Santa Clara
The Jover is classic Santa Clara, hiding a minipalace behind a prosaic facade. Five large colonial rooms set well back from the road line a terrace…
Must-see hotels in Cuba
Viñales
One of the few houses in Viñales with a front garden, this place gives you room to swing on a hammock as well as rock on a rocking chair on the front…
Holguín Province
Run by the Iberostar chain, this lovely colonial remodel infuses old-time glamour into staid old Parque Calixto García. There's an elegant three-seat…
Matanzas Province
Possibly the best rural hideout in Cuba. Two simple but lovely rooms on an ecological farm and ceramics workshop where pretty much everything (including…
Habana Vieja
A private penthouse in a historic central square – this place would cost thousands anywhere else, but in Havana you can still bag it for as little as CUC…
Havana
Super-helpful Kenia Castellón runs two similar boutique-style apartments in a 1950s building. Tucked between Paseo de Martí promenade and the Museo de la…
Vedado
After spending over a decade as a rotting ruin, the Capri was reborn in 2014 as a quieter, less notorious version of its former self. Rather like The…
Pinar del Río Province
This is among Cuba's remotest hotels, and the isolation has its advantages. The adjoining palm-fringed beach is pretty (if a little rocky), but most…
Santiago de Cuba Province
Isolated but inviting, this big pyramid-shaped resort sits on Playa Sevilla, 15km from Chivirico and 63km west of Santiago (a two-hour drive from the…
Matanzas Province
This place was built in 1963 on the east side of the Laguna del Tesoro, about 8km from Boca de Guamá by boat (cars can be left at the crocodile farm; CUC…
Isla de la Juventud
Looking more like a hospital than a hotel from the outside, the Colony, 46km southwest of Nueva Gerona, originated in 1958 as part of the Hilton chain,…
Villa Clara Province
Atop a small, relatively untamed headland crowned by a statue of a bruja (witch), Villa las Brujas is the cayerías' oldest (1999), smallest and most…
Vedado
This icon of the Havana skyline opened in March 1958 on the eve of President Batista's last waltz. Originally the Havana Hilton, it was commandeered by…
Varadero
No, that's not a beached cruise liner, but a five-star Meliá! Part of the plushly redeveloped Marina Gaviota, this has several key advantages over its…
Havana
This flashy 'glass cathedral' on Playa's still-developing hotel strip is effectively a self-contained resort, which has its advantages when you're this…
Varadero
Varadero's most intimate lodging is in the grand former residence of US chemical-entrepreneur Irenée Du Pont, where eight fairly simple art deco–era rooms…
Habana Vieja
Not an Irish joke but one of Havana's more impressive period hotels, the Hotel Palacio O'Farrill is a staggeringly beautiful colonial palace that once…
Pinar del Río Province
The Mirador is a low-key stop-off. Predating the revolution by five years, the hotel was built in 1954 to accommodate spa-seekers headed for the adjacent…
Cuba
Something of an unheralded (if overpriced) place located too close to Trinidad to delay most of the drive-by traffic, Villa Yaguanabo sits on a sublime…
Valle de Viñales
After Viñales' two spectacularly located hotels, you probably thought it couldn't get any better, but Rancho San Vicente comes close as far as setting is…
Las Terrazas
Cuba’s self-proclaimed ecohotel might not qualify for the four stars it advertises, but who’s arguing? With its trickling fountains, blooming flower…
Habana Vieja
The Hotel Florida presents a typical Havana conundrum. The building is an architectural extravaganza constructed in the purest colonial style, with arches…
Vedado
Looking a bit like a small piece of the Hotel Nacional cut off and deposited a couple of blocks to the south, the attractive neoclassical Victoria, dating…
Pinar del Río Province
A 16-villa complex on the almost-virgin Península de Guanahacabibes behind idyllic Playa las Tumbas, set 3km beyond the Faro Roncali (Roncali Lighthouse)…
Trinidad
Perched on a hill above town, Las Cuevas serves a steady stream of bus tours. While the setting is lush, the rooms – arranged in scattered two-storied…
Isla de la Juventud & Cayo Largo del Sur
One of only two four-star hotels on Cayo Largo, this 306-room pile is set apart from the rest of the gang on an expansive stretch of Playa Blanca. Rather…
Holguín Province
This campismo (cheap rustic accommodations) sits on sloping ground beneath Gibara's signature saddle-shaped hill. Reached via a rough road between Floro…
Granma Province
It's not Cayo Coco, but it barely seems to matter here. In fact, Marea's all-round functionalism and lack of big-resort pretension seem to work well in…
Viñales
Simple but effective homestay run by a doctor-dentist couple that exhibits all of the essentials for a delightful Viñales stay. Tick off relaxing rocking…
Habana Vieja
A good place to rest your maletas (suitcases) for a while, this private ‘hostal’ has all the classic Habana Vieja calling cards: high ceilings, spiral…
Habana Vieja
A beauty of a building and one of the few genuine art nouveau structures in Havana, the Raquel induces historical hallucinations with its grandiose…
Baracoa
Atmospheric and inviting in a way only Baracoa can muster, La Habanera sits in a restored and regularly repainted colonial mansion. The four front…
Villa Clara Province
Open since 2013, this massive 846-room hotel, currently managed by the French Louvre Group, has already changed its name twice. What hasn't changed is the…
Cuba
The dark horse of Cuba’s south coast, Faro Luna is a refreshingly unpretentious place and one of only two hotels to grace what is possibly Cuba’s most un…
Santiago de Cuba
Cheap Cuban hotel chain Islazul breaks out of its Soviet-themed concrete-block obsession and goes semi-colonial in this venerable beauty on Plaza de Marte…
Viñales
Viñales’ first new hotel in decades has added a different dimension in a town chock-a-block with homely casas particulares (private homestays). If you are…
Santiago de Cuba
This 19th-century colonial with brick walls and museum-worthy furniture is a temple to all things Santería. The three guest rooms feature brass beds with…
Hotel Palacio del Marqués de San Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal
Habana Vieja
Cuban baroque meets modern minimalism in this restored palace in the blustery Plaza de San Francisco de Asís, the erstwhile home of countless counts, dons…
Havana
El Bosque is part of the state-run Kohly-Bosque complejo (complex). Clean and friendly, it lies on the banks of the Río Almendares, surrounded by the…
Cienfuegos
It's not clear what Batista's brother had in mind when he erected this modern concrete giant on Punta Gorda in the 1950s, though making money was probably…
