My mate went to Cuba. Said the food was quite
Bland due to import restrictions etc and said to take own seasoning like salt, pepper and hot sauce. Not sure if that has improved yet
Not sure where your mate stayed but we never found this at all, in fact, opposite. On the complex, there were a number of restaurants to cater to all needs from high-end let's get dressed up to shorts and T-shirts. Even the bars around the hotel did snacks, pizzas, etc. and there was always plenty of cheese and crackers available. One bar we frequented you could get a beer and a pint of prawns.
We went in 2007 and the people were really friendly and the place was beautiful. We stayed at the Playa Pesquero Hotel just outside Guardalavaca. The hotel was in a large complex that had entertainment in different areas to suit everyone's taste. The only downside was you had to book which restaurants you wanted to eat at earlier in the week.
When we first arrived we were advised not to go off the complex but on our first night, a cockney lad pinched our camera and this made us go into the local town to try and buy a new one. Whilst looking, we stumbled across a market and came across some steps to a beach. I have heard people describe beaches like the Bounty adverts but this beach was. The wife and I were the only two on it as we walked paddling along the edge of the sea. We both sat down to look at the sea and before we knew it, three staff from another hotel came running down and brought us two deck chairs and a table. We weren't even staying at this hotel.
Later that same day we saw a local bar on the beach and decided to have a beer and something to eat. The locals were taken aback by this and questioned if we wanted directions to one of the hotel bars. We sat and ate grilled plantain (similar to a banana) cut from the tree with the locals and each of them made us feel really welcome.
I do a lot of fishing and had exclusively booked a charter boat for my wife and me to go Marlin fishing. The day before, a Welsh guy who we got to know had been out and everyone was seasick due to the rough seas. He stated there were six boats all out fishing near each other and the waves had been that high they couldn't see another boat. On the morning of our charter, I was sitting at the reception waiting to be collected and got a message stating it had been cancelled due to the rough seas. The reception manager noting my disappointment asked me if I wanted to go fishing in a saltwater lagoon and booked this for us and arranged transport.
The transport dropped us at the edge of this reserve and we were greeted by our guide Peter. Peter explained that we would need to go on horseback to where the rowing boat was moored and then he would row us to where we would fish. We spent a good three hours fishing catching all kinds of fish before heading back and riding back up to the stables. Once there, our guide asked us if we wanted to eat the fish and if they could share dinner with us. Before long, we eating freshly caught fish and grilled bananas that he cut from the tree. Your food doesn't come fresher than that. He also produced a bottle of hot chilli sauce that blew my head off to the guide's amusement. The price of this activity came to the equivalence of £14 each. You couldn't go horse riding in this country for that price. I would also say this is one of the best excursions I have ever been on and we both look back on it fondly.
We visited Santiago (well worth a visit) for the day and received a guided tour around the town. We drank mojitos in a hotel that Hemmingway frequented but if you listen to the locals, he was drinking in every bar in every town. On our way to Santiago we had to go off the beaten track due to the road being washed away due to hurricanes earlier in the year. This route took us through shanty towns and you could see how the locals lived. What I would say though, is all the kids were spotlessly clean and attended school, with the latter being their meal ticket to a better life.
Acklam_Lad has mentioned that there are two currencies and also leaving toiletries for the maids. We did similar and the wife even left the hairdresser, who was a qualified engineer (more money and perks in hospitality), her hair straighteners. I took my son's old football shirts and gave them to the staff. The locals were extremely grateful for these. The Canadians complained about the British being too generous both with items and tipping. The locals tended to favour the British because of this.
I would honestly say that the best part of my holiday was getting my camera stolen. This made us leave the complex and find new and exciting places, something we had been warned against before travelling.
