Cuba hotels
4-star Old Havana hotels

San Miguel Hotel

Old Havana hotels - Room & Breakfast. A stay at the San Miguel Hotel will probably feel like a privileged sojourn at someone’s private mansion, a treat for those who prefer small, intimate settings. Restoration efforts here have been guided by taste and fidelity to historical fact: most of the San Miguel’s furniture and decor is original, and the discrete, modern-day fittings blend imperceptibly with these. Some furnishings show worn, faded patterns, signs of use which add to the feeling of authenticity and intimacy.

With only 10 rooms, the San Miguel Hotel is the kind of cozy establishment where you can reasonably expect to make friends with the staff and be on a first-name basis with them. Despite the aristocratic elegance of the interiors, guests will find hotel spaces welcoming and feel at home as they to take their meals in the sunny 2nd-floor restaurant and hall, the adjacent Sevillana terrace or the roof terrace, which has a killer view of the harbour and the Morro complex lighthouse, across the bay. Single room reference rate:€71/night.

Telégrafo Hotel

Old Havana hotels - Room & Breakfast. The establishment first opened its doors to the public around 1860, some years after the first telegraphic station was created in the country (the property’s name may in fact have been inspired by this). Moved to its present location in 1888, by around 1914 the hotel rooms and restaurant boasted telephones that afforded guests both national and international services, at a time when even public restrooms were a rare and novel luxury. The creation of a third floor in 2001, when the hotel officially re-opened for business, marks the culmination of restoration efforts and the vertical expansion of the building (63 rooms), which was originally one-story high.

Standing at the intersection of Prado and Neptuno streets, the hotel is a short walk away from the seawall, close to several and renowned places of interest in Old Havana, the Capitol building is practically next door. Inside, only the high ceilings and supporting arches offer an inkling of the establishment’s past: the lobby, re-done in a colourful, eclectic style and tastefully appointed with modern furnishings, has the feel of modish art gallery. The spacious rooms, too, have been modernized and are comfortably appointed (only some have the preserved remains of original walls). Single room reference rate:€71/night.

Ambos Mundos Hotel

Old Havana hotels - Room & Breakfast. The most attractive attribute of Ambos Mundos Hotel is doubtless its magnificent location at one of the liveliest intersections in the Old Town. The figure of Ernest Hemingway is invariably invoked in any description of the hotel, who stayed and wrote most of For Whom the Bell Tolls here during the 1930s (his room, 511, is today a much-frequented museum) and it is not the only famous writer or luminary the hotel welcomed in times past.

A spacious and tastefully decorated lobby opens to Obispo and Mercaderes streets, main arteries of the sightseeing circuit often crowded with tourists. The lobby, decorated with an attractive and modern-looking corner fountain, housing art exhibits and featuring a piano bar where jazz and other musicians occasionally perform, is it often crowded with visitors and is a lively stopover in its own right. The old 1930s elevator, though said to demand some patience, is a charming detail. Not all of the Ambos Mundos rooms have views, but those that do overlook the cobbled and picturesque expanse of Obispo and Mercaderes will benefit from their proximity to the Plaza de Armas. Costumed performers, including florists in colonial attire, old fortunetellers, a squad of soldiers in period English uniforms and a carnival troupe of actors on stilts, are sure to enliven these vistas during your stay at the hotel. Single room reference rate:€85/night.

Conde de Villanueva Hotel

Old Havana hotels - Room & Breakfast. Conceived with cigar-lovers in mind, this tastefully restored 18th-century mansion has a rustic colonial charm and intimate feel to it that makes it just as ideal for sightseers and couples seeking a relaxed, quiet atmosphere. The hotel's prime location, quite literally the heart of the Old Town, is somehow spared what some might consider attendant drawbacks. Opposite a small shaded park, on narrow and cobbled streets that are pedestrian-only, the property is pleasantly situated in an airy and soothing context.

Earthen tones and open, sun-drenched spaces predominate inside, where restoration efforts have left fragments of colonial mosaics and fixtures from the period intact, for an overall effect of authenticity and unassuming grace. Nine rooms are arranged around the inner courtyard, on two levels. The thick, limestone walls that keep both noise and heat outside the accommodations heighten the sense of privacy and calm. Cigar aficionados, tobacco enthusiasts, and smokers in general can savour a broad range of brands, and even custom-made habanos. A well-located and intimate establishment, the Conde de Villanueva Hotel stands out for its simple and discrete atmosphere. Single room reference rate:€85/night.

Palacio del Marqués de San Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal Hotel

NEW OPENING!

Old Havana hotels - Room & Breakfast. History and modernity come together in this building that at the end of XVIII century belonged to Don Sebastián de Peñalver. At the beginning of the XIX century, the property changed hands to the successors of the IV the Marquees of San Felipe and Santiago. The minimalistic interior (27 rooms) blends perfectly with the baroque style of its facade. The Hotel Marqués de San Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal is the first Habaguanex hotel on San Francisco de Asís Square.

The hotel benefits from a privileged location, nearby the Convent of San Francisco de Asís, home to one of Havana’s best concert halls, dedicated to chamber and choral music. In the vicinity you find the Carmen Montilla gallery, the elegant Café del Oriente, the business center of Old Havana (Lonja del Comercio), the popular Museum of Chocolate and the Cuban Contemporary Ceramics Museum. From the roof top terrace on the sixth floor of the hotel, visitors can use a telescope to take in the splendour of Old Havana. San Francisco de Asís square, with its many pigeons and charming Lions Fountain, carved out of marble from Carrara by the Italian artist Giuseppe Gaggini, also treasures the statue of El Caballero de Paris, one of Havana’s most cherished personages. Single room reference rate:€86/night.

Mercure Sevilla Hotel

Old Havana hotels - Room & Breakfast. One of Havana’s oldest hotels (the establishment turned 100 in March of 2008); the Sevilla has many stories to tell and is privileged in many ways. In the late thirties the property came to be owned by a Uruguayan with ties to the Italian-American mafia, (a notorious character like Santo Trafficante owned shares in the venture). Mobsters, however, would not be the only well-known figures to frequent the hotel: in addition to Al Capone, luminaries like Enrico Caruso, Graham Greene, and Josephine Baker grace the long guest book.

The Sevilla is situated off Prado, close to Malecon and to places of historical and cultural interest. Inside, the large, spacious lobby combines elegance with a welcoming, cosmopolitan atmosphere, which is altogether refreshing. Other attractive features include the palatial Roof Garden, an enormous and supremely elegant restaurant with great views of the city, an arcade with shops that adjoins the lobby at its far end, a money exchange locale, and a meeting room, which can seat up to 45 people. The hotel is also one of three in the area that boasts a swimming pool, and the poolside facilities are surprisingly well equipped (there is a modern gym, a sauna, and massage service).

With enough atmosphere to please visitors seeking historically interesting properties, the Sevilla combines class, a lively cultural scene, and an excellent location. Single room reference rate:€93/night.