Jake and Julie Feb 15-Mar 2/07
Cameleon Villas Jibacoa
I will try not to repeat the reviews listed. We are in our 70’s and just returned for 2 weeks from Cameleon villas. This is our second trip to Cuba. Last year we stayed at Breezes resort (4 star)-next door to Cameleon (3 star). There are some differences. First the Breezes Jibacoa (250 rooms) has a much better selection when is comes to meals.(including lobster night on Thursdays). Also the beach bar has a better food selection. The rooms are more up to date including a bathtub with the shower. They also have an extra bar during the entertainment evenings. The Breezes and Cameleon share the same beach. You are able to walk from one to another-but that is where the benefits end. There is no limit where you can swim. The service at both is excellent. The friendly staff speaks fairly good English and is always helpful. The cleanliness at both is exceptional. I admire the work ethics of the staff. We would come back from the beach the rooms would be spotless, our clothes would be folded, and our room sprayed for ants -which like to live in the rooms where food is available. (killed a spider-when we returned was covered with ants).This is the tropics.
The meals at Cameleon are mainly limited to pork, chicken, ham, fish (mahi the best) and one-day prawns, roast whole pig, and turkey. The rooms are 6 and 2 type villas. We never had to worry about finding loungers at the beach and the pool.
Rudy and Pedro at the main bar can make some unbelievable drinks. Although the bar close at 11.00pm , they work 24 hours and have the next day off- this is standard. The girls at the desk, (Yara, Maricely, Lili, Marile, Maybet, Madilaine and Lisbel) are unbelievable in the help and friendship they have given us. Bring some goodies (crayons, pencils, scribblers for their children).
The weather during February is there winter month. We had strong wind and cool weather the first four days we arrived. Coming from Winnipeg and -30C and going to 19C we just loved it. Although we are the only people that swam in the pool during this period, we enjoyed every day. The temp then went from 24C to 31C for the next (sunny) ten days. We both came home with great tans.
The main difference between Breezes and Cameleon is that what we paid for one week at the Breezes, we got two weeks at the Cameleon.
I do not believe there is a better place to snorkel. I have included pictures of the snorkeling I did 300 yards from the beach at Cameleon. Would we go back- in a minute.
One warning: Cameleon lets you use their snorkeling equipment for the length of your stay. Day before we left (we left our equipment outside) someone walked away with it. The cost to me $50.00C.
Bring your own and keep it inside the room.

We flew with FirstAir from Ottawa to Varadero and it went well. The only downfall of flying with FirstAir is that there is no TV, so no movies to watch, however the flight went by quickly and went well. Everything was scheduled on time.

The first day we arrived at the Cameleon, the flag was green, the weather was hot and humid. The second day was pretty much the same. The Tuesday was not very nice and the rest of the week the flag was red but we had a few sunny but windy days for the remainder of the week. The resort itself is very clean, quiet and you feel quite welcomed. The Cuban people are very friendly and will accommodate you as best they can. The drinks at the lobby are better than those by the poolside. For those of you who travel there with kids, it's an excellent choice. They are very good with the kids and there is always something going on for the kids. It's a small resort and so by the end of the week, you have gotten to know almost everyone there.

The food is repetitive, always potatos, plain white rice and slightly spiced rice. Different types of noodles in tomato sauce. It's always the same food every day. The service is very good. The red wine is served cold. The orange juice is excellent, so is the strawberry yogurt. There are lots of flies on the food but that's a given.

The pool is very clean, however the chairs are a little run down. There's also sandwiches and hotdogs at the poolside.

The sand on the beach is nice. They generally keep it pretty clean. Keep in mind that it is a public beach. On windy days, there are alot of jellyfish. Although the flag was red, a few people went snorkling but with caution. Some did get stung by jellyfish but were ok. If you did not bring your own snorkling equipment, I suggest you grab your snorkling gear early, because we had to wait a while before we could get a hold of some. They have a few peddleboats, and some fishing lines, for those who want to fish. At the end of the Breezes hotel, there is a guy who will take you horse backriding for 10 pesos.

Internet access is pretty good at the lobby, and you can easily access your e-mails. The pool table is missing the cue ball. There's also a ping poing table. There are also bycicles available at any time if you want to go for a bike ride. If you want to go on a scooter, you can go over to the Breezes hotel and rent one. There is no insurance though!

There's an activity bulletin at the lobby, but some of these activities did not always take place. If you do go for the hike up the mountain, please keep in mind it is steep. You will hike up the mountain and then on the way back you will walk accross a farmer's field and he will serve you sugar cane and fresh coconut.

The entertainement was ok, some of the staff put on a good show. The enternainement is not mentioned anywhere on the resort, so it's a surprise every night. The activities at the pool are fun.

The hotel rooms are spacious enough, and the cleaning staff are excellent. The only downfall I would have to say about our room was the air conditioning was blowing in our faces, it was not located in a good place but it worked very well. You have to pay 14 pesos for the safe for the week. The fridge is not stocked. The TV has lots of movies choices. You can convert your money at the lobby. We had done it at the airport but was told it's probably best at the lobby. The water is ok to drink. In fact Cuba uses a system which was designed by Canada.

We took the Catamaran trip which was ok. The dolphin show was ok as well. I actually felt bad for them, because the water was very dirty. I suggest if you want to swim with Dolphins, go to Mexico.

Would I recommend this place to a friend, yes. If your looking for a quite and clean place to go, this would be it. If you want to know more, you can e-mail me at michellewhalen@videotron.ca

We stayed in th Cameleon Villas Jibacoa for 1 week in november 06. It is located between Havana and Varadero on a beautifull coral beach beside the Super Club Breezes. This is a quiet hotel where you can enjoy great snorkeling, bring your water sandals... The food was above average for a 3 stars hotel. This place is very intimate hotel far from all downtown action. The staff is very nice. Katamaran, pedals boats and kayaks are avalable as well as bicycles, scooters and car rentals. It is a great hotel for people who want to relaxe, snorkle, and be an hour away drive from Varadero or Havana. There is not much animation so you make your own fun.

I have been watching the reviews for Cameleon Villas Jibacoa for over a year. Last year there was very little known about this resort because it was under renovation until December 2005. Soon after it reopened great reviews started to surface and I must agree with most of them and was not disappointed. We (3 generations of females-my 10 year old, myself and my mother) have stayed at Cameleon Villas in jibacoa Jan.6 to 13. The resort is about 45 min. by bus from Varadero airport. As the bus drops you off, you enter a lobby/reception area that's closest of all the buildings to the beach (I thought someone should have made it into a restaurant instead) so the view is fabulous. The lobby area does have a bar with tables you can sit at just off the beach or in the front. This is also where you find information about the resort entertainment (which unfortunately often is not happening, except the nightly show and there really should be at least one event for children so they could get aquainted), trips you can book with a rep, billiards table and a table tennis. There is also two very small shops and a computer that does not seem to work very well most of the time (I paid 4 CUpesos for half an hour and my card had an hour of time-good thing since it took 10 min. to get into my email). The resort is really spread out and the grounds are very well kept. The rooms are grouped into bungalow like structures in a row or as 2 in the front and 2 in the back. The best location seems to be in rooms with a queen sized bed (#1 to 25), next comes the rooms with 2 twins (#26 to 77) and next are the rooms with 3 beds (#78 to 106). The even numbered rooms are usually facing the ocean while the odd numbered ones face the other way. Since there were 3 of us, our room (#103) was not very well located which meant my mother who has difficulty walking longer distances had a bit of a walk to the buffet restaurant for every meal. At least we brought flashlights to light up the dimly lit winding pathways at night. The buffet was fairly good, best at breakfast with the fresh orange juice, instantly made omelettes, cold cuts, great bread and fresh fruit. The lunches and dinner were similar with choice of 2 soups, a pizza plus good variety of food. The ice cream at lunch was a highlight. If the resort is not busy, lunch can be served at the Mediterrian restaurant by the pool (with no posting ahead of time anywhere) or on the grass as a barbeque (hamburger, hotdogs or fish) but I would pass on that. The restaurant by the pool is also where you can have one meal "a la carte" but only the entre and desert are a choice. We really enjoyed this meal. The pool is nice and clean but cool. There is lots of seating around and a live band entertains guests most afternoons. From there you can also see the beach which is very nice and you can walk along it all the way to the end at the "Breezes hotel" next door. You can't go from the beach to Breezes because their guest don't wear the plastic bracelet like those of Cameleon. There is security guards everywhere at both hotels so you feel safe. Unfortunatelly items like shoes and clothing left outside the rooms can easily get "lost". The best part about Cameleon in my opinion is the coral reef and snorkelling. The shallower part of the reef is in front of the pool and is better for those who don't want to venture too far (like my daugther). The middle of the beach where the peddle boats and kayaks are, leads out to the deeper water which is not advisable for children and non-swimmers. This is where the reef drops about 5 meters and snorkelling gets more interesting. I can't stress enough that if that's what you want to do, use every opportunity because the wind will bring in waves and with them "jellyfish" and undertow so red flag can be posted for days. We had red flag 4 out of 6.5 days we were there and that was very disappointing. Otherwise the only trip we took was Havana Historica without the Tropicana show because we had a child and it was a 8:30am to 5 pm trip. The cost was 51CUpesos for adult and 29CUpesos for my daughter. We all enjoyed it and it's good to see part of real Cuba. Overall I would recommend this hotel to all those who like quiet pleasant surroundings with great possibility for snorkelling. Just in case the wind comes, bring some good books and cards.