I first went to Cuba with my wife in 2002 (Breezes, Jibacoa), since then we have been to three 4/5 star resorts on the islands with mixed experiences. After our previous holiday in Cuba we decided that we probably would not return to the islands again! We have just returned from our second visit to Jibacoa; we traveled from Toronto with CANJET.

How was this holiday? Excellent.

Flight was efficient, but basic.
Cuba customs; from landing to leaving the airport took about 20 minutes.
Check in at the hotel was also fast. We booked a Sea view room which was basic, but spotless, cool, and comfortable.
Food; a little limited, but cooked properly. White wine wasn't to our taste, but we enjoyed the red wine served at the tables.
Service; good throughout the hotel.
Pool; large, shallow and very relaxing
Beach; clean, comfortable with excellent snorkeling straight off the beach.
Guests; lots of Brits, Canadians, and Germans. Couples and families with teenage children. No boorish behavior.

What made it excellent? Very relaxing. Excellent setting. Well trained staff who take pride in their jobs. This is the one hotel in Cuba I would be happy to go back to again and again.

If you want a lively hotel then don't go here. This hotel was so peaceful, set in the most fantastic setting you could ask for. The staff were great, especially those at the pool bar and Pedro from the entertainment crew. The night time entertainment was basic but they did their best to make sure everyone had a good time.
The only downside to the holiday was the food, it wasn't as good as other hotels we have stayed in but the food in Martino's the Italian restaurant was fantastic and the 2 trips there were well worth waiting for.
The daytime entertainment programme never followed what was planned but we didn't care because the pool was great and no shortage of sunbeds. The waiters walk around the pool taking drink orders constantly during the day and were always so pleasant.
Please if you go take some stationary and toiletries as they are like gold to the locals and everything is gratefully recieved. We took a lot of pencils/pens etc and the staff were so pleased with them, don't forget the gardners and the security staff as they often get left out.
The average wage in cuba is only £6 per wk so think how lucky we are yet they love life and they are very proud people.

We stayed for one week at the Breezes Jibacoa from July 2-9th, 2008.

Background: DH and I are mid-to-late 30s and have stayed at a number of 4-5* resorts in the Mayan Riviera and Dominican Republic as well as traveling on a number of cruises. This was my first trip to Cuba and DHs second (he previously stayed at the Tuxpan in Varadero more than 7+ years ago).

Package details: We booked our package with Sunwing Vacations and I was very impressed with the Sunwing experience. We flew out of Toronto (3 hour direct flight to Varadero on the way down and one stop in Camaguay on the way back). I was very surprised at the amazing customer service on the flight as most short flights these days don't offer much in terms of meals or services. We received champagne, hot towels, complimentary headsets, hot meal etc. On the return flight the same including wine with lunch (minus the champagne). At the resort our Sunwing rep was Barbarita and was extremely helpful and friendly. Excellent customer service all round from Sunwing.

Arrival: Everything was smooth, check in was very quick. We arrived at the resort about 2 pm so we did have to wait for our room until check in time (3 pm). DH had emailed the resort to request a second floor with King bed. We did get the King but not the second floor. We wandered around the resort and sat in the lobby bar while we waited for our room for about an hour. We received two keys to the room and a lock with key for the safe. It was strange to get a key versus a access card these days but didn't matter to us.

Accomodations: We stayed in room 1147 (building 7). We loved the close proximity to the main building and the pool (as we are more pool people than the beach). The room was kept very clean. Like any other resort I've ever stayed in in the Caribbean, the room was damp (to be expected) and if I had to say something negative I would say the rooms could use some updating in terms of furnishings/decorations. Our air condition stopped blowing cold air two afternoons during the week but it was fixed within a half an hour each time (DH and I suspect a breaker needed to be tripped???)

I read the beds were hard but I found it very firm and comfortable so I guess it depends on what you're used to. We did notice some ants in the rooms during our stay (mostly near the patio door and the front entrance) but it was not indicative of the cleanliness of the room. I thought there was supposed to be a stocked mini bar in the room but you only get two bottles of water at the beginning and that's it (no big deal as we were very close to everything). We didn't drink the water directly out of the taps but got water from the bars just in case. There is a carafe in the room that you can fill up at the bars to have cold drinking water.

A few notes: the rooms have 220 V power. The outlets are the exact same as North American outlets so all you need to do is check the item that you need to plug in to ensure it can handle up to 220 V. We weren't clear if we need a converter etc. so took a chance after some help from the boards. We were able to use our camera battery chargers and iPOD/pocket PC chargers by plugging directly into the wall (as all devices clearly indicated on the back that they would accept up to 250 V). One other note is about the safes/safety deposit box as they call it. The safe was the same type as I've had at other resorts and cruise ships with the exception that it comes with a pop out lock and key (that you carry with you) rather than an electronic code. Personally I prefer using a code but we kept our SLR camera, electronics and monies in there with no issues. We don't ever bring our jewelry (wedding rings etc.) on vacation---I guess I like to be cautious.

Weather/insects: It was hot but hey, it's July after all. Temperatures were high eighties to low nineties every day. We had sun every single day but most afternoons it clouded over late in the day (3 to 4 pm). One day there were torrential downpours in the afternoon that lasted a few hours into the evening. I didn't realize until after I got home how many mosquito bites I did get. I think I got most of them in the evenings while watching the shows or sitting outside. I'd recommend insect repellant if you have the tendency to get bit.

The resort/facilities/entertainment: In general I really loved this resort. Because it is smaller, the layout is great and I'd say most of the rooms are close to everything. If I had to find fault I would say again the resort is showing it's age and signs of wear and could use some updating especially furniture wise (e.g. the tables and chairs in the main building and restaurants look really worn out IMO)

There are two tennis courts (turf with sand covering) that were very well maintained and nice to play on, one hot tub (with two more being installed by the pool but not ready yet). The grounds are very well maintained but the resort needs to remind their workers that weed-wacking near the rooms before 9 am is disturbing to the people who are trying to sleep in while on vacation LOL!

There is a nice gazebo and trellis areas in the middle of the resort that would be amazing for a wedding. The pool is nice and big with several cabanas so you can stay out of the sun. We never had a problem finding chairs in the cabanas by the pool even though people "reserved" them for the entire day and never showed up (e.g. there were towels etc. there but no people!!). I imagine in busy season this would be very annoying.

The beach was beautiful (with tons of lounge chairs and shade huts). It seemed very empty the week we were there. I can't comment on the snorkeling as we didn't get a chance to do it but we did go in the water and there were lots of rocks and junk so I'd recommend water shoes if you want to go in the water (bear in mind I'm not a beach person!!).

We're not really into organized activities when we are at a resort but the animation staff didn't really seem to be around much (I'm assuming since it's off season that there is less staff around in July). According to the activities board there was a ton of stuff planned but at times that I thought there was supposed to be stuff going on there didn't appear to be. DH and I did the "tennis Olympics" tournament on Thursday morning with two other couples. It was fun and the pro Alberto organized a round robin for us. Other than that we didn't seek out any activities so I can't really comment. On Tuesday we happened to wander down to the beach and found out that it was Cuban day. There seemed to be a lot of stuff going on (or did go on) but it wasn't advertised anywhere that we say so we missed out (it's possible they mentioned it at the Monday night show that we didn't attend???).

Speaking of shows we did attend a few of them. I wasn't expecting cruise ship style shows or anything but the shows weren't great. One night there was a totally lame fashion show with strange costumes and crocheted outfits that you could coincidently buy after the show. One night (I *think* it was Gala night) there was a romantic themed show with singers and dancers that was o.k. Tuesday night was a Cuban band with dancers that was good. I found the shows/music to be a bit on the loud side to the point that it over-echoed and gave feedback.

If you're looking for nightlife, this is NOT your resort. We attempted to go to the disco one night around 11 pm and were the only people who weren't staff in there.

I think that about covers it. Now for the part everyone wants to know……the food…..

The food: In general I have no complaints about the food. There was usually a good selection available, the food was decent and we didn't get sick. I was told not to expect much in terms of the quality of food in Cuba (in general) but I would say the food at the Jibacoa exceeded my expectations.

Buffet Restaurant: In general I would say the food was decent at the buffet. There were a few evenings that the selection was not great but overall there was a good variety of foods. On the evenings that the selection was not great I filled up on desserts LOL! The desserts were very nice in my opinion and I liked the fact that they weren't overly sweet (if that makes sense).

Breakfast was the best meal of the day in my opinion. Huge selection of different breakfast items (meats, eggs, pastries, cereals, omelet bar etc). The only negative thing I would say about breakfast is that some of the fruit was way too overripe for my liking (e.g. the skins of the mangos were mouldy) but not a big deal as there was plenty of other options.

We only ate lunch once in the buffet as we liked the bbq at the beach better (awesome burgers and hotdogs). The two days we did eat lunch in the buffet there wasn't much selection and we shared some pasta from the pasta bar (it was good but that's all we could find to eat).

We ate dinner in the buffet on the following nights: Monday (not sure on theme), Tuesday (Cuban night), Wednesday (Mexican night), Thursday (Seafood night), Friday (Gala night I think). The seafood night was by far my favourite as they had lobster and a huge selection of seafoods. The second best night was Cuban night and I found the food to be better than eating at the Cuban a la carte.

A la carte restaurants

Martinos (Italian) – the food and service here was excellent. DH and I started with the seafood appetizer, a portion of lasagna to split as a second course. For the main course I had prawns (served with rice and vegetables) and DH had the filet mignon (served with pototo and vegetables. The prawns were served in a tomato sauce which was a bit salty but good overall. I tried DHs filet and it was fanastic. For dessert we each had a different type of icecream dish (mmmmm!!) I wish we could have eaten twice in this restaurant.

La Taberna (Cuban) – to be honest I would have rather eaten in the buffet. We shared a few different tapas. For the main course I had the pork tenderloin (which were actually pork chops) and DH had the beef. The mains were o.k. but nothing special. The best food in this restaurant was the Cuban creole farmer soup (can't remember exactly what it was called??). The desserts were pretty much the same that you could get in the buffet. I didn't like the service as much in this place (it seemed very rushed and we had to constantly ask for more drinks/water which I've never had to do even in the buffets).

Beach restaurant/bar – They were renovating the resort during our stay and the beach restaurant and bar was torn down. As a temporary measure they turned two of the beach front hotel rooms into a bar and restaurant. The burgers and hot dogs were AMAZING here and we basically ate lunch every day in the makeshift restaurant area. Other couples that we met also enjoyed the chicken every day here for lunch (we didn't try it).

The bars/drinks – there was never a shortage of booze with lots of bars around the resort. It seems that rum is cheaper than the mixes so be prepared for some strong drinks ;) Make sure you bring some kind of thermal mug bc the cups are very small. We brought these huge cooler mugs but ended up using them for water or diet pop bc they were way too big for alcoholic drinks. The lobby bartender admired them all week so we gave them to him at the end of our trip. My favourite drinks were the Spanish coffees and the pina coladas. For some reason I just hated the mojitos. I think the kind of mint they used just turned me off and I found it very bitter.

Excursions

We did two excursions during our stay both arranged through our Sunwing rep. One day trip (bus tour) to Havana and one afternoon in Matanzas (hired a taxi driver).

Colonial and Modern Havana (Cost $51 CUC per person)
Small tour bus (with approximately 16 people total) arrived about 9:30 am. On the way to Havana we stopped at a roadside café/rest stop (with washroom facilities) for about 20 minutes before continuing into Old Havana. Once we arrived in old Havana we did a walking tour (including visit to a museum) that lasted until lunch. Our guide also took us to a cigar store which lasted entirely too long IMO on the walk. We boarded our bus for a short trip over the the base of the El Morro fort for lunch (lunch was included in the cost). We ate at the 12 Apostles restaurant (in short it was entirely too hot and there were way too many flies in this place). After lunch we returned to the art market for about an hour of shopping before boarding the bus to tour "Modern Havana" in the afternoon. We visited the Capitol, drove by the University, visited several other stops including monuments etc. (too much to explain). Overall the tour was an excellent way to see the city. It was a very long and hot day. The only thing I hated about Havana was the constant begging/touching/panhandling and we had some people on our trip that were rude and didn't return to the bus on time. In terms of safety and comfort I personally would rather have taken the bus tour than a cab for the day.

Matanzas ($70 CUC for 4 hours of taxi service + $7 CUC for admission/phototaking pass to the pharm. Museum and $15 CUC for admission/photo taking pass for the caves)

Our tour rep arranged a taxi tour into Matanzas one afternoon. We first went to the Bellamar Caves followed by a tour around the city of Matanzas (stopped at the church and the pharmaceutical museum) and a stop at the Bacunayagua bridge lookout. It was an amazing day and I enjoyed being able to do the stuff on our terms (rather than a bus trip). A visit to this area is a really good look at how the locals live as there isn't much tourist activity in this area.

The caves were remarkable (aside from the fact that I was totally freaked out going down the stairs into the caves….and by the way if you do go to the caves wear hiking shoes or running shoes as it's quite slippery and dangerous AND bring a towel bc it's 100% humidity below). I loved the pharmacy museum in town (as I work in that field). It POURED rain after we got out of the caves so we didn't really get to wander around the town as I might have liked. We stopped at the lookout over the bridge on the way back and it was spectalar aside from the torrential rains LOL! Cost wise it basically cost us about $100 CUC for the afternoon for the tour and admission to the caves and museum. This is basically the same you would pay for a day long tour with a bus trip but I at least you can customize your excursion and don't have to wait for people.

In summary….I enjoyed my vacation at the Breezes Jibacoa. The resort was nice, the food was good and overall it was a very relaxing vacation. Would I go back to that resort…..probably not but I've never returned to the same place twice. Now that we've seen Havana and surrounding area I think I'd like to see another part of Cuba.

Stayed for 2 weeks in middle of May. Having read several reviews before travelling my wife and I wondered what we was letting ourselves in for. Let me tell everyone. This is the most relaxing holiday we have ever had. The hotel is spotless. Our room was cleaned every day, the food was better than expected and the staff spoke in their broken english every time you wanted anything. Because their are no under 14s it was heaven.