I know they're not Gov. shops, but what's the scoop on them? They list LCDH as places to reserve/purchase.

Basically it's a tourist trap. Why someone would buy from them, I don't know. They do sell Habanos s.a. products, but it's just not worth going somewhere other than the real deal if you ask me. It's just my opinion and others may have differing views, but from what I've been told over the years, this is pretty much a good way to sum it up. If I was you, I would try to get an exact answer out of RyJ otherwise you're probably going to get more opinions (like this post) than facts. RyJ should have an exact answer as to the info you're looking for.

I have a friend in Cuba who is the marketing manager for these shops, and have purchased authentic Cuban cigars from many of the Caracol shops. They have stores that are in most of the popular resorts.
Generally I trust the shops, but in Cuba, as elsewhere the buyer must beware. You have to know what the red flags are concerning counterfits.
The Caracol stores get their cigars directly from the factories in Cuba, which is not to say that a particular shop won't slip a few fakes into the inventory. Anything is possible!
Last year, in Cuba, Caracol sold 6 million US worth of Cuban cigars and 2 million in cigarettes through their stores.

Non illegitimus carborundum

Chigginsd,
Everything in Cuba is "The Government".

Caracol delivers cigars all over the island. You can thus get what you want where you want it.
Well almost.
They do not have all the brands and they deliver to specified shops that may be in hotels or shopping malls that are either very close to you or a bit farther.

Piles of people use this service. I do.caracol sa habanos de cuba

A lot of tourist destinations are very isolated and far from any LCDH and the hotel humidor may have a limited and poorly stored selection. Using Caracol is the solution.
QM
Quality does not occur by chance. It is the result of intelligent activities.

Caracol is a chain of stores. There is also a chain called "Tiendas Universal" and a couple of others. Tiendas Universal, for example, specializes in the casas de habanos, whereas Caracol specializes in souveniers. However, having that specialty does not foreclose them from purchasing cigars from Habanos, just as Tiendas Universal does.

Remember...the State controls the production of cigars, from paying farmers for their crops, to the factory production. Then the State sells the boxes of cigars to Habanos. Habanos then sells to whichever chain retails to customers, whether it is Tiendas Universal, Caracol, or authorized cigar shops in Zurich, Toronto, Hong Kong, or Sydney. It's just that the Caracol chain has other emphases.

___________________
Santa Cabilla...patron saint of Quericæstan. VIVE COULTER! VIVE CPD!

Generally a useful service if you're going to be at some resort area that doesn't have well stocked stores nearby. At least you will have assurances that the cigars you want will be delivered and held for your arrival.

don't forget the importance of the Rhumbos stands, LMAO

The Eternal Marxist

sometimes, one of the few vestiges when it comes to the all-important necessities of life. Water? Nah. Food? What for. RUM AND BEER!!! Bo...remember back in Oct/Nov 2001, Huracan Michele? Luckily, the one near where I was staying had beer...not the best, but certainly better than nothing. AND a planta (generator). Be on the lookout for counterfeit rum, too!! The people who work there have that type of job NOT for the money they earn from the state (maybe $15 a month, working 24 hours on, 36 off, then another 24...ricidulous)...they have those jobs to INVENT!! Instead of selling the rum the STATE gets for the stores (beer, too), they manage to buy it from a source where it 'fell off the truck' or was otherwise made elsewhere at a fraction of the cost, and then turn around and sell it for retail prices. Notice that all those places have cash registers, but they're used for little more than a receptical for the money, certainly NOT to reconcile the books and accounts. They'll routinely charge an extra $2 - $5 without flinching, and if you question it, the abusadores that they are, they'll look you in the eye and say, "oh, I thought you wanted 24 beers, not 12" and then you gotta argue with them about the change. The prices are odd, too, so unless you're fast, those overcharges go largely unnoticed...$1.65 for something, add it up real quickly in multiples, and it can be tough unless you're on it...so it SEEMS almost right when they ask for the money. The money goes DIRECTLY into the pockets of the people in on the scam, and they're ALL in on the scam. Everywhere you go...Di-Tu, Rhumbos kiosks, Pain du Paris, restaurants, bars...it's a problem of epidemic proportions. But what are the people going to do?? Jobs otherwise are worthless, and opportunities abound to take a few liberties with the out of town guests, AND their fellow countrymen. This is certainly nothing new and the thing about selling the stuff they get on the black market instead of the 'real' beer or rum is old hat by now. But the other problems keep getting worse and worse.

SO - that being said - always check the cap of the rum you buy...if it's a little loose, get another.

___________________
Santa Cabilla...patron saint of Quericæstan. VIVE COULTER! VIVE CPD!

Oh...and before you order something, ask the price first. One never knows what kind of tab they'll end up slapping on you, despite the customers' bill of rights they have listed alongside the register...

___________________
Santa Cabilla...patron saint of Quericæstan. VIVE COULTER! VIVE CPD!

Tiendos Universels

These stores are quite surprising.
Chips, chocolates, beverages, souvenires, clothes.

The cigars sold by them vary a lot. It could be a few cigars (almost nothing) to a separate room with a few thousand sticks pretty well stored.
Cigars by the stick or by the three or five pack. Maybe or maybe not by the box.
Everything from little to a somewhat convenient.
Sometimes a roller can be rolling there.

QM
Quality does not occur by chance. It is the result of intelligent activities.

Thanks for everyone's two cents. As confirmed by third-party sources, forum posts and my illustrious 20/20 hind-sight. This source should definitely be avoided. If interested in details shoot me an email.

ryJ... you don't have a picture of that can of weiners I brought..... jeje

Ya, bill padding, short changing... it never stops. Absolutely know the price before you order anything, anywhere. The Casa de la Musica on Galiano is the worst of the worst. They ALWAYS try and overcharge me for the rum + cokes by $5-$10. Then it's..."I'm new here" or "Sorry, I gave you the price for the Oro by mistake" or other sorry excuses.

Rum.... I always check the caps in the "smaller" stores. The only rum I buy outside the BIG estabishments is my peso rum, which you like so much. Ok, you hate it.

How about the Crystal (fizzy water) at Lung Kung that one time, ryj...

So far, so good. I know my Ron Corsario, Yucayo (not the slver), Refino..... lol

The thing is they just don't try and screw foreigners.

The trick is not to drink alcohol. It turns men into beasts. Beasts that can't count and get parranoid about it. LOL Ohhh awright.

However the brass tacks are when Scuba diving its always nice to get the full tank of air that you paid for and that the boat has enough gas to haul you back and forth.

Chickins.
I take it that you have not been to Cuba. What other "fun in the sun" destinations have you had the chance to honour with your illustrious presence.
Or was the 2 cents just a colloquial expression from your side of the tracks?

QM
Quality does not occur by chance. It is the result of intelligent activities.

yeeeeeeesssshhhhhhhhh!!! I do pass by them in the market when I'm there, and doing so always puts a wry smile on my face...

Fortunately, LaBatt's took control of the Crystal production (although I have heard stories about their 'sterilization' techniques and for that reason I'll never have tap beer there again, ESPECIALLY during those street parties and festivals), but for a while there, the stuff they were trying to pass off as 'beer' was worse than mere carbonated water. What puzzles me is why the ditched the original Hatuey recipe, then the Buccanero Blanco recipe, and now only have the Buccanero Fuerte (alongside the Crystal)...it gets people more drunk faster, so they pass out and can't buy more beer, but not before the consumers get belligerent and courageous and start fighting amongst themselves and feel the ability to take a few shots at tourists while they're at it. If the beer were of a lesser alcohol content, they would sell more because people would keep drinking, and the beer buzz would take longer to manifest. Alas...Cuban Economics 101(b).

___________________
Santa Cabilla...patron saint of Quericæstan. VIVE COULTER! VIVE CPD!

Oh...it's not that I hate peso rum...it's more like IT hates ME! I hate what it does to me! Too much room for surprises when this stuff they call 'rum' is dispensed from a large plastic vat that just keeps getting filled up rather than cleaning it out, and has an open top into which things other than the nectar of the gods that is what Cuban rum can be, have been known to be dropped...

___________________
Santa Cabilla...patron saint of Quericæstan. VIVE COULTER! VIVE CPD!

Mikey. You are correct. And as with 98% of the strings that go astray 'illustrious' was purely in jest.

So I take it that you understand that the Caracol cigar preordering and delivery service is OK.
I use it when friends go to Cuba. I order from up here, Caracol delivers and my friends pick them up.
(Not all friends are stogie hounds with the ability to root around all over Cuba for good smokes you know. That's what I try to do when I am there)

I take it you understand that LCDH's vary in variety, quantity and storage methods. Obviously some LCDH out in the sticks may get few customers. Others have much, much more traffic. Get it? You get to the closest one and they don't have a box of COROs or BBFs. Maybe no 3 packs of MC2 or 5-packs of Sig III

Same thing with hotel humidors attached to Universel stores. Some are fantastic, others adequate and others absent.

All the guys gave you good answers but they mixed it in with some yak yak yak.

QM
Quality does not occur by chance. It is the result of intelligent activities.