We stayed it the Cameleon Jibacoa for 2 weeks in March of 2008.
After reading the reviews of a seemingly jaded and shortsighted few, I needed to set the record strait about this resort. First off, the resort only caters to local Cuban people in the off-season, and during local holidays. (If you like to mingle with other tourists, try visiting from October to May of each year, and not just in the cheaper off-season)
The resort is not run down by most Cuban standards, although admittedly a bit of paint is needed in a few places. The walkways are well planned out, and the resort is spread out over a vast area.
The food is typical of many Cuban resorts, however, the staff prepare wonderful breakfast omelets, with fresh squeezed o.j., and they are always around to bring you a coffee or cappuccino, if you want one. The lunch and dinner fair is changed daily, with a fresh grill offering each night, so anyone who can not find something to eat might want to stay closer to home and eat burgers and fries.
Our room (and the rooms of our traveling companions) was basic but clean, with a great walk-in shower, and a fair sized sink area. The only bugs and insects that were in our rooms, got there because we left the door and/or sliding deck window open too long. (This happens at home as well, and has no negative implication on this resort) We also had a larger bug in our washroom one day but it was a water beetle, not a cockroach. (They can come in while the maids clean the rooms, because they leave the doors open during cleaning. I fail to see how some one can have mould in every corner of their bathroom, when the rooms are thoroughly cleaned and moped daily.
The activity boys at the pool area try very hard to keep the guests entertained during the afternoons, and the bartenders at the pool area are a hoot, as long as you are not rude to them. The Spanish coffee in the lobby bar is second to none, and must be tried. Thanks Rudy and associates.
This is a very small resort, so don’t expect all the extras that you might get at a larger one. (But you also won’t get the long drink line-ups, lack of lounge chairs, and impersonal service of the larger resorts, either.)
The beach is beautiful, and much longer than the higher priced resort next door (Breezes Jibacoa), and the snorkeling is amazing. (As some of the younger respondents point out, this is not as swimming beach like those in say “Varadero/Cayo Coco/la Habana”, but then all/most of them have little or no snorkeling/coral reefs, within feet of the resort.) If you want a swimming beach, don’t go to a resort with a coral reef beach, and then complain about it.
For those younger travelers, (Teens to twenties) this might not the resort for you. Even if you say you want a relaxed vacation, you may find this resort not to your liking. There is a disco on the property, but even in the peak tourist season it can be largely empty. With little night life, and no surrounding clubs or restaurants, things just might be a little too relaxed for you, and you could end up leaving undeserved negative reviews of this resort. (NOTE: At check-in, be sure to ask for a room far away from the disco, if you do not like noise at night. Bring earplugs if you are noise sensitive. Also bring travel mugs for your drinks, as they are much larger than the cups they supply, and help keep your drinks cold)
If you want a true overview of this resort, from an adult perspective, please check out the many positive reviews, and have a great time in Jibacoa.

My girlfriend and I are 25 & 27 years old and our one week stay at the Cameleon Jibacoa took place July 12 - 19, 2008.

About ourselves: We have been to Cuba a few times and have come to enjoy the amazing people and their incredible hospitality, great historical sites of interest, beautiful beaches and bland food! We are not into partying or over-drinking, so the Cameleon Jibacoa sounded like a great place to unwind, relax and enjoy time away from work.

After reading all the great recommendations on Trip Advisor we were very enthused to stay at this resort, although with a 3* rating we did expect fewer luxuries and a more modest room as compared to some of the higher end resorts we have stayed at in Cuba and other countries.

Now after staying at the resort my girlfriend and I vowed that we would leave a trip advisor report to all those considering going to this resort - PLEASE reconsider and spend your hard-earned money on a different vacation package, as in our modest opinion this was not a resort worth visiting/returning to!

Sorry to all those that have left "great " comments regarding this resort- we feel we do not have high expectations whatsoever but in our opinion there appears to be a great difference between others' reviews an the reality of this resort!

A few points which I didn't see mentioned in many of the very "positive reviews" of this resort:

1)This is largely a Cuban resort:
Due to the recent change in legislation, wealthier Cubans (diplomats, business people, etc) can pay to stay with their families at resorts. I think this is a fantastic change in policy, as it is very repressive that in the past this was not allowed, due to the unsaid "partite" between tourists and Cubans. Other than some of the staff, we were the one of the few English-speaking couples at the resort, which didn't bother us too much as we are learning Spanish and enjoyed the experience. However, we found that the many of the Cubans staying at the resort were very rude and unfriendly towards us, and we felt resented and looked down upon. We tried at first to mingle and interact but found very soon that they were not interested in speaking to us. The only time they interacted with us was when they whistled or cat-called at my girlfriend or made a rude comment in Spanish. I understand this is common in their culture and took it with a grain of salt.

Due to the low-end nature of this hotel, and disrepair, I wouldn't be surprised to see this hotel taken off the listings for International guests and made completely into a Cuban-only resort in the years to come.

2) We are Okay with mould, and understand at a lower end resort this may be seen. However we were surprised to see mould in nearly every corner of our bathroom/shower, as well as in our main bedroom quarters. Water damage was very noticeable in the shower area.

On a positive note, whenever something did break down in our room (this happened several times - toilet, air conditioning) they were quick to have a repairman come and fix the problem.

3) Insects in our rooms: Many ants had made their home in our room, which led to many bites on our ankles as we slept. We came home one evening after enjoying the beach to a surprise of what appeared to be a large cockroach behind our toilet. I'd recommend to those that want to stay here to sleep with "off" or another insect spray as mosquitoes were making their way into our room from gaps in the walls in the closet- the more we killed the more showed up in our room.

4)Food/Drink.
Generally all resort food in Cuba is pretty dismal, and the Jibacoa fits this same mould. This is very understandable due to the little that Cubans have to offer, which we realized from our other visits. If you enjoy sleeping in, this is not the resort for you. We found that if you did not arrive to the buffet early , the food was picked through and not replenished often- or you would miss the meal completely. Unlike other resorts, there are no snacks between meals. Some reviews mentioned snack bars by the pool - these are now closed and unavailable. For example, if you did not go to breakfast at 7AM - 8:00AM you would not have a very good selection left. The same meal selections were available each day, very little variance. It was interesting to see the buffet left-overs from breakfast morph into lunch, and lunch remainders turned into dinner meals. I think its great not to waste, but I'm not sure what other's thoughts are on this.

If you want to enjoy a good meal and do decide to stay here, you'll have to leave the resort and go to habana or one of the closer towns, possibly the city of Matanzas.

Drinks: We found the bartenders at the pool or lounge bar resentful when serving us liquor. Most times they would only serve us a beer or a basic mixed drink as they said they were out of ice or other ingredients for the pina coladas, bloody mary, etc. However we would see the bartenders serving the Cuban guests these drinks which made us feel very second class. Many times we felt that we were a hassle more than anything, even though we only had a few drinks during the entire day. If you enjoy drinking, I would also not recommend this resort.

On the positive, the grounds are quite beautiful (flowers, grass, trees) and the snorkelling is amazing.

Unfortunately the buildings are very run down, the beach isn't that great for swimming (seaweed, and coral - don't expect varadero type beaches here!) and generally this hotel is in disrepair.
I am very amazed to hear that people have come here in the past for weddings - if you are looking to plan a wedding please take my word - spend the little extra and stay next door at the resort next to the Jibacoa Cameleon (Breezes - very good quality resort!!!) or somewhere nicer in Varadero/Cayo Coco/la Habana/ etc.

We enjoyed: getting out of the resort as much as possible! There was a car rental in the parking lot which offers vehicles for rent. We rented a car for a few days to visit friends in Cardenas, travel across the island to different points and go to la habana.

To sum things up, once again, please reconsider staying here. I was amazed at how poor our experience was, compared to what we had read from previous guests to the Jibacoa Cameleon. For a few hundred dollars extra, you could have a truly better over-all experience. Fortunately we did not stay here for our first trip to Cuba, as this would have turned-us off traveling again to this amazing country. Cuba has much to offer, and is a must-see destination - just not at the Jibacoa Club Cameleon!

Happy Travelling!

We are from the Toronto area and went to the Cameleon Jibacoa for 14 nights from April 14-29, 2008. Our trip cost approx. $3,000 in total. We have 2 viewpoints on this resort: from the perspective of a 22-year-old female first time visitor to Cuba who has never been to an all-inclusive, and from a 54-year-old male three-time visitor to Cuba who has been to a number of 4 star all-inclusives.

SHE SAYS:

I give our trip an 8/10 and enjoyed most of it. I would definitely return to this resort because of: its location, the lack of crowds and the price.

The Good
The location is excellent because it’s only an hour away from Havana, which makes a Havana excursion very doable (vs. from Varadero, it’s a 2-hr ride to Havana). The snorkelling is awesome and doesn’t get boring. I took a scuba lesson and a dive with Chenos, one of the friendly scuba instructors – we swam through caves and saw a lobster and it felt like we were in the movie The Little Mermaid – amazing! I think I’d rather have the coral reefs right off shore and the proximity to Havana than have the white sand beaches found in Varadero, by comparison.

This resort is small and quiet, which I really liked. No lineups at the bar, always tables available in the restaurant, no crowded beaches, and only 15-20 people on our excursion to Havana and our hiking excursion.

The price is very reasonable. For a 3-star in Cuba, I was prepared not to eat gourmet food or swim in a fantastic pool. And I was quite satisfied with our room and bathroom – it wasn’t gross, it was big enough, the TV had some good movies and it was right by the restaurant.

The weather was half-good. Our first 5 days were chilly, windy, cloudy and red flags. The next week was much better. In total, we had about 3 green flag days, 6 yellow flags and the rest red. It was constantly windy or breezy, which got a bit tiring.

The Bad
On our 2nd day, I had the fish for lunch around 1:00. Then during the afternoon and evening, for about 4 hours straight, I got horrible stomach cramps and threw everything up until I started dry heaving. My friend ended up calling the on-site doctor, who came to our room and gave me a gravol shot in the bum. The first thing he asked us was, “Did you have the fish today?”… It took me about a day to recover. My friend felt a little nauseous all day the next day as well (he also had the fish), but he didn’t throw up. I stayed away from all meat food for several days thereafter.

The Ugly
On our 3rd day, I applied some sunscreen enriched with aloe vera (Banana Boat Ultra Plus waterproof sunblock, 50 SPF) on my face, neck and arms. I don’t know if it’s because I have sensitive skin, or it was more sensitive in the sun and heat, but this sunscreen absolutely wrecked my skin. In about a day, everywhere I had applied it, I broke out into small red itchy bumps and my face swelled up so much that I couldn’t recognize myself. During the worst of it, I woke up at 4:30 am on Thursday, the 4th day, and my left eye was so swollen that I couldn’t open it.

So again we went to see the doctor. The first thing he asked me was, “Have you been using aloe vera? It can react with the sun in hot Cuban weather.” Argh… I had to contend with my freak face for the next 4 days – I looked like an alien with slitty eyes and orange peel skin. I was embarrassed to show myself in public. The doc gave me a cream that helped reduce the inflammation and in about 4 days I was better.

In Sum
I’d definitely go here again and I hope it remains a small, non-crowded resort. The snorkelling/scuba is super fun, the grounds are lovely to walk around, the food is yummy, the price is right, and my companion was the best I could ever ask for.

HE SAYS:

First of all, this was a thoroughly researched trip and the reviews on this web site were very helpful and, as we found out at the resort, quite accurate. However, there are a few negatives and omissions that I’d like to tell you about as a heads-up if you go to Cameleon Jibacoa.

One of the reviews suggested that this 3-star could pass for a 4-star in some respects. In my experience, none of the elements of this facility could be mistaken for a 4-star. From the mismatched furniture in our small room to the uncomfortable foam mattress with the worn sheets to the faded curtains and the lack of screens on the windows and doors that let in mosquitoes, the management of this facility could try a little harder to make the accommodations more comfortable. We were finding ants in the bathroom and elsewhere although this was not a major problem. I was disappointed by the amount of black mould that was growing on our shower stall tiles.

During our walks through the very pretty grounds, we did see the infrastructure problems reported, including broken sidewalks, cracked foundations, broken flower planters and villas that appeared to be below ground-level that would certainly flood during a heavy rain.

The staff were, as has been reported, quite friendly and obviously hard working. The only negative to report was several staff approaching us asking if we’d like to buy counterfeit cigars. The food and drink were generally good, although we were disappointed by the occasional watery pina colada and the rum drinks used an inferior rum. I was surprised to see the pool bar run out of tequila and there were no straws to be found for several days at either of the bars.

It’s been reported that the water is good to drink in your rooms, but I’m suspicious about this. You are provided with a large bottled water upon arrival and, during orientation, the Nolitours rep suggested refilling the bottle at the bars or restaurant. After falling ill, I can’t help but wonder if the bathroom water was fit to drink.

There is a noise problem from the animation crew activities. It’s hard to escape unless you are at the beach or wear earplugs when you go to sleep. Personally I think they could crank down the volume of their shows and music.

My biggest beef was with the tourists who put out their cigarettes and cigars on the beach, in the grass and in the flower beds. It was not unusual to see plastic cups and other litter throughout the grounds, which is a shame and says volumes about our North American culture.

Our trip to Havana was interesting and better than my last trip, due mainly to our smaller bus. But I found the street people more aggressive than I remembered 4 years ago. I would suggest leaving your shopping for the duty-free at the Varadero airport rather than picking up gifts and booze from the resort or marketplace. No stamps were sold at the store next to the resort or at the resort front desk. It seems you can’t get them unless you go to Havana, which is where we mailed our postcards. Also, visitors should be aware that, while they can purchase pesos at the reception desk upon arrival, the Cameleon does not cash in unspent pesos for Canadian dollars. This has to be done at the airport before departure.

I agree that this resort was good value for the money and will likely be enjoyed by many travellers who are looking for a low-budget place by the beach. The snorkelling offshore was the best I have experienced anywhere. Despite the tired look of this place, I would recommend it. I would say, however, that during our 2 weeks we did see a number of surveyors at work on the grounds and near the beach. So be aware of any upcoming work on the property that may change the look and feel and maybe the cost of staying at this resort.

I just got back from Villas Jibacoas, after spending a week there in early May with my boyfriend. The hotel is an hour outside of Varadero, which we weren't really expecting, and was VERY QUIET. However, apart from the distance from Varadero, it was a great experience - the hotel staff are very friendly and nice, the food is very good (well cooked, unlike other hotels I've been to), the drinks are great (bartenders are AWESOME!!). The rooms are just typical rooms, but nice none the less. If you go to this hotel, DEFINATELY go on the excursion to Cayo Blanco, it was VERY FUN!!! Bring 10 pesos for the amazing lobster dinner. All in all this was a very fun trip - had a great time with the boyfriend, met lots of nice travellers, and made friends with the awesome staff. Great hotel!!