After having spent 3 nights in 3 different hotels, we were really looking forward to our 4-night stay at the Breezes. Before we went, I had seen a lot of very mixed reviews on the hotel, so we were a bit worried as to what to expect. We arrived there a good few hours before the official check in time, but the staff managed to find us a room straight away as I had twisted my ankle and couldn't walk very well. The porter who took us to our room was also very helpful, giving us lots of useful advice on booking the a la carte restaurants and the other facilities. Our room was obviously in one of the blocks that hadn't been refurbished yet, but our only real complaint was that the light switch in the bathroom didn't work very well. We were surprised and pleased to find that we had a separate sitting room. We were in one of the quieter areas of the resort, and it was really nice to sit out on the terrace during the afternoon, as it was warm and sunny. Unfortunately we did have some noisy neighbours in the form of a large group of Canadians - they seemed incapable of altering the volume of their voices, even after midnight. Luckily, the walls of the rooms are quite thick so this was only a problem when they were outside or had their room doors open.

We didn't have any complaints with the food there. I am quite a fussy eater but had no problems in finding stuff to eat at every meal. The only problem was trying not to eat too much of it! The puddings were especially nice. The main buffet restaurant is open sided, so there is an issue with birds trying to grab food off your tables and from the serving areas. The staff did their best to shoo them away, and we dealt with it by making sure we always selected food from areas that couldn't have been pecked at. The white wine that was served with dinner was very nice, but the wine that they had in the bars wasn't as good. I used to take my thermal cup to dinner with me and ask the waiters to fill it up with the nice wine. The cocktails and the beer were also nice and we had no problem getting hold of water and soft drinks, as there are dispensers on most of the bars. Some of the staff weren't as attentive as we would have expected, but it was easy enough to get their attention if necessary. Overall, we found the staff to be friendly and helpful.

There were activities held by the pool and at the beach every day, but we found them a bit loud so ended up spending most of our time at the Dunas bar which has a small jacuzzi and sunbathing area and is much quieter. We only managed to go for a swim once in the main pool - it was freezing cold! We didn't swim in the sea but we did have a lovely walk along the beach - the different colours in the water are stunning. The evening entertainment normally starts at 8:30 on the stage in the buffet restaurant. It was nice to be able to watch the shows while we were having dinner, although anyone sitting close to the stage was liable to end up being a part of the show. One of the magic shows was particularly good.

All in all, it would be fair to say that this was not the best hotel that we had ever stayed in, but that it was certainly not as bad as some reports had lead us to believe. The official rating is 4 stars, but I think that it probably only merits 3 1/2 at the moment. I don't think anyone should go to Cuba expecting first class luxury though - although they are obviously trying their best, the country's current situation means that they don't have the same access to goods and services as some of the other Caribbean islands.

We paid to upgrade to this hotel from the Palma Real. It was brilliant. Everything was immaculate.

The rooms we stayed in were suites, they were very spacious and had everything we could ask for, iron, ironing board, tea/coffee making facilities, air-con etc. The maid did a wonderful job and daily created towel art. We didn't tip anyone until the very last day when we left big tips for everyone who we had dealt with and deserved it.

Definitely bring an insulated mug as the cups are rather small for drinks, although saying that, the beach bar is ideally situated.

As for the beach WWWOOOOOWWW! the sand is white sugar and water is very, very warm. It was like a bounty advert. I wouldn't rate the beach by the Palma Real as it is very public and not very clean, but this part of the beach made us feel we were the only ones staying at the hotel as there was so much space. We had the best time ever.

The hotel has a boat which takes you out to snorkel it was great.

It has to be said that the people are very poor but very well educated. We brought lots of cheap things to give to people and gave quite a lot of it to the maid, you would think it was Christmas a dozen times over judging by her reaction. I could write a book instead of a review for this hotel we had such a good time.

Would I go back to this hotel, yes in a heartbeat.