For Christmas 2015, my parents and I went to Cuba. First we flew to Cancun, Mexico and spent a day enjoying the beach and some awesome sushi at the hotel we stayed at. I was hoping to get a chance to swing by the Me hotel as their DJ last time i was there was fantastic, but alas no such luck.

We then flew into Havana, Cuba & when we landed we had a driver prearranged to pick us up & drive us to the resort in Varadero. Two and a half hours in the dark later, we arrived. The hotel really was like something straight out of the fifties- employee uniforms and all.

Now, like most millennials, my phone is attached to me. So when we left Mexico, my heart sank a little bit. I had zero service the entire time we were in Cuba, and internet was scarce… to say the least.

The hotel we stayed at was a 4 star resort and when i mean resort, it was one of the biggest freaking places I’ve ever stayed!

Here you can see the Cabana we stayed in. With air conditioning a master suite and my sleeping area in the living room, we were quite comfortable. Unfortunately my mother caught some sort of food poisoning in Mexico right before we arrived in Cuba, and spent days being ill. I had read on blogs about bringing your own toilet paper with you when out and about, LOL right? They weren’t kidding. TMI, but towards the end of our stay in Varadero my father also got sick so i had to go to the hotel reception and ask for a new roll of toilet paper which they then reluctantly delivered to our cabana.

My father booked well, because quite literally 200 meters away from out doorstep through the woods was the beach, and the beach was beyond beautiful. Now i’ve travelled to a handful of beaches- some were as beautiful as this but none had the same feeling. I somehow felt like i was on my own private island. There weren’t people selling unnecessary crap on the beach, not too many kids screaming and running around, and the over developed skyline didn’t exist behind the beach.

The water was a decent temperature, a little fresh to get in, but oh so refreshing from the warm sun-rays. Dad and I went sailing one day and the weather must have been downright ideal, because i’ve never gone so fast or through so many waves sailing before. It was fun! (Side story: Dad made a remark about being happy his wife wasn’t with us sailing, because she would probably have gotten sea sick, and the captain looked at me with a confused expression. HA! I had to explain that his wife = my mom.)

Other than that, I spent the four days working on my tan and reading books in the hammocks around the cabana. I also drank a number of virgin mojitos (so refreshing) and ate food at the various “restaurants” at the resort.

If you’re a foodie when you travel, Cuba is not the place to go. Now i will say, it wasn’t our hotel. The seafood we had was all fresh, and in the mornings the fruit at breakfast was delicious but they do not have spices. I don’t even think they used salt or pepper. My 10 year old self would’ve loved it- but my palette was bored.