My wife and I travelled to Jibacoa from 29 Nov to 13 Dec and we overall very pleasedely with all aspects of this resort.

We did not want the hustle and bustle of the Veradaro scene, and the seclusion of Jibacoa provided a serene location. If you looking for a great night life, this is not the place!

The reef came real close to the shore and provided wonderful snorkling.

Xavier and Adrian rented the 50cc mopeds at the front of the resort.
They provided daily tours with historical commentation that were absolutely wonderful.

The rooms are in approx 10 buildings with about 18 rooms on two floors.
The five buildings that face the ocean give a beautiful view that mimics that Carona Beer Commercial...

The weather was not very sunny on our first week, so we filled that week with reading, day-trips, and generally just de-nerving...

Unfortunately a gentleman WAS MUGGED 100 yds from the hotel complex. BE CAREFUL! This is supposedly the first time any problems have occurred, and the person had chosen the walk up the hill alone. He was confronted, roughed up, and had his camera and money stolen.

All in all, the hotel scored great with us and we would return.

For the most part, our Cuba trip to Breezes Jibacoa was enjoyable. The four of us (my wife and another couple) stayed there the 3rd week of september 2003).The amenities were very good, and the staff by and large were quite friendly and accomodating. Just a few things to pick on about Cuba, and a few about the resort....

Bad experience #1: At the airport, once you eventually collect your luggage, beware of any 'red hats' that try to take your bags for you.
They act like they are your best friend, willing to carry your bags for you. I had 2 large bags, that were taken by 2 red hats respectively.
The going rate is about a dollar US. Once they transported them to the tour bus, they BOTH demanded one US dollar each for their services. I disagreed, which made for a rather uncomfortable situation. I argued, rather loudly for a bit, this was unacceptable. i finally relented, and paid one man a US dollar bill, and the second one US dollar in nickels and dimes. He initially refused and gave me a rather disgusted look. I just wanted my bags back. He took my change and muttered obscenities under his breath. "Welcome to Cuba", i thought. hahaha.

Good / Bad experience #2: The guided tours to Havana, coral reef snorkeling and such were very entertaining. Our first guide to the snorkeling and caves, etc. was a very polite man who was an extremely good swimmer - his name escapes me unfortunately. He was an extremely knowledgeable tour guide, and when my wife forgot to take off her watch prior to the snorkelling, even took it for her and walked all the way back to the tour bus to secure it for her. During our 6 some odd hours with him, he never once brought up the subject of a tip. needless to say, we tipped him very well for his troubles, even though there is a no tipping policy. On the other hand, our tour guide for the Havana / cigar factory tour was downright obnoxious. He did not let us forget that a gratuity was required, repeating non stop, in a half-joking manner that he required a tip. We were planning a large group gratuity until he basically told us a tip was required.

Bad experience #3: I selected Breezes Jibacoa on the knowledge that it was an ADULTS ONLY resort. The locals we shared the beach with did not trouble me. It was their screaming kids I could not stand. Apparently the beach is partially shared with a european resort, and one for the locals. One end is open to the public, and the locals would bring the entire family to the beach for some sun and fun. Nothing against the locals, but I chose this resort to get AWAY from the sound of screaming children.

Bad experience #4: One reason I chose Superclubs was the included scuba diving. Unless you are already a diver, you'd better sign up for lessons the moment you arrive. Lessons are only offered on mon wed and fri mornings, you cant dive the same day you take the lessons, you cant dive the day before you leave due to pressurization reasons, you cant dive if the sun is out (ok the last one was a joke), but unless you are alreadya qualified diver, you need to take the very first lesson otherwise you aint diving during your stay. Of course, there are only very very limited spots (something like 12 spots) for lessons each day, of course no one at the front desk can tell you any of this.....

Bad experience #5: During our trip to Havana, a stop at a local souvenir market was included. The local vendors probably make quite a better living than the regular Cubans - everything is in US dollars first of all, and secondly good luck getting a good deal. During a recent trip to mexico the merchants were so hard up for your money that they would haggle with you like crazy....In cuba, try to haggle with some of these guys with their 'take it or leave it' attitude - they obviously dont need to make sales that bad (most tourists must be paying face value for the crap they were selling I assume)......

Bad experience #6: My travel agent neglected to tell me just how isolated Breezes Jibacoa really is. While the shows were entertaining at night, there is bugger all else to do after dinnertime. The disco is pretty lame as is the music. The only highlight being that one of the other guests brought his 200+ CD collection with him and the DJ borrowed it for the week so at least the music was decent. If you are younger and seeking a party destination you will not find it here unless you take one of the side trips to varadero. Stay in varadero instead.

Bad experience #7: The quiet and relaxation is spoiled by one thing - lack of a decent spa. There is ONE masseuse for the entire resort who only works 5 or 6 days out of a week. The price is reasonable for 1/2 hour sessions but as you can imagine she is very busy and you must book well in advance (Ex. Its monday today and I feel like a massage, sorry she's booked until friday. But will I feel like a massage on friday?
probably not but thats the only slot she's got available. Can I get a massage for an hour? sorry she's only got a 30 minute slot available at 2 pm) Yet another problem the front desk staff would never tell you about.

Bad experience #8: We did not experience a pest problem in our room, however the couple that accompanied us did. Their room was on the second floor facing the mountains (or the front of the resort) and they seemed to have had a large ant problem (the ants were small but the problem was large). Housekeeping would occassionally come and spray the room which appearedto be the only solution to the problem. ' Overall I did enjoy our stay at the resort. The staff, especially the food service staff, were all very friendly and accomodating, eager to chat and very nice overall. Bar service was reaonably good and the nightly entertainment was excellent. Of course the problems i ran into youd probably run into anywhere you travelled to - i would not let these negative tidbits prevent me from returning to Cuba again. A review with what i enjoyed / good things about my stay would probably be twice as long as this post, actually.

We got back from a week at Jibacoa on Dec 13, and had a terrific time.
The room was very large and well appointed, always clean, nice bathroom with showerhead and full tub and marble counters.

We left shampoo or toys for our cleaning lady every day, and she was very appreciative. She thanked us profusely and left towel swans and other creations out of our clothes (even folding clothes that had been thrown over a chair the night before).

The breakfasts at the buffet were very good, and while the food was not fancy, there was always great selection for all meals. The desserts were plentiful and very tasty (although, again, not like you'd get at a French bakery) with fanciful creations like cakes in the shape of pianos and all different kinds of cakes, cookies and custard filled pastry.

Seafood night (Thursdays) and the a la carte restaurants were disappointing (I would even suggest skipping them), but the Friday "gala" themed buffet was outstanding with smoked salmon, beef roast, pork loin and salmon steaks (among other things). There also seemed to be a beef shortage for a few days but I didn't really notice because there was such an extraordinary selection of things to eat. You will not go hungry at this resort!

They were out of mint for a few days while we were there, but there were so many other different kinds of drinks to try, it didn't really bother us. As for the previous user's complaint that premium rum was not being used, we aren't liquor connoisseurs, so again, didn't really bother us. The drinks were always tasty and we found the staff to be very helpful and appreciative of tips (considering I make more in a month as a secretary than these people do in a whole year, I figured on spending around $100 for both of us on tips before I went).

If you get to know some of the staff, they start showing you pictures of their families (which might be a ploy to get stuff from the generous tourists, but could also just be parental pride). The security guard who patrolled our area made several beautiful grasshoppers out of palm leaves for us, so in return we gave him toys and markers for his kids.
We never felt like we were being manipulated or played.

The ocean was really warm. The snorkeling was out of this world (although the masks at the resort had a tendency to not seal properly and fill with water, so you might want to bring your own) but for those who don't want to go very far, you can take a banana or a hamburger bun from the beach bar and feed the fishes 10 feet from shore. You will attract schools of colorful, friendly fish (don't worry, they don't bite) that will practically eat out of your hand.

There were also catamarans, kayaks, hikes, a gorgeous pool (unheated, great for really hot days), scuba diving (included free, as well as a round at Varadero golf course), Spanish lessons, dance lessons, games, tournaments, the staff put on hilarious shows, always something to do, and if you can't handle being social, there's HBO in the rooms!

There were plenty of day tours: Havana should not be missed, it was great. A little pricey, but it included bus there and back, guided tour, lunch, dinner and an evening at the Tropicana Club for $119 US.
If you don't have a lot of money to spend, the moped tours were lots of fun and only $9. Two people can fit on one moped but we decided to get separate ones. We went to "the best Pina Colada bar in Cuba" and looked out over the highest bridge in Cuba, with tropical forest below and south and a breathtaking view of the ocean north.

One thing that no one has mentioned yet is the giant oil refinery a few kilometres from the resort. It didn't smell or even cause any problems on our trip, but there is a constant giant flame burning 24 hours. It lights up the eastern sky and can be seen for miles (even from the air as we left Saturday night from Varadero airport). It was kind of funny.
We would take walks on the beach at night and call it the Volcano.
Other than feeling like we were on Dark Mountain (from Fantasia), it was kind of neat and didn't disrupt our vacation at all.

We met an older couple who come to Cuba three times a year, every year.
They have been to Cuba 22 times and they now make Breezes Jibacoa their home away from home. The staff invite them to stay over in their homes and they really get a taste of the country away from the resort. I couldn't ask for a better recommendation than that.

We had a terrific time and are already planning our next trip back in the New Year.

I have gone to many places in the Caribbean, but this resort by far exceed the expectations. Here is the secret to a great time: treat the staff as your equals, joke with them, talk to them and by magic the 4 star resort tranforms to a 10 star heaven. The staff are wonderfull and they make sure you are having a good time. There were some tourists that were there with an arrogant attitude and "I am better than you" attitude towards the staff and they were wondering why they didnt have a good time. And the food, I dont know what poeple were complaining about in their reviews, the food was amazing (watch out for lobster thursdays, they had to drag me out of there). Do's and dont's: Do go on scooter trips with Javier or Adrian, they are great and its lot of fun and very cheap. Do take a bike (its free) and take a ride around the resort, the poeple are very nice and they are allways happy to talk to you. Do eat at the beach bar, the food is awesome. Do take the hike with Eric in the morning. Do take the Spanish lessons and the dance lessons. Do take the scuba lessons and the trip (its free..all you can scuba). Do drink alot of pina colada and be happy. Dont go in the water when there is a red flag out. Dont get upset when they dont have your favourite drink. Dont forget to tip occasionaly. And most important of all dont be rude. I was down there as a single person, but I met a lot of great people (both staff and tourists)(Hello to Jerome, Sofie and Denis). Take your old clothes (specially baby clothes)and give them away to staff. Also medicine and vitamins are very much appreciated. I left a box of multivitamins for the maid and next thing I know there was a 5 foot sculpture using my bed sheets and towels with a thank you note on the bed. I cant wait to go back there again.