My wife and I just had ten days in a poolside room, the weather was probably the most dissapointing we have had on a "Long Haul Winter Sun Holiday" but thats not Breezes fault. Because the Resort is on the North Coast and therefore the Atlantic is is inevitable that it will be less settled than on the Carribean side. Last year we paid a lot more for ten days at an all inclusive resort in St Lucia. Breezes was equivelent or better in many ways, particularly the food. The pool was cold, but when the green flag did come out the Ocean was great. We thought the people of Cuba, including the staff where more genuine and friendly than St lucia, Antigua or Barbados, despite their obvious lack of wealth.

If you get travel sick take pills for the coach as the drivers obviously trained as stunt drivers on "The Italian Job"

We wish we had......Taken more gifts for the local kids ( crayons etc)nything was really appreciated....Taken drinks mugs for the beach as everyone suggested !!....and finally if going in Jan/Feb you DO need a jumper or jacket in the evenings. We did tip the staff and we did think it was appreciated. Scooter trip with Xavier is a must, you learn more about in Cuba in 3 hours than any other way. Tropicana Show was well worth it.
Feel free to e mail me if you think we can help

We have just returned from Breezes Jibacoa and had a great holiday there.

Food: The food was good with a lot of variety. The A La Carte restaurants were both good with the Italian one being our favourite. The service at both the restaurants and buffet was excellent!
The service at all the bars was good although the quality of drinks was hit and miss. We found the beach bar and the piano bar to be the best ones.

Beach: In January the weather can be quite windy with some cold fronts that pass through but we did have some very nice days which allowed us to snorkel. The reef is quite nice but is seeing some damage from tourists walking on it etc...
The beach itself is great with lot's of lounge chairs so you do not have to get up early and reserve your chair!

Hotel: Well we have only one gripe about the hotel and that is we booked a non smoking room which initially it was non smoking until we had new neighbours in the room beside us that smoked. The rooms share the AC ventilation system. Whether we turned on our AC or not we were polluted with the other rooms second hand smoke. This kind of put a dampner on our vacation for the last 4 days we were there. Other than that we found the hotel to be clean and the grounds very beautiful.

Excursions: We did the Havana tour which was awesome as well as the Tropicana Show which was also awesome. If we had it to do over again we would stay in Havana for 4 days to explore the entire city before going to our all inclusive resort.
The scooter tour with Adrian was great and lot's of fun.

All in all it was a fantastic holiday and if I was the type of person to return to the same place twice I would have to say that I would definitely return to Cuba!

The reviews on this site were very helpful to me in choosing this resort. Time to return the favour. I don't need to repeat all the things that've already been said, so I'll try and add some new info here.

I went with my girlfriend and another couple. We're all in our late twenties and wanted a chill week of relaxation and slow pace. This resort is perfect for that. If you want excitement, action, and frat-boys chugging beer, this isn't the place for you. We really enjoyed ourselves just doing nothing. The beach is awesome. So is the pool. We also enjoyed the tennis and basketball courts. The staff was mostly very friendly with a few cranky ones mixed in. That's fine. The place is very clean and well run. The food is actually quite good and we enjoyed a nice mix of buffet and a la carte nights.

BEWARE:
Every single time we exchanged money at the lobby desk, they tried to screw us. They're very subtle about it so be careful. Sometimes they won't give you the exact change they owe you and shrug if you point it out. You think to yourself "oh, it's just 57 cents, they might be out of coins at the moment, who cares". But other times you give them $240 to convert and the little printout they give you says you gave them $220. Yup, they tried to steal $20 bucks from me here, $10 bucks from me there. The same thing happened in a hotel in Havana (we went for a day trip), but I never expected to have to watch out for it at OUR RESORT. So, as long as you always count your money out in front of them and say out loud how much you're giving them, then count out loud how much they gave you compaqred to the print-out, you'll be fine. This in no way ruined our trip because we were on-guard for it after I got swindled of $5 on the first day. It just left us a bad taste in our mouth in an otherwise perfect vacation. When you call them on it, they casually smile and give you the missing money as though it was a cute little mistake.

QUICK TIPS:
Book your watersports a day in advance (except snorkling or kayaking). If you want wind-surfing lessons, they're at 10am.

The morning hike is incredible. You go into a small farmhouse and see the way they really live. The views are amazing. Be aware that the first 15 minutes of the hike is up a very steep incline. This might be a little challenging if you're older or not in great health. The rest of the hike is very leisurely and relaxing.

The scooter tour was fantastic. Our guide Adrian was amazing. Get him if you can. He's very funny and friendly and extremely knowledgeble. Bring gifts for the children in the fishing village you pass through. They especially seemed to love the marbles we gave them. The girls loved the hair-clips and elastics.

GO TO HAVANA
This is a must. Although we would have like at least 2 full days there, even a day is amazing. Hire a taxi from the resort and spend the day in Havana. Make sure to see both Old Havana and downtown. Old Havana is manicured and restored and caters to tourists. It's filled with beautiful cafes and shops and is just spectacular. Downtown is a different story. Things are crumbling everywhere and the contrast is hard to fully grasp. But you must see it. Otherwise, you're not really seeing Cuba.

KATAMARAN Si!
The katamaran trip was the highlight of our vacation. We snorkled, swam with dolphins, ate lobster (dish out an extra $10 CUC and get a huge plate of lobster on top of your supplied meal) on a beautiful white-sand island beach. There isn't enough I can say about this excusrion. Do it. Do it. Do it!

That's my two cents. We loved it and would go back for sure. Don't order the steak in the Italian restaurant, it's pretty lame.

We are two well-seasoned travellers and found Breezes Jibacoa to be a delightful resort.

Beach: A beautiful, long and safe stretch of golden sand perfect for walking along from end to end. Lots of coral, sponges etc. for those who like to beachcomb.

Water: We had four red flag days during our stay, but still had two days which were good for snorkelling. On the calmer days we saw several jellyfish, which appeared to be Portuguese Man-O-War. They’re quite easy to spot, as they float on the surface of the water (see photos). Nothing to worry about, just steer clear of them.

Food: Buffet was varied, plentiful and of good quality. Nightly themes include Seafood, Jamaican, Cuban, Chinese and Italian. The a la carte restaurants were also excellent. Martino’s is quite classy with excellent service and La Taberna has a more casual feel. The beach grill is great for light lunches (hotdogs, hamburgers, pizza, grilled fish, grilled chicken, salad). On Tuesday they served roast suckling pig on buns right on the beach! Hot snacks are served daily just outside the lobby from 4-6 pm and 11 pm – 2 am. Cold snacks are available 24 hours from the fridge beside the lobby bar.

Drinks: make sure to request the Spanish wine at Martino’s – much better than the Cuban wine served elsewhere. Spanish wine is also available at the buffet restaurant, but only in rosé. Lots of specialty cocktails and coffees to try at the bars, see if you can try one of each on the list (good luck!). Very impressed with the variety of premium international brands available at the lobby and piano bars.

Rooms: large and clean. Beds were a bit firmer than we liked, but that seems to be common in Cuba. Otherwise, no complaints.

Activities/Entertainment: we went on a hike up one on the hills behind the resort with Mini Mike (1-1/2 hours from start to finish). The portion going up the hill was quite demanding, but only takes about ten minutes or so. You visit a local farm (bring something for the kiddies) where you get to sample fresh sugar cane. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to see a tarantula (or a portion thereof) that Mini Mike stops by to visit each time he hosts the hike. We also took a Cuban drink making class at the pool bar, which was informative and delicious! There’s no shortage of activities from those who wish to be constantly busy. Evening shows were always entertaining and enjoyable.

Money: don’t bother exchanging your money at Varadero airport, the exchange rate at the hotel was actually better. No need for traveller’s cheques, just bring cash (CAD, GBP, CHF, EUR). Don’t bring USD and avoid relying on credit cards, as both attract a conversion/service charge.

Excursions: we did the Colonial Havana trip for 51 CUC each. Well worth it! Very old city with lots of interesting architecture, and it’s quite safe. Lunch was included at a rustic open-air restaurant on Havana harbour, right beside Fortress Mora. Other reviews mention that it’s cheaper for four people to rent a cab to explore Havana for the day, but if your driver doesn’t speak English that well, you’re not going to learn as much about Cuba as you do on the escorted tour.

We highly recommend this resort. If you’re looking to party or to hook up with singles, go to Varadero. If you’re looking for a quiet, relaxing and somewhat refined adults-only vacation, then this is your place!