We arrived at the hotel on 24th February, after an excellent flight with Virgin. We were given a friendly welcome and shown to our room, I had emailed guest relations requesting a quiet top floor room with a king size bed and that is exactly what we got. We had room 2139 which is at the end of the walkway down to the beach.Our balcony directly overlooked the beach. I would not have been happy if we had been put anywhere near the pool and entertainment area though, we like early nights and the noise from the entertainment area was loud until 11pm some nights.

Our room was spotlessly clean, the bed was comfy with lots of soft pillows. There was good water pressure in the shower. A decent selction of toiletries were provided.There was also a hairdryer, iron and board, CD player and coffee machine. A fridge would have been welcome though, I think they are in some of the ocean front rooms.A vacuum jug is provided which you can get filled with filtered water at the bars, this is a bit of a nuisance though. We missed having a supply of bottled water and soft drinks in the room which is common in other caribbean all inclusive resorts.Our maid, Mayret,looked after us really well, our room was always serviced before 11am and without fail she left us towel decorations, including swans, hearts and butterflies. We left her little gifts and she would always write a note to say thanks.

The hotel grounds and beach were immaculate. We did not use the pool but spent our days on the beach, there is lots of shade available and plenty of chairs. The resort appeared full and there were plentry of chairs to go round.People still insisted though on the selfish practise of reserving their chairs early in the morning and then not appearing until just before lunch.The beach beds were hard plastic although not too uncomfy. I noticed that quite a few people brought the pillows from their bedrooms to lie on. I thought that was horrible and realy unhygenic.

The sea was beautiful, there were a few jellyfish on the day we arrived, but they completely disappeared and the green flag flew all week. The sea was crystal clear and the coral was really close to the shore, snorkelling was great with a good variety of fish. It is a good spot for novice snorkellers to learn in safety. I was disappointed to see people standing on the coral, the hotel does not seem to worried about this and does nothing to discourage people form doing so. Perhaps a couple of signs on the beach would help.

Food - well I was disappointed, the breakfasts were my favourite. Lots of choice and the omelette chef was great. The breads were really good, especially the walnut rolls.The coffee was bad though and the fresh juice bar was lacking.

Lunch- we used the buffet once, we didn't fancy the cooked offerings and just had deserts.For the rest of the time we used the beach restaurant, not a huge choice, burgers, hot dogs, fish fillet, chicken or pizza with fries and salad. It wasgood though, freshly cooked and served with a smile. We had the best service here.

Evening buffet, well I'm sorry but I don't understand anyone who rates the food highly here. It was average at best, a limited salad selection, meats in gravy and sloppy mashed potatoes.Nothing had any flavour and most things looked unappetising. The deserts were good though, lots of chocolatey puds and cakes.

We ate at both speciality restaurants, the Italian was OK, but the seafood cocktail was ruined by being smothered in tomato ketchup.We preferred the Cuban restaurant, but beacuse we had the last reservation we were rushed through our meal which was over in about 40 minutes.

There is a good selection of bars, we thought that the quality of drinks were good, especially the Mojitos, and we liked the spanish coffee after dinner. More waiter service would have been good though. We used the Piano bar but thought it lacked atmosphere, the piano player was a joke. He was a miserable person who spent most of his time hanging out at the end of the bar drinking, he only played once the whole week and then ignored his audience.

On the subject of staff, I have read in other reviews that everyone is friendly and smiling. We did not find this to be the case, some people were lovely, especially at the beach bar, others were not. Staff at the lobby bar appeared to have their favourites and made a fuss of them, we were lucky to get a glimmer of a smile, even though we tipped.

Overall although I have been negative in some areas, we did really enjoy our week at Breezes, it just didn't measure up to other places we have been.However, if you are looking for a relaxing break in a spotlessly clean and beautiful environment AND the price is right, I would recommend it.

My second time to Varadero and I must say the Jibacoa was much better then the Barcelo Solymar (where I stayed the first time). The only area where it might be a negative is the location. This resort is not in Varadero, its about 45 minutes from there and an hour and a bit to Havana. Although the secluded location can be a postitive depending on the type of traveler you are. The food was good for Cuba standards. The beach and snorkelling are excellent when its not windy. It is a little more relaxed of a resort, but we managed to get a good group of young people as well to get things going. I would definitely recommend this hotel to couples who are looking for relaxation and daytime activities. If your looking for nightlife, stay in Havana.

I just returned from Breezes Jibacoa and I have to say that it is simply the best resort that I have ever been to.
The food was simply fantastic, the service was exceptional.
The coral reef was just crazy, it was so.... amazing that I can't say enough about it.
My buddy and I did two Excursions.
1: The first was the Jeep tour and oh boy were we in for a treat. Snorkeling in the underwater river cave and then taking a tour of the Bellamar Caves. The stop @ the coffe farm\restaurant was also terrific, I got to ride a bull, and my buddy rode a horse.
2: The other tour was to Havana. that whole trip can be sumed up as fantastic!!!
Back to the resort, the nightly shows were very cool, the pool was a little shallow, but still nice to play volleyball in.

As I was walking along the beach this morning at the SCBJ before going to the lobby to catch our transfer to the airport, I remembered some words from a review written here that started something like " I hate to rain on everyone’s Super clubs Breezes Jibacoa parade........" Anyway, I thought that was a fitting way to start. Now, I don't want to sound too negative because there are so many beautiful and wonderful things about this little piece of heaven in the Cuban countryside by the sea. First of all you can't compare a holiday in Cuba to a holiday anywhere else so please, don't even try. It has it's own charm, characteristics and unique qualities that are found only in Cuba. And as seasoned travelers, we found ourselves visiting Cuba for the first time, wanting to experience all of this. Having said that, I wish I could have enjoyed it more. And I feel bad about that. The resort is gorgeous and it is esthetically pleasing with lush vegetation and cleanliness. Also, I had a great feeling of security and all of our needs were met, albeit at times. I feel, reluctantly. There was something missing and it is hard to put my finger on it. After reading every review written about the place before going on our trip, most of them positive, I was prepared for the greatest food and the friendliest staff. We got neither. So ok, if you don't go to Cuba for the food, and that's even ok then I'm thinking, what else makes it so special?? Not the staff service certainly although prompt mostly, I found the staff predominately, are indifferent to guests and it almost seems like they are being interrupted by staff requests on occasion, and it is not because we aren’t friendly or we didn't tip. My husband tipped constantly day after day every person he had contact with from not only the guys who served us food or drinks but also the cooks and bartenders who prepared it, every time they prepared it.........nothing. Also he had a massage on the beach, 10 pesos, he gave the guy 20 pesos...........nothing. Lobby bar, unsmiling woman just looking at you as if to say, "What do you want". OK so let's tip her, call her by her name on the tag, smile broadly and next time surely when we order a drink she'll be more pleasant.............nothing. Now having said that too, there was some excellent staff that went above and beyond their call of duty performing their jobs, but more often than not I felt as if it was an imposition to ask for anything. So as a result, I just don't feel like this will be a place where we will hurry back to, although I think it is wonderful that we met some folks that have been there again and again and that's great, but why don't I feel that way too? I guess it's just me. So I’m sorry to rain on everyone’s parade.
Front desk staff were accommodating but again, indifferent. I had emailed the resort twice prior to arriving both to public relations and to the rooms manager requesting a garden view away from the pool and entertainment stating that I had booked this holiday 6 months in advance and am looking for peace and quiet. Guess where they stuck us. In building 18 on the end absolutely right behind the entertainment stage and directly beside the disco. OMG!! No problem changing the room however, it couldn’t be done till the next day. I hate that when you can’t unpack until the next afternoon after you have loitered around the lobby for a couple of hours waiting to get your room change.
Now to sum up our visit.
Hot---- the weather was 80 to 85 degrees the whole week we were there. Green flags on the beach 6 days out of 7. Awesome considering when we arrived on the 24th of Feb., a lady going home the next day spoke of her and her husband sitting on the beach one night the week before in their ski jackets drinking beer. Record breaking lows to record-breaking highs, apparently.
Warm--- gorgeous evenings didn't have to wear the sweater we packed. Warm orange juice served at breakfast.
Cool---- the food at the buffet was fluctuating between cold, cool and warm. Not too many dishes were even edible. What on earth did they do to the scrambled eggs?? And the poached eggs were sitting there for how long?? And I will add my own ketchup if I so desire, thank you.
Cold----some of the staff and I am an extremely friendly person married to an extremely generous tipper (who, by the way was very discreet)!! It seemed to be an effort at times to get staff to respond to my friendliness and my hubby's generosity. Unfortunate.
However, we had a fun time on the scooters, the morning hike, and the trip to Havana. I want to say also and I don't think it has been mentioned often about the medical service that I had to visit the doctor on our first day, bad bronchitis, and he was prompt, professional and attentive, did a full chest assessment and ordered an antibiotic which I was concerned about receiving as I was quite sick with a temp of 38.9 but, no problems. We did have to go to the resort next to us on the beach but staff was very caring and concerned. Excellent service. Met some wonderful people, mostly from Canada. Comfortable beds, wow did we sleep well!! But bring earplugs folks, as it is not very quiet at times. Lots of hot water. Great air conditioning in the rooms. No screens on the patio /balcony doors which would be nice as we like to have the fresh night air as opposed to the a/c at night. We loved Cuba and will return again but not here. It is nice but there are so many nice places. I wonder what Varadero, Guardalavaca or Cayo Coca are like.
Happy travels folks :)