Breezes Jibacoa Reviews

Arrival:
We are seasoned travelers. This was only our 2nd visit to Breezes Jibacoa, and certainly not our last. Again stayed for two very pleasant and relaxing weeks early Apr. Drive from Varadero airport took 45 mins. Airport is nicely renovated, with closed smoking rooms, but weird how washrooms do not have toilet seats. Resort is situated approximately halfway between Varadero and Havana. Isolated except for Cameleon Villas Jibacoa resort next door.

Rooms:
The resort is still quite clean and well maintained despite it's age. Our maid did a fair job of keeping our room clean, and everything worked very well. There is only one tiny dresser in closet, however there are a lot of hangers. Fridge stocked with 2 bottles of water and nothing else, neither is it restocked. Saving the environment is important to the resort, and therefore your towels and sheets will only be replaced if you request it. Face cloths are not provided. Our linens were a bit thin, but very clean. Beach towels are new and thick. Bed was very firm, no cushioning; pillows were fine. Found blow dryer not powerful enough. All outlets look like 110V but are 220V. Provided with a small transformer, however you need to bring an adapter or you will fry your curling iron etc if you plug into outlet as is. If you have serious hip or knee mobility issues, be warned that it is a bit of a step over and into the tub. Providing guests with umbrellas would be nice as there are no covered walkways.

Restaurants and Bars:
Food was overall very good for Cuba, plenty of choices to please just about everyone. Rabbit, calamari and fish seemed to be an almost every day dinner staple. Was not my thing, but did manage to find something else to eat. Hot food is kept very hot as pans are sitting on burners, can see food bubbling. I did find the french toast was under cooked on the inside. Tap water is drinkable, and that is what is served to drink and as ice cubes. Ginger ale available. Contrary to some other reviews, you can get more than 1 glass of house wine at dinner.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach, this a snorkelers beach. Not as many fish varieties to see as my husband had hoped for, but he did see a few new ones to add to his list, including a scorpion fish just off shore. The different kinds of coral was also beautiful. Even if you are not a snorkeler, you will be amused by fish even at waist deep. Hardly any area where you can swim easily, unless you walk down to the left. Water shoes are recommended as you will encounter anything from tiny pebbles to big stones along most of the stretch of beach. Lots of chairs and shade (mostly from grape trees) available at the beach. The trees were blooming during our visit, but the bees did not bother the guests sitting under trees. Three palapas fell over during our stay, and were not replaced. Many of them desperately need re-thatching. Lounge chairs are hard plastic and horribly uncomfortable on the back and hips. Same type of chairs they have always had, and unfortunately they will not be replaced soon as they look new. You would think with most guests being over 50, the resort would have their guests' comfort in mind. Bring a yoga or foam mat. Washrooms are located on back side of grill restaurant. There were several dogs walking the beach. They do not bother anyone, just lie in the shade. One female in particular, white with black spotted head is extremely friendly and very gentle. These poor critters are hungry for any handouts of food for fresh water.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Watched only 2 shows, both were very good, Cuban and magician. They begin at 9:15 instead of the typical 9:45 at most other resorts.

Other Comments:
Service was very good from every staff member. The only 2 areas where we found them to be a bit cold was at reception, and one female bartender. Not a big deal as service was still provided, even if not with a smile. Special thanks go out to Nelson for cooking the perfect eggs and for remembering just how I liked them. Mildred, our Sunwing rep was also pleasant.

Guests were fellow Canadians, Brits and Germans. As this is a 14+ resort, there were no screaming kids. The only kids we would see and hear would be a few local folks who would use the beach. And yes, some of these people will be selling a few trinkets, or may ask you for toiletries or clothing. Honestly, they are not a problem. Look through your closet and toss a few items into your luggage to share with them. They are looking to trade, and not for monetary handouts.

Did get a few bug bites, believe they were sand fleas. Not a real problem with anyone we saw. Neither did we get sick, nor did we hear of anyone else feeling ill.

Exchange rates were 1.03 from Cdn dollars to CUC, and 1.14 from US dollars to CUC. Cubay brand liqueurs were cheaper at resort at a cost of CUC 3.10 for .7L compared to tiny bit more at airport.

We are looking forward to our return to Breezes Jibacoa. It is not the fanciest resort we have been to, but it had everything that we needed to have a wonderful laid back and quiet holiday.

Lastly, thanks to Debbie and her team for their work on a wonderful site.

We have been returning, annually, to Breezes Jibacoa, for a two week winter vacation since 2006. Never once has the resort disappointed. Some past guests complain that they don’t go back because it’s “not like it used to be”….thankfully so, in our opinion. One would hope that resorts grow and improve rather than remain stagnant. Breezes Jibacoa continues to improve over the years whether it is improvements around the property or ways of catering to the guests.

Room Number:
Oceanview Suite #2204

Room Block:
Oceanview building #14

Arrival:
Our latest visit was during the period of February 5th - 19th, 2012.
Flight: direct out of Vancouver via Air Transat with Club Class seating. Although we have used Air Transat for quite a few of our trips, for next year’s vacation we will be looking at Air Canada. We have been very dissatisfied with Air Transat’s flight schedule out of Vancouver the past 3 - 4 years. They seem to get worse and worse. Over this time period, the departures have been late evening resulting in arrival at the resort pre breakfast time and departing the resort around 1 or 2 am to return home. As a result, you start your vacation exhausted and arrive back home the same way. Not a great start or end to a vacation. Air Canada, on the other hand, has a much better schedule and, if it holds for next winter, we will be booking with Air Canada Vacations. We’ve heard great things about their Executive Class.

For this trip, we arrived in Varadero at 3:45 am and were quickly through Customs. As we were flying Club Class, our bags were tagged “Priority” and, amazingly, it worked. The Club Class bags were the first to hit the carousel and we were quickly through and onto a bus for the drive to the resort. We had a 45 minute wait on the bus for other guests going to Breezes and the resort next door, Cameleon Villas. Since everyone was so tired, we got in some snooze time while we waited. The drive to the resort is about 45 minutes in a comfortable bus. If you are thirsty, buy some cold beer or sodas from the vendors, out where the buses park, for your drive to the resort. We arrived at the resort just before 6am and within 15 minutes were checked in and a hotel porter placed our bags on a gurney and escorted us to our room. There is at least one porter on duty 24/7 so there is no need to pack your own bags to your room unless you don’t want to wait for the service. If you don’t see a porter, ask at reception for assistance with your bags. Note: you can make prior arrangements with Reception to have your bags picked up from your room at a pre-arranged time on your day of departure. If you do decide to pack your own bags to and from your room, please take care not to bang the bags on the stairs, cracking the tiles.

Rooms:
Accommodation:
OCEAN VIEW SUITE: # 2204 Building #14. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the suites have been revamped and the bedding, etc, is a fresh improvement over what had been there prior years. The pads for the lounges, on the balcony, now have vinyl upholstery rather than cloth which makes much more sense for outdoor furniture. The suite amenities are as follows:
· separate living room/dining room/kitchenette and bedroom
· a full bathroom off the bedroom and a half bathroom off the living area
· two large closets; one in the entrance hall and one off the bedroom
· fridge with small freezer, sink and cupboards in kitchenette with a stock of wine glasses, water glasses, cups and saucers, carafe, coffee maker. The fridge is restocked daily with juices, beer, sodas, small bottles of still and sparkling waters. Large bottles of still & sparkling water are replaced as needed. There’s a bottle of rum and a bottle of red wine provided.
· Dining area has glass topped table and 4 chairs
· Living area has two large chairs with large foot stool, table, TV. with DVD player (the DVD player is a new addition to the amenities)
· Bedroom has large king size bed, night tables, vanity/desk & chair, TV., 6 drawer chest of drawers for clothes, safe in the closet, love seat, a full bathroom and sliding patio doors leading to a double sized balcony .
· The balcony has two seating areas: two wooden chairs and table outside the living room area and two lounges with cushions and table outside bedroom. As well as accessible from the bedroom, patio doors, also, lead of the living room.
There are 10 suites at the resort all located at the end of the second floor of the ocean view buildings. There are six ocean view buildings and all have 2 suites each except for buildings #10 & 11 which have one each.

Restaurants and Bars:
There is a new food and beverage manager and he is doing an excellent job, in our opinion. The buffet food shows more variety and was consistently replaced as dishes emptied. Wine is now offered for sale and is displayed outside the door to the buffet restaurant. I wish I had known about this new feature prior to our visit as I stock up at Duty Free and pack wine down with me. The selection at the resort proved to be quite good and the prices far better that what I paid at Duty Free! You can purchase the wine in any of the restaurants to have with a meal and have it charged to your room or buy it to take to your room. We hope they continue with this feature. NOTE: FREE WINE IS STILL PROVIDED WITH MEALS AS PART OF YOUR PACKAGE.
The only grumble we had about the wine sales was that not everyone was on the same page when it came to providing information. I guess the feature was so new that the wait staff was still on the learning curve. When you asked a question, you tended to get different answers from different wait staff; somewhat frustrating.
Another new feature is a “special” table that has been set up in the table area below the buffet restaurant beside the fountain. The table is beautifully laid out with a white linen table cloth and red napkins and matching white covered chairs and a special menu from which to order. We didn’t have the opportunity to try it out, this visit, but it’s on our to do list for our next stay. It’s clear the new manager is trying to take things up a notch and kudos to the attempts to date.

Because the resort was full, booking the ala cartes proved to be a challenge. It is really annoying, when you are in the ala carte and it is half empty, to find out that people who booked didn’t show up. If you book and change your mind, have the courtesy to cancel the reservation so that others can take advantage of the ala carte. TIP: if you can’t get a reservation, go to the ala carte about 15-20 minutes after a given reservation time (i.e. 7:15-7:20 p.m.) Reservations are only held for 15 minutes and, if someone fails to show up, you will have a good chance of being given their table.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Roberto (waiter at the Ranchon) has opened his restaurant in Santa Cruz del Norte called “Los Amigos”. We had lunch there with two other couples and the food and service were great. Do check it out, if you want a treat.

Private taxis are now allowed to pick up passengers at the resort and you will find them lined up on the driveway. If you want a ride to Havana or other location, wander up and chat with the drivers and make your arrangements.

Other Comments:
What hasn’t changed is all the great workers at this resort. Many have been there since the resort opened. We’ve read comments by some past guests that return guests get “special treatment” inferring, conversely, that first time guests do not. This just isn‘t true.
If it’s free upgrades that’s being referred to as special treatment, well, we know of both return guests and first timers receiving this perk. If it’s how you are treated by the resort employees, I feel you get what you project. Whether you are a return guest or first timer, if you are friendly and courteous with hotel employees, you will be treated in kind. If you are cold and demanding, you’ll get service but don’t expect bonhomie in return!

We would recommend this resort for adults looking for a small, quiet, friendly resort. If you have mobility issues, you will not have any problems getting around this resort. We would NOT recommend this resort for teens. Although 14 and over are allowed, it really doesn’t cater to young teens. If you have kids that age, you are better off looking at resorts in Varadero. We’ve only seen a couple of young teens at the resort, over the years, and they were bored silly because they had no one their age with whom to hang out.

All told, another fantastic vacation at Breezes Jibacoa and we look forward to returning next February.

Photos: http://s103.photobucket.com/albums/m157/cigarbreak/Cuba%202012/Breezes%20Jibacoa%202012/

To access the photos, the password is bj2012

Medical Facilities:
I now have first hand knowledge of the medical facilities provided at the resort after cutting my hand quite badly a few hours after our arrival. There is a medical clinic on the resort grounds manned by a doctor and nurse 24/7. This was fortunate for me has I was bleeding profusely. The doctor quickly tended to my wound giving me 4 shots to numb the area and 6 stitches to close the wound. He ordered a prescription of antibiotics for me to take and I had to return, daily, to have the wound checked and cleaned and then the stitches were removed a week later. The wound treatment cost me 25 CUCs (including the two weeks of daily visits) and the prescription was 26 CUCs. I was very impressed by the service provided by the clinic staff but sad to see how under supplied. I know what I’ll be packing down next visit as an expression of my appreciation for how they treated me.

Photos: http://s103.photobucket.com/albums/m157/cigarbreak/Cuba%202012/Breezes%20Jibacoa%202012/

This is my favorite resort so far,out of three that i have stayed at in cuba,very clean and friendly.Lot's of relaxing time,all so entertainment.Food was very good.

Room Number:
08

Many people to not realize that Cuba is not as fancy as other places, it is a “back to nature” place, so a four star in Cuba many not be the same as a four star in Bahamas on Jamaica. No marble castles here. However, the food is good, the beds are clean, and the local people are very kind and happy to please if you ask. Breezes Jibacoa is a very quiet resort, away from everything. Vivian, the Guest Relations Manager was great, she was always checking that everything was “just right” with all the clientele during the week we stayed. Meals were tasty, thank you Chef Oreville for the wonderful menu. Several nights had a theme night. One night was a Mexican theme and they had the best guacamole I have ever tasted. They make their own tortillas, and the fajitas were delicious. Tuesday had a roasted pig on the beach during lunch, Wednesday, night they served grilled lobster. Friday night was Gala Night, an excellent roast beef carving table. The “al a Carte” dinner at Martino’s was also wonderful – I recommend the filet minion, and tiramisu for dessert. After dinner go up to the piano bar for a Spanish coffee. We are scuba divers – unfortunately due to the daily bit of rain each day, the dives were “so so”. I recommend the deep dive at 8:30 AM. There is no Internet in the room, but there is a small “cyber cafe” upstairs. Mornings were hot and sunny until about 2 PM, then a few hours of rain, which would stop before dinner time. I was told by the staff that it will dry up again over the next few weeks, but pack an umbrella just in case. We took a day trip to Havana which was great fun as usual. For the first timers...Cuba is a safe place...here are my tips: bring a travel cup for the beach, tips: one peso is enough to tip for meals, or drinks, (a bit more for the a la Carte dinners). Bring wet wipes as toilet paper off the resort seems to be scarce, every public washroom has a lady inside looking for some spare coins. In Havana there are many people looking for money, even to take your picture (just say no). If you stay in a lower floor room, put a towel in front of the door each (inside) night before bed, so “nature” does not come in, uninvited. The staff (Gardeners, Housekeepers) always appreciate a little gift, something from the Dollar Store...chocolate, pens, colouring books, toothpaste/toothbrushes, shoes, gently used clothing, etc. Also things like headache and cold pills are much appreciated. For anyone reading this that has access to computer parts....Juan, and his band are the local evening musicians on site there a few times a week. Juan is a music teacher, and would love if someone brought a few items for the school he works at - he needs a USB External Hard Drive, as well as an HP22 Colour Cartridge. They appreciate old computer parts, cables, video cards, as they use them to re-build the school computers. Also, he appreciates American Country music CD’s. Great time, we are looking forward to our next trip in April.

Room Number:
1109

Room Block:
2

Our 3rd time to this resort. Love it.. Great staff and nice smaller resort. We had a lot of rain but still had a great holiday. Allacartes are amazing . Read relax and enjoy .. Fantastic week... Returning this October for a week for our 50th wedding anniversary.

Rooms:
Clean and pleasant

Restaurants and Bars:
very good

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
enjoyed

Super super excellent, okay maybe i haven't been to that many places, but this was so great, in fact we will go back, and maybe catch up to the 50 times another couple have been going back there. the place is smaller, but that what we liked, the rooms are just rooms and did the trick, again you hear about the ac and how it is not the best, but we did get through the nights best kind, it's not like it boiling in the rooms or anything, just leave it all all the time and close the doors and patio door too keep cold in. food was so great, but we eat most time at the buffet, breakfast was usually always the same, but not complaining, loved the fried pineapple, try it. the pool was great the beach was so excellent for snorkeling, just find the right, and don't be afraid to go out a ways, just take life jacket, but the beach was not as clean, again, just wear sandles. people get so picky with stuff and don't stop to really appreciate where they are and how to really smell the roses. the entertainment was better then other resorts, but you got to love it all, especially when you get away from the wear and tear of life. i hope this was helpful, ps do the tour to matanzes and the caves, and snorkeling, it was great, next time i will bring some dog treats haha.
ps don't book your room in buildiing number one, or two it was a little smelly,because of the (honey truck business) if you know what i mean, sewage. block 6 and 9 looked super great.

Room Block:
1

Arrival:
april 11 to 18

As a travel agent I do visit many hotels in different countries.
This is a great spot for couples, nice, smaller size, quiet, clean resort.
Being isolated, this hotel is interestingly situated half way between Varadero and Havana and makes it perfect for visiting.
Do not expect parties as this is a quiet and "older" clientele resort.
Quality of food excellent and staff very helpful and knowledgeable.
Tks Viv and all the staff
MRS Josée

Room Block:
14

Great value for money...nice,comfortable,quiet place with lots of free activities should you want to keep busy morning to night....great tasting food in large variety and quantity available almost 24 hours a day...good varied themed shows every night...treated like king by staff,that you tip them or not....120 CUC (1$cdn=1$cuc) will get you a great guided-or not- visit to Havana from 9am to 11:30pm (or 70 CUC for 9am to 5pm) with great knowledgeable local guy with nice private car---just ask lady servers at lobby bar for a `reservation`...one of them will set you up (not affiliated with resort). He will accomodate your every wish(safely)... he will take you by the hand to visit Havana if that is want you want or let you loose with directives and meet you at the other end of town if you want!---We took guided tour in morning them took him for lunch for a nice "informative discussion about the real Cuba". He then let us loose for the afternoon, then picked us up for a drive to a "real cuban restaurant" for nice dinner,then let us loose again, then found us a "real Cuban bar" with live music...most memorable day for all! We also rented a small motorcycle for a day to visit area and small towns on our own without a guide..great fun...The coral bed right at beach..just walk in with your snorkel,mask and fins(best to bring your own for a no waiting experience at dive center)---overall, if you are reasonable with your expectations..this is Cuba after all..not the land of plenty...you will be pleased with your vacation at this resort..and like us..look forward to another visit to the same place again...a little paradise when compared to a lot of the resorts located on the tourist strip in Varadero!

The friendlyness apond arrival was great, the staff very helpful,,,

Room Number:
1812

Room Block:
3

Arrival:
very well , the staff always happy and helpful

Rooms:
the rooms are clean and bright,, all though on the net says that in ocean rooms you get beer and wine in fridge,, the only thing you get is water, pop but there are places close by to get all the drinks you would want,, only one little bottle of shampoo,, and if you dont fill out daily replacment supply you dont get until you fill out form.

Restaurants and Bars:
the service is great,, cubian food little plain,, take your spices, alot of differant dishes,, to choice from,, always a friendly smile .

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
the grounds are beautful very clean,, the many ashtrays on grounds,, never dirty, the grounds keepers do a very good job,,,

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
nightly shows at 9pm always intersting and good,,, we went to Havana for the 2 day outing to the city and tropicana show very well orgaized trip

Other Comments:
do the Havana city tour ,, orrent a scooter and go a tour of your own we did both it is alot of fun

1st time to Cuba stayed one week at Breezes with 2 excursions. We chose this resort for quieter location and snorkling. Quiet location much as we expected - went to Disco one night.... not much going on.Snorkling somewhat disapointing - guess we may of been spoiled with snorkling we have done in the past. Some fish to see and maybe we missed the right spot for coral but did have a couple good swims around where we were told coral was. Nice to snorkle and see what was there. Still not sure about the tipping thing in Cuba we took school supplies and some toiletries but many seem to want the money - others happy with what you do have .... it's the expected that you '
"should" tip when in Cuba rather than if you want - just my take.
Havana was an interesting contrast of old, new and seemingly forgotten. A city slowing rebuilding from years of revelution. A day of course does not do justice and if we do go back likely would do the Casa Particular thing and explore Cuba away from the all inclusives. But all inclusive has its charms - do we hang out at the pool or the beach and which cocktail to try next.

Arrival:
Early morning arrival after overnight mostly sleepless flight. No real issues

Rooms:
We had a pool view room which we found to be a good location, closer to beach would of been nice but nothing is a real far walk on resort.Room was fine, spacious - bed not too hard as have had others reported. Good size bathroom and balcony was good size as well

Restaurants and Bars:
Enjoyed the Itailian meal but at the Cuban restaurant neither of us finished our meal. Lunch mostly at beach but menu is very limited - The main buffet was ok, found fish was most consistantly good item.... but come end of the week was finding meals repetative and harder to satify. As many say Cuba is not about the food. It says 24 hour food but they only have meal at set times - we did an excursion that left at 7am buffet not till 7:30 and room service did not start till 7 .... they have small plates of fruit and pastries at the lobby bar when we finally got to eat at cayo Blanca our boat host sat us at the 1st table ... which ended up being the last to get food which they had run out of and had to wait extra time to cook more. They had a little fish fry set up down the beach so got a couple appitisers while waited

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Nice pool, never crowded sometimes hard to get a shady chair but mostly did not have issue. Beach was much the same lots of room always a chair but finding shade only a minor issue. As mentioned earlier little disapointed in the snorkling, the litle coral that we founf was not very colorful or much variety. We only had 1 day of red flag - was day we went into Havana. This the day after we had our intense tropical storm that lasted for about 3 hours that included lighting coming into the resort and rain doing its sideway thing

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
The hike up the hill is worth the view back down over the resort. They take you through the farms along the road for souveniers. This maybe is the " 15 mile market " that had been mentioned in another site that no one knows about... Never did see an organized volleyball game in the pool ( on list of activities) - but did at the beach. Had a very hot ball hockey game in the tennis court one afternoon. The evening shows we good .... well 4 of the 5 we watched.Took the the day boat trip to caya Blanca - says 10 min with the caged dolphins seemed like more than 1 1/2 hrs there and only 20 mins to snorkle ( which again was not too exciting )

Other Comments:
So if we do return likely to see Cuba in a different way- guess the Asian backpackers life from the 80's still lurks in us. We've been talking maybe back to Bali next time we go overseas ....