1HOTEL RAQUEL
STYLE: Baroque façade, Art Nouveau interior, very Wes Anderson set.
HERITAGE: Former textile warehouse converted, in 2003, to a hotel run by the Cuban government as a tribute to Hebrew culture’s influence on Cuban art.
NAME DROP: Honeymooners and other romantics.
DO IT: Have a café con leche at Café El Escorial at 37 Plaza Vieja.
2HOTEL SARATOGA
STYLE: Neoclassical.
HERITAGE: Built in 1933, reopened in 2005.
NAME DROP: Beyoncé and Jay Z, Jimmy Page. DO IT: Mojitos on the roof at sundown. Enjoy the air-conditioning.
DO IT: Mojitos on the roof at sundown. Enjoy the air-conditioning.
3HOSTAL CHEZ NOUS
STYLE: Colonial. HERITAGE: Proprietor Senor Gustavo
HERITAGE: Proprietor Senor Gustavo Lerenzo Enamorado Zamora has run this lovely gem of a casa particular for 25 years. NAME DROP: Likely
NAME DROP: Likely your distant French or Russian cousins. Cat lovers.
DO IT: Book at table for dinner at 304 O’Reilly at Habana and Aguiar.
4HOTEL INGLATERRA
STYLE: Colonial, neoclassical.
HERITAGE: Built in 1875.
KEY FEATURES: Front porch Gran Café el Louvre for people watching.
NAME DROP: Anna Pavlova, Sarah Bernhardt, José Martí.
DO IT: Shuffle over to Hemingway’s hangout, El Floridita on Obispo, for a daiquiri; book a dinner reservation at La Guarida on Concordia.
5HOTEL NACIONAL
STYLE: Grand and eclectic mélange of Art Deco, Hispano-Moorish, with neoclassical details.
HERITAGE: Built in 1930.
KEY FEATURES: Sweeping lawns on low cliffs above the Malecón. Garden terrace bar for people watching.
NAME DROP: Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Nat King Cole, Gary Cooper, and Errol Flynn (all have “historic rooms” commemorating their frequent visits).
DO IT: Dance
6HOSTAL CONDE de VILLANUEVA
STYLE: Colonial.
HERITAGE: 18th-century mansion, home to Count of Villanueva.
NAME DROP: Cigar lovers, those who love them. Chickens and peacocks.
KEY FEATURES: Cigar smoking encouraged, but not overwhelming. Each room named for a tobacco plantation. Casa Del Habano, the best cigar shop in Havana.
DO IT: Light up a cigar in your room and relax.
7SANTA ISABEL
STYLE: Colonial. PRICE:
NAME DROP: Jack Nicholson, Sting, former president Jimmy Carter.
KEY FEATURES: Pristine retreat from the hustle of Havana. Colonial furniture, crystal chandeliers. Charming, rooms with balconies overlooking the Plaza de Armas.
DO IT: Stroll a few blocks on Obisbo to the dusty and packed Hotel Ambos Mundos for a look at the room where Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls, about the Spanish Civil War, on your way to lunch at their rooftop café; order a Cubano sandwich.
8SEVILLA
STYLE: Moorish. HERITAGE: Opened 1908, featured in Graham Greene’s novel Our Man
HERITAGE: Opened 1908, featured in Graham Greene’s novel Our Man in Havana, 1958. NAME DROP: Al Capone, Josephine Baker. KEY FEATURES: Location makes it a very convenient yet private enclave to return to after a day exploring Havana. The courtyard features live music played by local quartets. DO IT: Museum of Cuban Art in one direction and Sloppy Joe’s, a favorite watering hole of Hemingway’s, is in the other.
NAME DROP: Al Capone, Josephine Baker.
KEY FEATURES: Location makes it a very convenient yet private enclave to return to after a day exploring Havana. The courtyard features live music played by local quartets. DO IT: Museum of Cuban Art in one direction and Sloppy Joe’s, a favorite watering hole of Hemingway’s, is in the other.
Photos by: Ron Beinner
Source: Vanity Fair
