Visitors used to stay in drab state-run hotels or people’s spare bedrooms in Cuba. Over the last decade, the island’s hotel culture has evolved from rustic B&Bs to oceanside resorts and design-led boutique hotels.
Many wealthy immigrants and grandes dames live in Havana, which has spectacular rooftop views of the city and ocean. Beautiful accommodations and remote hideaways are available around the country, while elegant beach resorts along the coast have all the amenities of multinational brands. Our top Cuban hotels provide Old Havana charm or luxury by the sea.
La Reserva, Havana
This is Havana’s best boutique hotel. Not enough can be said about the welcome and beautiful rooms. In the artistic neighborhood of el Vedado, three architects renovated twin white classical palaces with tiled rooms, clever furniture, Cuban art, Murano glass, and luxurious baths. Breakfast in the patio garden, ask the concierge about insider tours, eat at La Bodega for regional, seasonal home-cooked Cuban food, and drink a mojito at the garden bar at night.
Havana’s Paseo 206
Paseo 206, a 1930s house turned ten-room boutique hotel, lies amid a green boulevard of diplomatic residences and opulent mansions. Personal service from Italian-Cuban proprietors is excellent. After exploring Havana with Paseo’s concierge, who will reveal its secrets, you may eat at its Italian restaurant on potato-crusted swordfish and handcrafted dark chocolate gelato. On the patio, savor 11-year-old Santiago rum and a Cuban cigar at night. The best room? The rooftop suite has a hot tub outside.
Trinidad’s Iberostar Heritage Grand
Trinidad, a colorful Unesco-protected city with churches, palaces, and plazas amid the Escambray Mountains and overlooking the Caribbean Sea, has just one luxury hotel, the Heritage Grand. Trinidad has several wonderful private restaurants, from three in 2010 to hundreds ten years later, but only the Heritage Grand’s beautiful restaurant has a good wine, cheese, and cigar collection. The 1920s entertainment hall-turned-adult-only hotel is near to Cespedes Park, a popular weekend bandstand performance location. Book a terrace room for evening beverages. You could stay longer in the wide, bright, and inviting lobby with its center fountain.
Malecon 663, Havana
The coolest hotel in Havana. You may check in for the sea views and Habanero decor, but you’ll depart with new friends after meeting Cuba’s creatives who work or visit for coffee and drinks at this Atlantic-facing boutique hotel. Charanga Habanera conga musician Orlandito Mengual and his wife Sandra have spent time, love, and art on this three-story colonial home with nostalgic and whimsical rooms reflecting Cuban style. After sunset, the rooftop patio hosts DJs and beverages.
Havana’s Santa Clara Residence
This unique urban getaway near Havana’s harbor includes seven unique guestrooms. Each includes beautiful Spanish tiles, repurposed wood elements, and a mural by Cuba’s top graphic designers. Breakfast on the mezzanine patio with sausage, bacon, and hash browns, then tapas and drink at the all-day café. On warm evenings, try the house Residencia Daiquiri drink on the rooftop patio with views of the harbor and Greek Orthodox Cathedral. The father-daughter pair at Residencia Santa Clara is helpful, and the location is unbeatable. Havana Bay, the Havana Club rum museum, and the charming Plaza Vieja with its bars, cafés, museums, and galleries are a short walk away.