My husband and I booked a 3-night stopover in Havana followed by 10 days in this resort via an offer in the Sunday Times. Sadly our Havana trip was cut short due to a cancelled Cubana flight (if you have the choice do fly with Virgin as flying with Cubana is like flying with BA some 20 years ago). I wholeheartedly recommend spending as much time in Havana as possible and just walk around -you'll soon stumble across some treasures. We stayed in the Hotel Sevilla which was just amazing. Be prepared however to pay western prices with those CUCs ... and try to take them in as small a denomination as possible as we frequently found ourselves stuck with 20 CUC notes and unable to buy things.

With regard to Breezes - after reading the many online reviews we decided to get married there. It was a little tricky to arrange the wedding ourselves as the telephone lines to Cuba aren't great and they are rather slow at responding to e-mails and faxes. It's probably best to book a specific wedding package if that's what you want to do as the tour operator can advise you of exactly what documentation is required. Our correspondence pre-wedding was Sarah, but she was on holiday when we actually got there and Vivien, the guest relations manager was our contact for the day. She is an absolute darling. The wedding itself was simple and lovely. It costs 400CUC to cover the notary fee, flowers, bubbly and the band. The photographer costs 80 CUC extra - and watch out for the hairdresser, who is actually part of the entertainment staff - he charges 35 CUC and isn't really that good.

Our ceremony was delayed for half an hour because the band's transport broke down ( a common occurence in Cuba). The ceremony itself involves a reading from the cuban family code, translated if required, signing of the register and making the vows. We wrote our own as we don't speak Spanish and that made it extra special. I have to say that I agree with one review on here regarding the photos - we had lots of shots squinting into the sunlight and either the lens or the film was faulty as there were spots on the prints. Still, wedding photography in the UK can cost anything between £300 and £1000 so you get what you pay for. This is followed by a guaranteed reservation in one of the a la cartes - we had ours in Martinos along with a Candadian couple who married on the same day. The food in there generally is excellent - apart from the lasagne.

The rooms are clean and the air con units aren't too noisy. Please do take heed and carry some toiletries or kids' stuff to give to the hotel staff as tipping is forbidden in the hotel and all staff's bags are searched as they leave the complex. We did suffer a theft while we were there but it was from the poolside and I'm pretty sure that fellow tourists were to blame, not hotel staff.

The food in the buffet restaurant is excellent if you're a meat eater but can be a little bland. My favourites were the bean dishes on cuba night. The desserts are fantastic though and the breakfast eggs chef is a wizard! The cockails are best in the Piano bar or Reception bar.

The entertainment is good, but could be better. The resort was over half empty when we were there so that probably makes a difference. (Do go to the Tropicana in Havana - that show is just amazing.)

Overall I would recommend this quite heartily to anyone looking for a relaxing holiday in the caribbean and/or someone looking for a romantic wedding getaway. I'm looking forward to our anniversary trip next year.

We spent our second week in cuba at this property,the first week was in Breezes Varadero which had left a bad taste in our mouths literally.Jibacoa changed all that .....lovely surrondings ,super food .....great activities...I mean your beach food is served on glass plates under covers to your table!!!How great is that...From KiKI and Luis the porters(who can help you out with tours etc...)To Afonso the rooms manager who constantly asked are you okay are you happy can we change anything to make your stay better ..I mean awesome staff..No wonder everyone we spoke with has been there multiple times!
The Italian restaraunt was excellent we had an 8 course meal with 3 bottles of champagne German our waiter was also amazing.I highly recommend this resort and will return...Nice clean rooms cool a/c beautyful grounds this place has it all...Be sure to go to the Piano Bar for Brandy...the A/C there is awesome...

This was my first time in any Caribbean resort so I have nothing to compare it to, other then what others have written about this and other resorts.

Room: Very clean, althow it did smell of cigarette smoke. They cleaned up the smell as best they can after mentioning it to them. All lights and equipment were working. There is one large air conditioner for the entire block of rooms, about 14 units per building. It was never turned off, and you have your own thermostat to adjust the temperature to your liking. Because the AC is not actually in your room it makes for very quiet nights. After checking out of the rooms the maids showed up to start cleaning. The rooms spelled strongly of bleach or ammonia so you know they do a real thorough job cleaning up

Landscape: Wow is the word. Every day the gardeners were working, trimming trees, cutting grass, sweeping walkways. What ever was needed, and in many cases I didn't think it was needed, but they did it anyways.

Food: I would consider the food very good. Lots of selection for everyone, from french fries to ethnic food I would not want to eat without someone showing me how to eat it. You won't go hungry in any regard. Warm food was kept warm and in small portions as to not sit too long on the hot plates. The cold food was kept cold and covered with plastic domes. The staff wore hats to cover their hair, every dish had their own serving spoon. For breakfast eggs were made to order right in front of you. For lunch various pasta dishes were prepared as you liked it. Every day was a different theme where the menu would change a little. Sure they had the same basic items, but a few things do change. The beach bar was great and a few times we didn't even eat at the buffet, but at the beach. They had hamburger, hot dogs, grilled fish, or chicken, fruit platters, french fries, and all were very well prepared. I have not heard of anyone getting sick from talking to many people at the resort, on the bus, or on the plane coming home. Every one was healthy.

Beach: Very nice. Depending on what you are looking for or comparing it to. Some parts of the beach have large pebbles and some people found it hard to enter or exit the water as it would hurt the feet. Other places it was pure sand. Rock ledges are just 30ft from shore where lots of fish hide out. Bring some food and they all come out. Amazing place to snorkel as the water is shallow for at least 100ft from shore. Great coral and fish to see. Problem with the rock formation being so close to shore is if the waves are too great, they quickly put up the red flag so you should not go in the water. A few days of rough waters and the beach was covered with dead sea grass. In the next day or two it was all cleaned up.

Sports: adequate. With the weight room, snorkeling, water volley ball, beach volley ball, wind sailing, catamaran, Kayak, scuba diving, there is plenty of activities to do. Note that the scuba diving does cost extra, but if you are certified, don't forget to bring your C-card as it will give you one free dive, including all rental equipment. 30cuc for a one tank boat dive after that, 25cuc if you have all your own equipment. There is a local guy with horses that hangs around. For 15cuc you get at least an hour ride on his horse up the mountain. Wow the view is great from up there.

We have recently returned from a week @ Breezes Jibacoa, & my husband & I have nothing but wonderful things to say about it. The staff is the best,always very helpful & friendly. The food was very good ; I'm a vegetarian, & I always found a great variety to eat.
We had a gardenview room & found it very quiet.
Unforunately our vacation was cut short,due to an accident we had with the scooters that u rent on site. It was totally our fault,I suffered & broken wrist & my husband got a concussion. We had to spend 3 days in a Havana hospital, which was terrifying! Thank goodness for the public relations staff at the hotel, especially "Vivian", who visited us everyday in the hospital & brought us juice & water & was our go-between with hosp staff. I am so glad we had travel insurance & would never travel without it. The hotel definitely went above & beyond for us, & will never forget it!! We are definitely coming back nxt year.