My friend & I just got back from Breezes Jibacoa and completely enjoyed ourselves! But read to the bottom for some news...

We traveled with Sunwing, which I found to be a a pretty good airline. They fed us and had a vegetarian option, which is good for me. We picked a perfect week to go.

We got a great deal on the trip, paying $697 for the four star resort. We booked a gardenview room, but we were pleasantly surprised that they upgraded us to a poolview room close to everything, including the buffet, lobby , games room and beach. Our balcony faced the theatre, so we were able to enjoy the show from the comfort of our own room.

The grounds were beautiful and the beach was amazing! The coral reef is everything we hoped for. It was huge and so close to the shore. We spent most of our time snorkelling and saw tons of fish, including a puffer. There was lots of chairs to flop on, which was nice. The beach is public, however, so locals will come on their days off. But they never bother you and there was no risk of theft.

We went on a jeep tour, which was one of the highlights of the trip. We had a personalized tour with two female tour guides. We first went to a bridge to overlook the landscape. Breathtaking. Then we headed to a personalized tour of an underground cave with beautiful calcium magnesium crystal structures. It was truly awesome. They then took us to another reef, where we had a personal snorkel tour. Absolutely amazing reef. Then we headed over to another undergound cave where we swam in fresh water. The water was cool and refreshing and quite the experience. Finally, we went to a former coffee farm to have lunch. Again, very accommodating to the vegetarians. Nice history lesson about the farm and a wonderful wishing tree where I left my wish. It started to pour as soon as we started driving back to the resort, which was okay with us because we had a great day! Definitely worth the $69 CUC!

We also took the Colonial Havana tour. It was great. We learned a lot about the history of Cuba and saw amazing buildings and some culture. Some of the buildings are pretty desolate, and some have been restored and are beautiful. We visited a museum, the market, amongt other historical areas. We also really enjoyed this tour, but was beat by around 3:00.

The rest of the week was sunny and beautiful. Perfect for snorkelling!

The staff was good. Some were not the happiest of folks, but take their lives into perspective before being to hard on them. It's always good to bring gifts for them, like pens, make-up, jewellery, games/toys for the kids, toiletries, etc. They appreciate any help they can get. I saw a lot of people didn't tip, but we made sure we left something for all meals, and many of our drinks.

The food was okay, but sort of repetitive. My friend enjoyed it much more because they had lots of meat! Thursday is Seafood night, so don't miss it! The cuban restaurant was okay (nothing for vegetarians), but the Italian restaurant was so yummy!! Lots of choices for us veggies. And remember to take only what you can eat. The cubans are granted a half a chicken a month if their lucky and usually resort to buying chicken's feet to supplement their meat intake. It's disheartening when you see people wasting their food, especially the meat. Although there is a long lull between lunch and dinner, they put out food around 3:30-4:00 to snack on, and the pool bar is open. My friend said the burgers are so tasty and I loved the fries! The pizza is nice too. They also put a little spread out after dinner for the late snackers.

If you want to try a mojito, go to the Pelican bar upstairs. They made the best ones while I was there!

Overall, it was an amazing vacation. Great weather, great excursions, great room, great snorkelling and beautiful resort! I would definitely recommend this destiination.

Okay, now for the unfortunate news. We were lollygagging on Saturday, September 29th, as check out was at noon, but our trip to the airport wasn't until 6:30. We snorkelled in the morning and flopped around on the beach and other parts of the resort. Around 2:30 or so, we found out the beach was closed. Watch for the small flag - which is red when it's dangerous to go into the water. Apparently, a tankard dumped oil into the ocean and it started to wash up on the beach. Some girls were covered in tarry oil and one had to cut off her hair as she couldn't get it out. It's very unfortunate for the reef and all those fish. I'm sure you'll hear of a lot of bad reviews from the people that arrived on the 29th, as I suspect the beach won't be open for a while. So, if you're planning to go to this resort, check with the travel agent on the status of the oil spill. I couldn't find anything on the net about it. But please don't blame the resort. They have no control over such environmental disasters.

This resort is wonderful if you want a pure relaxation holiday. It's an hour or so from Havana and about the same from Varadero. Nothing to do walking distance out of the resort really but why would you need to leave this place. It has a beautiful private beach with it's own Coral Reef.....great for snorkelling......but be careful not to get stuck on some pretty difficult to manouver over flats......and watch for tarantulas and scorpions in and around the complex....both of which we found....or rather they found us! The only down sides to this resort were: we got a bit bored of the food in the buffet restaurant and the nightclub was dead...until we arrived..apart from the cockroaches!! (To be expected I guess in an area like this). Definitly do the walking tours the entertainment crew organise from the resort, but don't wear flip-flops on the hike, it's quite steep and slippery. Worth it for the views though!!! Take some gifts for the local farm owners and their children as they give you fruit/treats when you pass through their farm. Watch out for the mad puppy though!!!!! Likes to jump up! We went into Havana and I'd definitly recommend Club Tropicana if you have time. The fish and the burgers at the beach bar on resort are lovely and most resort staff seemed really friendly, eager to say hello and to help you in any way they can. Met loads of really funny and friendly people too, which is always a bonus. Peak season I'd imagine you'd find it quite difficult to get a good spot on the beach area or a bed around the pool. We had a ground floor appartment (lovely and spacious, basic but clean) at the top end of the resort near the pool and found it lovely (we'd only booked a standard room). It's quite a small resort but enough for us as we only stayed for 1 week. (Not long enough!!) Overall, a lovely place to stay and visit with stunning backdrop views, clear waters of all colours, a good beach, pleasant staff and great rooms. We met loads of people who were returning to the resort after a number of previous stays here and they couldn't recommend it enough. Some of the games/entertainment they lay on is also good fun and worth participating in....although the beach volleyball gets a bit serious!!!!! Fo rthe less able players, I'd recommend the water volleyball in the pool....bit less competitive and relaxed! One word of advice.....don't buy the burgers at the airport on your way home....they're awful!!!

Where do I start? We booked through Virgin for my 21st birthday . Virgin were very efficient and talking to other guests at Breezes they were quite reasonable too.

Airport

Arrived in Havana Airport no problems getting through customs it took about 5-10 minutes (but I think we were quite lucky!) my advice is get off the plane asap to beat the rush! We got to the luggage carousel and were there for like 40 minutes before someone mentioned that there was another carousel for our flight!!

Transfer

Took about 1 hr 15 mins.

Arrival at Breezes

We were all given forms to fill out and then we went to reception to check in. Everyone was also given a welcome drink - (slush puppy with rum!!) there is a porter service available but we didn't use it. They give you a little map to find your accomodation and this was very handy, they also have those boards that show you where you are!

Rooms

Very spacious! We were in a pool view room, good size bathroom with hairdryer on wall, bed is probably a super king size and you still have tons of space. It was very clean and tidy. You have a big double wardrobe, drawers, dressing table, two bedside tables, table and chairs and patio table chairs.

Staff

Couldn't do enough for you!! So long as you are polite with them, say your please's and thankyou's you will be treated with respect. Common Sense really! The lads at the pool bar are fab! me and my fiance really got on with them, tip them some peso's they deserve it! also daniella at the lobby bar is more than willing to have a chat with all guests and she was very nice! everyone's english was extremely good, the only disappointing thing I found was the reception staff. They seemed a bit stuck up and unfriendly, but we hardly had to go to reception so we didn't let that cast a shadow over the other amazing staff!

Food

You can eat at the buffet, Martino's and La Taberna. Buffet has your staple foods, Chicken, Pork, Beef, Fish, Rice, Pasta, Bread etc, If you can't find ANYTHING to eat you must be really fussy!
Martino's was beautiful food, italian style with bottle of wine at your table for no extra cost, La Taberna is more casual but still very enjoyable. During the day you can either go to the Beach Bar or the Buffet (we did both) the burgers and pizza's at the Beach Bar were very good!

Excursions

We did the Havana Special (101 Cucs pp), a day trip around Havana and then Tropicana show, Good - not the highlight of my holiday though.

Shopping Trip to Varadero - Chance to get some perfumes and to see some markets etc. One thing I will say is I saw some perfume (J'adore by Dior) in Varadero but it was actually cheaper in the hotel shop! so have a scout round before you buy! I think that cost 25 Cucs pp.

Catamayarn/Cayo Blanco - AMAZING!!!! 75 Cucs pp - what a bargain! they take you on a catamaran you go snorkelling in the sea, you go to a beautiful island where the sand is white and the sea is clearer than you're bath! I'm not a Sea or Beach type of person and I still loved it!! Best day of my holiday without doubt.

People at the hotel - We met some really lovely people! Probably far too many to mention, Pete and Brenda (Hope you're feeling better Pete!), Angie and Stuart, Mark and Julie, Justin and Charlotte, Dave (!!!???), Christine (Honourary Canadian) Gas Guzzler.... Aka Daniel and his wife Jane.

All in all Fantastic Holiday, Best birthday present I have ever had. So thanks to all the staff at Breezes who made it a holiday to remember.


Louise & Mark

P.S

Top Tip - Champagne (by the glass) is included as part of your All Inclusive!! Enjoy!!!

First, thanx to posters here! We chose BJ based on reviews and we were not disappointed. We are retirees...celebrating my wife's 65th with a Cuba trip. This was our fifth Cuba trip so we were realistic in our expectations, however we were very pleasantly surprised by this resort!
I would rate above average for all the following categories: beach (great reef), bars, room, cleanliness, buffet, Italian a la carte (didn't go to Cuban one), grounds & gardens, proximity to attractions (Havana one hour away),staff, gymnasium, and layout of resort.
The following are "average": entertainment at night, music in piano bar, and "freshwater" pool (too shallow for swimming, missing and slippery tiles, LOUD music poolside in p.m.)
Below average: check-in! We arrived at about 11:oo pm and had only two staff for key?room assignment, no bell staff to carry luggage, stumbled down three sets of stairs (ramp was off to left past the gift store!) tried to find our building (numbers are not prominent!) with the aid of my "CSI" maglite, and encountered several other arrivees doing the same dance!
that being said we noted that the guests returning for a repeat visit knew enough to go to the bar and grab a drink and a seat and relax until the melee had subsided. We'' ll do that next time!
Other than check-in, we had a super time, met great people, enjoyed the food and booze (I had to remove my name from the liver donor list!) and , as always, thoroughly enjoyed the Cuban people!
We give this a 90% approval rating!
Cheers...Tandempilot