Being an exotic Caribbean island, Cuba has a number of elegant and delightful places to stay. However, due to the United States prohibition on travelling and trading with the island, Cuba’s tourism industry is not as developed as is the case with its other Caribbean neighbors. Notwithstanding this, Cuba does have an interesting array of places to stay. The following is a sample of places where you’ll find all the usual friendliness of Cuba hospitality:
Luxury hotels and resorts:
Most of the luxury hotels and resorts in Cuba are owned by state-owned hotel chains; for example, the Cubanacan, Gran Caribe, Isazul and Gaviota, to name just a few. However, recent developments in the industry have resulted in these state-run enterprises licensing out some resorts to private enterprises. The following are some of the nicer hotels and resorts you might want to consider staying at during your staying in Cuba:
Havana – Hotel Florida (Calle Obispo district): the highlight of this hotel is its superb open-air courtyard;
Havana – Hotel Horizontes Lido (Calle Consulado district): has an elegant rooftop restaurant with picturesque views of Havana – worth a visit even if you decide not to stay here;
Havana – Melia Cohiba (Malecon district): one of Havana’s few modern high-rise luxury hotels. The hotel offers great views of the sea and has a number of function rooms, bars, restaurants and the ever-popular Habana Café;
Baracoa –Hotel (El) Castillo: located within the walls of one of the town’s old fortress, this hotel has both a colorful history and great views – it is also famous among travelers to Cuba as being an extremely well priced hotel;
Camaguey – Gran Hotel: a 1930s hotel with a great selection of bars and terrace-side swimming pool;
Camaguey – Hotel Caolon: resorted hotel set in the style of the 1920s the hotel’s piest-de-resistance is its delightful lobby bar;
Cayo Coco – Melia Cayo Coco: an elegant bungalow style hotel located not far from the beach;
Cayo Coco – Tryp Club Cayo Coco: as with Tryp-chain hotels elsewhere, this hotels caters to the young, and those with young families, with plenty of activities available;
Cayo Guillermo – Sol Club Cayo Guillermo: a bungalow style hotel popular with the 18 – 30 crowd;
Cienfuegos – Cubanancan Boutique La Union: as a recently a renovated colonial mansion, this hotel comes with all the usual attractions one comes to expect from a Latin American mansion – like superb inner courtyards and elegant Spanish architecture;
Sancti Spiritus – Hostal del Rijo: as with the Cubancan Boutique La Union, this hotel is following Cuba’s recent trend of resorting colonial mansions and turning them into hotels – well worth a stay, if for no other reason than to see the size of its bedrooms!;
Santiago de Cuba – Hotel Casa Granda: an elegant Santiago landmark on the Parque Cespedes. Certainly one of the hotels to “be seen in” in Santiago!;
Santiago de Cuba – Bucanaro: one of Cuba’s resort hotels built in the last 10, or so, years, this is an all-inclusive resort;
Trinidad – Brisas Trinidad del Mar: one of Cuba’s newer hotels, this hotel’s design has been well thought-out and has the added delight of superb views of the sea and mountains surrounding it;
Varadero – Paradisus Varadero: as the name suggests, this hotel attempts to be paradise on earth and it goes some way to achieving that! One of Cuba’s more elegant hotels;
Varadero – Tryp Peninsula Varadero: as the hotel offers a variety of activities to do whilst staying here, this hotel is a popular choice for those with young families;
Vinales – Hotel Horizontes Los Jazmines: this petite hotel is located on the hillside overlooking the Vinales valley. As a result it has some superb views of the surrounding local;
Cheap hotels / Bed & Breakfast hotels
As with elsewhere in Cuba, Havana has a vast selection of cheap hotels on offer. However, tourist to the island should be aware that hotels in Cuba are divided between dollar hotels, which cater for them, and peso hotels, which cater principally to the local population. Note that should you decide to stay in a peso hotel, you’ll still be expected to pay the dollar room-rate.
Casas
Casas are rooms in private homes rented out to tourist. The style of service one should expect from a Casa is somewhere between a hostel and bed & breakfast. If decide that you want to stay at a Casa, then finding one should not prove too onerous as they are a fairly common means of staying in Cuba, with good Casas being frequently recommended between travelers on the road. However, you do need to be aware that the Cuban government’s program of taxing Casa in 1997 has spawned a new industry of unregistered Casas. If you do decided to stay at an unregistered Casa (and it’s not too difficult to determine if the Casa is registered or not – just look for the sticker on the door reading “Arredator Autorizado”, which indicates that it is an authorized Casa). Some of the better known registered Casas include:
Havana – Casa Particular Sandelis (Vedado district);
Baracoa – Casa La Colina;
Camaguey – Casa Xiomara & Rodolfo;
Cienfuegos – Casa Ana Maria;
Sancti Spiritus – La Pantera;
Santiago de Cuba – Casa Leonardo y Rosa and Casa Isabel Asensio;Trinidad – Hostal Casa Munoz;
