Jibacoa 2003

Hi folks. We’re a week back from the Jibacoa and just now getting around to posting our impressions. What I’ve done is read through the existing postings and resort reports, and just add our impressions, opinions and conclusions.

FLIGHT and TRANSFER:

We flew Air Transat’s first class. The flight was great and the larger seats and other extras make it worth the price in our view. I believe that for two of us we paid an additional $300 round trip. It helps to arrive in good shape and ready to go. Of course for Geri, the additional luggage weight allowance was important as well. Double, it was.

For us, not having been there in 12 years or more, the changes to Varadero airport were impressive.

The bus ride to the resort went smoothly, all the more so because there were only 8 people (six of them in our party) for the trip. Nevertheless, we had a full-sized bus. Luckily too, as the washroom came in handy for those who made use of the beer tent in the airport parking lot.

THE RESORT:

Others have described it in detail. So I will just add my impressions.

The layout is pretty standard, though I think the landscaping is a cut above the usual. The rooms are fine, though I found the lack of a room mini-fridge annoying and not understandable. In every other respect the resort is 4-star, so the lack is odd. Not having a cold drink in the room or cold water for middle-of-the-night sipping, or a place to keep a late-night snack is noticed.

We stayed opposite a grassy area with a gazebo. In 2 weeks there were 2-3 weddings there. Around the gazebo is a small moat full of fish. They take kindly to being fed, so grab a few slices of bread at breakfast and stop off on your way back to your room!

The bars were dandy, the food fine. The Cuban restaurant was good, the Italian was excellent! Our only complaint here was the fact that each room could only get one reservation per week at each. We regularly stay at much cheaper resorts (the Tryp Cayo Coco being the best in this regard) with equally good a la carte restaurants, but where you can book a table as often as you’re prepared to make the effort.

Highlights of the buffet were the Thursday lobster festivals and the chef who did the breakfast omelets (Rady). Yum! on both counts.

The buffet goes through a series of ‘theme nights’. I particularly enjoyed the Mexican nights as I find Cuban and buffet food generally rather bland. Lobster night aside, I didn’t notice that the themes were fixed to any particular day of the week. Added a bit of spice (literally as well as figuratively) to the buffet offerings.

Between 16:00 and 18:00 each day there are cakes and tea available outside the Cuban restaurant on their patio, hot snacks (eg. patties and pizza) in the lobby.

The Breezes was the first resort-style hotel we’ve stayed at in Cuba that had room service. Only available for breakfast. HUGE plates of pastries and fresh fruit, plus all the fresh orange juice and coffee you can get down. Highly recommended, but I was ready to go back to bed right after! Look for the order form in your desk drawer and drop it at the front desk the day before.

There are the usual assortment of small stores in the hotel, with prices considerably better than in Havana or at the airport. In addition the 3-star resort next door has a shop with a larger selection of handicrafts and booze (less of everything else though) and you’ll have no problem wandering over, either along the beach or by road. Just tell the security folks what you’re there for.

BEACH and WATER:

The beach is a bit coarse for our taste. A mild disappointment compared with our Cayo Coco/Santa Maria/Guillermo haunts. Not exactly rocky, but lots of shells and chunks of coral, small and large etc. along the waterline. The snorkeling off the beach was good. And the farther you go the better is gets. One odd thing we noticed was the lack of Sergeant Majors on the reef…anyone have an explanation? Lots of other fish though, including a couple of different varieties of rays.

One day a large turtle washed-up on shore. Not pleasant, but interesting as I have never seen one live. Looked like it died of natural causes (or at least I like to think so).

One very disappointing thing about the water was the regular invasions of Portuguese Men O’War. At best I would say we had two days in a row that we free of them, though most days they would appear later in the day. My notes say that there were three days when we had to stay out of the water entirely and make for the pool.
Which wasn’t as bad as it sounds really. The resort is close to Havana, Matanzas and Varadero, so each day saw many guests head out by bus for the tours. So the pool was far from crowded, even when the beach was closed. And the beach was never crowded.

TOURS:

Each day there was a free nature hike up the hill immediately behind the hotel. Worth an hour or two, though a bit steep at first. You don’t have to be in great shape, but decent shoes and a fair bit of wind are needed.

We took a cab into Havana one day and did a self-directed tour. There were 6 of us, so we got a van and spent the day (9-18:00). $25US plus tip for the van and driver made it a good deal.

We did the usual, wandering around the markets and the old city. Plus we gawked through the Hotel Nacional where we were meeting a friend for drinks. Wonderful public areas in the hotel and our friend says the rooms are still pretty fresh from the renos done a few years ago. Worth a visit just for the history of the place. It’s oddly reminiscent of the CP (now Fairmont I guess) railway hotels here in Canada. Big, lush, lots of stone and wood, opulent public areas.

We had lunch at the grill out the back entrance, overlooking the Malecon. Probably the priciest lunch we’ve ever had in Cuba at $10US, but it was wonderful and there was way more food than we were expecting (or wanted…but we tried valiantly to get through it all!).

Also in Havana we stopped from drinks at the Hotel Sevilla not far from the Museo d el Revolucion. Lobby areas looked wonderful, nicely restored. Wonder what the rooms are like as it’s in a great location!

On another day we rented a car and parked in Matanzas (30 mins. away) and walked around for the better part of a morning. Much fun. The town was in the midst of a local version of the national books/literary festival. Highly recommended.

On the way we stopped at the highest (314m) bridge in Cuba whose name escapes me, took some pictures, grabbed some souvenirs and enjoyed a really lovely view.
If you drive, note that the speed limit lowers in each direction suddenly just before you get to the bridge. It seems to be a popular spot for a speed trap too.

We then went on to Varadero. We couldn’t believe how much it has grown since we were there a dozen years ago. It also looks as though the beach is starting to recede a bit. We stopped for (a great!) lunch at a ‘sports bar’ near the base of the peninsula which I would recommend if I could remember the name!

We kinda took a snorkeling tour, but the area is not protected from the open seas, so it was too rough to get out of the boat. Instead we had a highly entertaining trip up and down the coast in a large-ish deep-sea fishing boat. Much fun as the waves were up to 2m (felt like 30!), but I understand that while the diving around the resort is dandy, snorkeling is less so for this reason. The coastline is too exposed.

Tours we didn’t take were the daily SCUBA dives (which probably make this resort a must for divers as the dives are included), the various (many options) organized Havana tours, the dolphin show (Varadero so an hour just to get there), the catamaran day snorkeling tour (Varadero again), the Jeep Challenge, the cave snorkeling, and the Jungle Tour (Varadero, mini speedboats, no snorkeling) tours.

OTHER:

The upstairs bar in the lobby opens at 18:30 and is very nice. Inside seating, plus two patios, great staff and an enjoyable piano player. We made it our meeting spot each evening before dinner. A little more formal-feeling than the other bars.

We never saw a show, but we certainly heard them! If you’re anything but a very heavy sleeper I’d suggest getting a room as far as possible from the pool (where the stage is).

The bicycles are new and, oddly, in very bad shape. Apparently just before we arrived they replaced old, working bikes, with the new, broken ones. Check carefully before grabbing one and heading out.

Massage service is available in the gym. Call to book, then pay at the front desk and present the receipt.

The gym is open from 7:00. Fairly complete by hotel standards.

There’s a small lending library in the gym which no one seems to know much about. We left a few books, enjoy!

The front desk would cash non-US traveler’s cheques, but wouldn’t do cash advances. You had to get into Matanzas ($87US if you rent a car for the day!) to find the nearest bank.

There’s an internet café with 2 systems (another being replaced or installed). Nice setting across a catwalk from the upstairs bar in the lobby building.

The ice cream freak in our party could only get a regular fix at the beach grill. Ice cream was occasionally available at the buffet.

Staff, as always, wonderful. Look for the Singing Gardener!

Conclusion:

As always we had a great time, but the real advantages of this resort over others we use regularly are the diving (included) and it’s proximity to Havana and Matanzas. If you dive or want to spend some time walking around two great old, lively and fun cities, this is a great resort as you get both. And it’s cheaper than staying right in Havana.

If it’s beach time and isolation you’re looking for, we’d suggest you head for one of the Cayos.
___________________________________

ALL (with apologies):
Geri has reminded me of two omisssions from my report.

1. We took one of the Hobie catamarans out a couple of times. We tried a few more times, but it was too rough. You can't get them on your own, but must have one of the water sports staff with you. Hardly ever any snorkelling from the cats we were told: it's almost always too rough outside the reef.

That said, we had fun each time and we actually enjoyed the ride, even though there was no snorkelling.

2. We had a large rat visit us our last night there (could have been worse, could have been the first night...). Some noises woke us up a couple of times, about 3am I got up to check on them and flipped the bathroom light switch only to have a large rodent run past me and into the closet...which I slammed shut, though only after a rather graceful 2 metre leap ("gazelle-like" was the phrase Geri used I think, or was that the phrase I suggested she use when describing the night's festivities to our travelling companions the next day?) from the bathroom doorway to the foot of the bed.

Construction at the resort next door combined with tropical architecture at our end.

The front desk moved us fast, we left three staff behind searching for the brown beastie.

S+*t happens. No great crisis, but as I said, best to have these things take place nearer the end than the beginning of a vacation!

:-)

 Comments on Breezes Jibacoa by Geri - Added on Jan ' 05.

geri here, I would like to add my comments on Jibacoa.

"We loved the resort and I am sure would have enjoyed the snorkelling if it were not for the "man of war'' problem There were not just a few but hundreds. they came daily and stayed. On the days they were not there we were fearful of going out in case they came and on most days they did. That limited us to the shoreline and we needed water shoes because the bottom was really rough. I would have been happy to have spent the whole vacation snorkelling and be without a nice sandy bottom but when we couldn't get either it was a disappointment.

The beach however was just great. There was lots of sun and lots of natural shade and the best beach grill ever. They had ice cream. It doesn't get any better. Ken could indulge all day and not just at meal times.

We all really enjoyed our stay and am very happy to hear that the jelly fish are not there all of the time. The lifeguard led us to believe that they were a regular thing.

ken and Thea would love to go back as Thea was really thrilled with all of the theme nights at the buffet and Ken liked the access to the ice cream all day."