms. The main lobby that houses the buffet, lounge, theatre and shops is in the centre of the resort with the Park section to the west and the Spa section to the east.
At the far end of Ensenachos Beach is the luxury villas of the Grand Village. There are 46 villas with butler service. This section has its own gourmet restaurant and is quite a distance from the rest of the resort. We walked down to this section and can honestly say that the beach for the Grand Village is the least attractive of the three main beach area.
We stayed in the Park section as there were several kids in our large group. The rooms were spacious with large bathrooms. There was a bathtub/shower with a separate stall shower – perfect for families. We were on the ground floor and had a large, private patio. The balconies above were equally as spacious.
The resort has the typical a la carte restaurants: Japanese, Italian, Mediterranean and Cuban. We went to the Mediterranean and Cuban. The Cuban could easily be skipped. The service was a little lackluster and the food was the same. The Mediterranean was much better food wise, had a more spacious layout and had an excellent view of the ocean. However, the washroom was an issue with it being completely out of commission one night. The walk back to the main resort and more washrooms is a good ten to 15 minutes.
Iberostar Ensenachos Beaches
There are two main beaches with lounger chairs and shelter. Megano Beach is closest to the resort with just a short boardwalk stroll from the bungalows. At one end it is quite rocky in the water. This makes this section a little rough to walk in but it is one of the only areas where you are guaranteed to see fish with a snorkel and mask.
The tides on this beach seem quite drastic. At high tide, the water is right up to the shelters. At low tide, the rocks that were underwater become little islets. There is a restaurant at this beach with seating and two bars. The drink service along the beach is exceptional and the lobby bar could take a few lessons from these guys.
Ensenachos Beach is a bit of a walk west, towards the Grand Village. The sand is softer and there are no rocks in the water. The depth goes down very slowly and you can walk out quite a distance, making it great for kids. There is a snack bar and drink service here, as well, but there is not the restaurant seating like at Megano Beach.
If you want to get away from the crowd, consider taking a hike east from Megano Beach toward the channel that separates Cayo Ensenachos from the next small island. There are no chairs or shelters and you will have to take your own drinks. However, the beach is just as nice and as you round the point into the channel, nature emerges. You will see some large birds in the Mangrove, many living Conch and other flora and fauna that are not present in the main resort.
Speaking of getting away from the crowds, the 27CUC fee for the VIP lounge at Abel Santamaria Airport is worth it. The price has gone up over the past year and the Canadian dollar is only worth about .70 of a peso right now, but the lounge is still a great way to end your vacation. Included are snacks and drinks (alcoholic and non) in a nice, peaceful air conditioned environment.
Complaints Department
Well, let’s start with the biggy. We got a four year old and a one year old up at 4:00AM to start our Tuesday journey to Cuba. Everything went without a hitch until we arrived at the resort some 12 hours later. At that time, we were told that they couldn’t check us in quite yet as our room wasn’t ready. Ours was the only one from the bus loads of guests arriving at that time. I should mention that check in time is 4PM.
So, we waited. The reasoning they gave was the the truck carrying clean sheets for the beds broke down. We stated that it didn’t matter, could we not go to the room, get unpacked and get our restless kids changed into bathing suits so we could at least wait by the pool. That was against policy and we had to wait until the mystery sheets arrived.
Other buses came and went. Happy guests were whisked away to their rooms with sheets on their beds. I kept my temper in check but if hadn’t become a bit stern with the manager, I truly believe nothing would have ever been done and we would have slept in the lobby.
Finally, the room was ready, 16 hours after rising that Tuesday morning. All was forgiven for the time being. But, being employed in the customer service sector often over my patchwork working career, I found it rather disappointing that there was no follow up from the resort to see if we were satisfied after the screw-up. In fact, each time I passed by the girls at the counter during our week stay, eyes quickly diverted from me and my family.
Besides that incident, the staff just seemed to be overwhelmed for the whole week, although they really did seem to try their hardest. As I mentioned, folks that had stayed previously were surprised at how busy the resort was. The buffet was over-crowded and popular food items ran out quickly. The lineups for food like omelets at breakfast sometimes amounted to twenty minute waits.
And then, the guests. It amazes me the micro culture that is created at all-inclusive resorts in Cuba. You don’t seem to see it in places like Dominican Republic and Mexico. Around the buffet and when it comes to chairs at the pool and beach, a good sector of the clientele is reduced to some primitive state. This happens more from guests that come from certain geographic locations.
At the buffet, please slow it down. Wait your turn like a civilized human being. You don’t need to run. You don’t have to get the kids to their soccer game. You don’t have to get home to sit in on a conference call. Relax. I had one woman beside me that was jabbing at food with tongs like she was stabbing a rabid animal.
And this shit about getting up at 7am to stake your claim on chairs at the pool and the beach! The resorts could probably manage this one a bit better but if you’re not sitting there, your towel and crap shouldn’t be sitting there.
A few years ago, we stayed at Sol Pelicano in Cayo Largo, Cuba. Without kids, we could actually take romantic walks on the beach at night. That was when we witnessed people putting shirts and towels on beach chairs at around midnight for the next day. With more than a few drinks in me, one night I went from chair to chair pulling all these towels and shirts and putting them in a neat pile by the stairs to the boardwalk. However, I’m sure I didn’t teach anyone a lesson and problem just got some maintenance guy at the resort in trouble.
Iberostar Ensenachos Cuba Video
The video is centered around the Park section, along with both the Megano and Ensenachos beaches. Being in a large family group, I didn’t get as much video as I usually do but I hope it gives you an idea of what the resort is about.
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Video edited with Corel VideoStudio Ultimate 2018.
