Blau Colonial Hotel

WARNING, DO NOT GO TO THIS HOTEL.
Entertainment staff fantastic, you can have a good laugh and joke with them. Bar staff are great if you give them a tip, if you don't prepare to wait a little bit longer.
The major problem with this hotel is the food. If you like cold food and uncooked meat then this is the hotel for you. I will not go into any more details as you might be sick, plus I am in dispute with Thomas Cook along with more families than you can count on your hands.
The beach is excellent, white sands, the sea in different colours and fish swimming around your feet. FANTASTIC.
The entertainment staff are great but the entertainment package is naff. A one hour show some nights then a disco until the early hours. I was in the disco area most nights as there was nothing else to do. Great you may say! Quarter to twelve at night and there were only three other families sat there all looking as happy as me.
The alcohol!!!!! Tasted ok, looked great, tasted strong, but why could you not get drunk from it??????
Well I could go on and on about this hotel but you would probably get bored reading. If you want my advice DO NOT GO TO THIS HOTEL.
I got a move after eight days to the NH Krystal which was 110% better.

We have just returned from a holiday at this hotel and although we had a great time, would not return.
The room was fine except ours was very noisy as we were so close to the disco. Would recommend requesting a quiet room. The rooms were well tendered and the maids were excellent.
The food wasn't fantastic quality but there was quite a good selection although they did run out of meat around 9pm some evenings. The a la carte restaurants were good for a change.
The staff in the hotel were very mixed. Some were very friendly and others were quite rude. They preferred the Canadians as they tipped all the time.
Another recommendation is to take your own cup with you for drink from the bar. The main bar in the hotel serves your cocktails out of small plastic cups, which drove me mad by the end of the holiday!
The entertainment was naff but you don't expect it to be fantastic. We were surprised how noisy the disco was in the evenings. Most people we spoke to went to the Cayo for a complete chill and did not expect this.
The pool area was nice with 3 different areas to lie around. It was quiet most of the day except when the entertainment started at 4pm.
The beach was fab white sand and the sea lovely and warm although it could get choppy. We were disappointed with the snorkelling though never saw a thing! Would recommend a catamaran trip for this.
We flew with Thomas Cook to Cuba in economy and to be honest wasn't that bad. The food was excellent and the flights were on time. Would recommend an upgrade if on offer though.

Sunday flight,Thomas Cook - Manchester, had 4 hour delay and offered £5 voucher for food / drink - which bought 2 coffees and 2 small sandwiches.
Upgrade to Premier well worth money - leg room, food, pillows / blankets.
Blau is still in need of major refurbishment - much of complex is "closed for refurbishment" - apparently had been for past 2 / 3 years although no sign of works being carried out!!
No hot water for 12 days out of 13 despite complaints every day, rooms lovely and large, big King size bed, mini bar - must be joking 1 beer, 2 soft drinks and these you had to ask for replacements each morning.
Lumpy pillows, bathroom with no door and "saloon style" swing doors to toilet area, also main wardrobes in bathroom.
Gym? What gym - better to have a jog on beach!
Food? In main buffet area was cold [breakfast/lunch & evening meals] and had to queue for specialities - 3 "specialist" restaurants -
Italian - food cold and undercooked.
Grill [El Yara] one slice of thin beef makes a "steak" ? Plus cold veg.
Fish Restaurant - bit better but again tepid food.
Pool area large, clean, plenty sun beds, lovely pool, but oh those entertainments - do they love to shout at every activity.
What happened to a quiet relaxing holiday? And not everyone appreciates loud thumping music all day long.
Beach lovely and clean, sea clear and perfect for a cool down, beach bar always friendly.
General amenities poor at Blau, piano bar best but small and soon gets full, outside nice "patio" bar but again lack of seats and pool bar short of staff.
No area to just relax and read a book, it's either into a bar or back to your room.
Overall - not in this world a 5 star, more a good 2 /3 star at best.
Think twice before this booking at the Blau Hotel [Melia Hotel just down road much better].
Thomas Cook should visit this hotel and re-grade it [they have it as 4 star! big joke!
And those loud Canadians - everything is "awesome" or "cool" .
Sorry, can't recommend this Hotel to anyone.

Hola everyone,
Lots of people will probably remember us Liver birds from Oct o6, we were the girls that took this resort by the horns and had nothing but fun!
We had a total blast at this resort, and gave the entertainment crew a run for their pesos, as the shows can become repetitive after the 3rd day.
Your holiday will only be what you make it, so if you intend to just sit about on the beach then you will see nothing and know nothing of the wonderful real Cuban people.
Jack, at the buffet restaurant, took us by taxi on his day off, to Moron, which is the nearest city to the Cayos and takes a couple of hours across the causeway.
We had a real traditional Cuban meal, prepared for us by his sisters, it was fantastic! We were able to see his dads woodwork shed and the very old tools still used for carpentry, not to mention the pig in the yard being fattened up ready for Christmas lunch.
We had nights out with some of the staff (not the entertainment staff, too many cheesy smiles from the dancers) to a local Cuban Club that was not a naff tourist club, but consisted of Cubans letting their hair down after working so hard all week.
Our advice to all would be make friends with the locals and they will look after you all the way.
Overall, the hotel was stunning, gardens stunning, beach OK, we only had 1 day when the beach was seaweed free.

Just come back from Cayo coco (Blau colonial). This is the third time I’ve been all inclusive first time to Kenya (Diana beach Resort) second to Sri Lanka (Neptune hotel) both these were 3* ratings so I thought five star this is going to be great. WRONG the Blau colonial wasn’t on the same planet. The food was the same most days in the buffet restaurant and if you were not in there early food began to run out. Every other day you had to wait for bread for toasting or butter to put on it, or wait for juice jugs to be replenished. One particular night I had to wait 15 minutes for the grill to get more chicken cooked because they only got out minimal amounts at a time. All the staff were great (overworked and underpaid) except the big guy in the piano bar he was just ignorant and so up himself. The entertainment was more or less the same every night but ok. The beach was full of seaweed. At the end of the day you get what you pay for. But I’m sure I spent £3500 for four of us not £350. Give this a miss!

Had a blast. Rooms were very nice and clean staff all friendly. The activity crew were lots of fun and included us in everything. I say play with them and they play with u this makes a holiday a good time too. The food was the good always clean and fresh no matter what time u were there, buffet staff very friendly to and prompt. I would take toys for the pool. Makes for a good time, Bartenders were fun and always smiling too with good service, I would go back to this resort at any time good value for your dollar. Once again a great holiday was had by all.

Fantastic!
We had such a laugh. The hotel is based on a Caribbean village and is lovely. Our room was spacious and clean. The air conditioning is a god send. There is also a fridge in the room, which is included in the all inclusive. You get a bottle of water, can of rola cola, can of rola sprite and a can of beer. You have to ask each day to have it restocked.
Our room was backed onto an area of stagnant water which we thought was responsible for the mosquitoes, but everyone in the resort were plagued by them so it made no difference really. We had all of the plug in mozzy stuff and all of the sprays etc from the UK, but it made no difference, we still got bit. The shop in the resort has a yellow bottle mozzy spray which works so just buy it there.
As mentioned before, most of the time you are given little plastic cups, so take a flask or an insulated cup with you.
The pool bar was the most fun, especially if Liber was working. He is such a lovely bloke and makes the best cocktails. Try a Singapore Sling, very nice.
The beach is right next to the hotel, you get fresh towels each day. The pools are lovely and suitable for children. Take inflatables and a ball etc for your kids. There are canoes and pedalos to use on the beach. I loved the fact that there are so many shelters and sun loungers available.
The food is OK, not fantastic but more than adequate. There is always something to eat. There is a 24 hour bar which provides sandwiches. Very handy if you have the munchies after coming out of the night club.
The staff in the resort are fantastic. They are so nice. When we left we gave trainers, tops, bikini's, toiletries. Everything is rationed over there and named stuff is very expensive. For instance the bar staff are paid 19 pesos a month = £13.30. We tipped every time we went to the bar or restaurant, but I think they prefer items as they have no facilities to buy things. They cannot get leather footballs, so take one over and leave it.
The trip to Havana overnight is £200 each and we couldn't afford it. We did the Trinidad Spectacular which wasn't very good. We were gutted to have lost 2 days in the resort.
People who did the dolphins and Havana all said it was good.
We just took English Sterling and changed it at the hotel. You cannot use US credit cards or dollars.
I would definitely go back to this hotel. There were quite a few people on their own. Everyone was so friendly they were never alone. We met lot's of lovely people, British and Canadian and will hopefully keep in touch.

Well what can I say, the hotel was lovely, clean and the staff were great so polite and Leber was fun. The food was great, lots of choice in the buffet as well as in the restaurants. Tip the staff as they do not get much money to live on and they are your friends for your whole holiday duration.
We did Havana overnight which is a must, just to see the real Cuba and we did the dolphin over night which is also a must. Snorkeling on Flamingo beach is great, you will be a bit puzzled with the beach when u get there as its a bit deserted but for snorkeling its great.
Weather was excellent but be warned we had one night of rain and the flying ants come in your room to hide and I’m not talking one or two. Overall a top holiday, we will go back definitely.