Our visit was going be short.....only 4 nights. Cuba is a large island with so many places to explore, but we were going to concentrate our visit on Havana Vieja. There would be more than we could see just in that small area!
Quickly, my search led me to 'casa particulars'....Here is a perfect description:
| A private room, apartment or house for tourists in Cuba is called a 'Casa Particular'. By staying in one, you will get the following benefits: |
- Happiness: You can quickly develop genuine Cuban relationships and become deeply involved in the culture. Before you know it, you'll be part of the family and be made to feel very special.
- Freedom: You'll enjoy the free and easy atmosphere, feel completely at home in your casa and will be able to invite your friends over.
- Less Expensive Trip: You'll have more money to spend on taxis, restaurants, night clubs and museums.
We ended up booking Hostal La Cecilia via havanacasaparticular.com. I booked online and paid a 10% deposit with the remainder to be paid upon arrival. Prices were quoted in Euros and that is what was taken from my bank account. I brought Euros along for the balance as requested on my email receipt, but CUC would be readily accepted as well. Prior to booking La Cecilia, I asked on the Havana Trip Advisor forum as I was not having much success finding reviews. The owner's sister, Tatiana responded and quickly put my mind at ease with extra information. It sounded perfect and the photos online looked exactly like what we were looking for. Let's go!
As offered by the helpful booking agent, Alberto, a
driver met us at the airport and drove us to La Cecilia for $30CUC plus tip.
It was about 30 minutes with a lot of wonderful scenery along the way. We arrived at La Cecilia, which is
located in a beautiful little plaza shared by Church Iglesia Del Santo Angel
Costudio and Café Boutique Jacqueline Fumero. Hostal La Cecilia is located on the
main floor of the
building, situated behind the owner’s art gallery, Inti Alvarez Estudio
Galeria.
The view from our front door to the left…
To the right…Museo de la Revolucion in the distance...
The stairway inside our entrance to another casa
particular…
View from the stairway towards entrance…
The gallery entrance to the left and our door to
the right…
Our door…
View from our door towards entrance…
Inside our door was a foyer with a phone and a
doorway to more of the house that was undergoing renovation…
Looking into the courtyard under reno….
From our foyer, our apartment door…
Inside the apartment, looking towards the foyer…
From the doorway….bedroom area with bathroom and
small kitchen area to the right…
These doors lead from our apartment into the
gallery….locked from both sides but can be opened when the gallery is open…
TIP....we did not need any power converters or adapters for blow dryer, phone charger etc.
I loved these lamps…
Bathroom and kitchen area…
Bathroom and shower…
Kitchen included a full size fridge conveniently stocked with large
water bottles, beer, and pop.
Prices were $2CUC each and we left money in a basket. There were also dishes and a coffee
maker….
And a cigar-smoking chair!...
Looking from the kitchen back to bedroom and
through to art gallery…
The tile floors were beautiful…
Vince thought they looked like little dogs….I have
to agree!
From our apartment into the art gallery…
I would have loved to buy one of these
paintings….absolutely gorgeous colours…
Vince checking out the view…
I seriously think this is the most incredible view
of our picturesque little plaza….we loved this location…
Our caretaker, Maylú. She also looks after the art gallery. Very sweet and pretty lady!
The view of our home at night…
We couldn’t have been more pleased with our choice
and highly recommend Hostal La Cecilia.
We paid $40 Euros per night ($60 CAD). The location couldn’t have been more perfect…a very
short walk to the malecon and Museo de la Revolucion, and one block from 2
excellent restaurants. The
apartment was private, secure and very quiet. There was a TV that had a few channels and AC if needed. If we are lucky enough to travel to
Cuba again, we would definitely stay at Hostal La Cecilia!
Next post.....Day 1 details and tons of photos!
Next post.....Day 1 details and tons of photos!
13 comments:
Great pix and great info. My head is having some trouble converting CAD-CUC-CUP- to USD!! Never been good at math!
Loving this Cuba report Doris, can't wait for more pictures!
Thanks Gail! The math is easy as the USD is on par with the Cuban CUC, so $1 USD is equal to $1 CUC. :)
Thanks Karen! Going through 2000 of them now! :)
Nice surprise Doris, this wonderful Cuba report!!
Sheri
Ontario
Thanks Sheri! Glad you are enjoying it!
However, US citizens are charged a fee for exchange...bank would have been .87 CUC to $1USD. Our airbnb host exchanged all our money for us right at the apartment so we didn't have to stand in line...he gave us .90 CUC per $1USD. We also just found a lady on the street who was there all the time exchanging CUC to CUP. I believe at the time we received 24 CUP for 1 CUC. We used these at the little bakeries for cookies and bread. We did try a couple little food stands where the Cubans eat...but didn't find them to be that good.
Yes, you're right....they charge a 10% penalty on the USD before exchange. It was nice of your host to change them for you as the lineups at the cadecas were long! I don't even remember seeing any of the food carts....something about 'white boxes' that were supposed to be good, but I just didn't see any carts in our travels. We were very lucky with the restaurants that we visited...food was great!
Great pictures and information - I came across your post on trip advisor and we just booked this casa for 3 nights beginning of November
Thank you, Donna & Jeff
Thanks Donna and Jeff! I hope you have an amazing time! We loved La Cecilia. I just had a message from the owner's sister and the inner courtyard and 2 more apartments have been completed. I would love to see photos when you return! Don't forget 2 wonderful restaurants just steps away. Have a wonderful time!
Hello Doreese we didn't end up getting to stay at La Cecilia they room we had booked was not completed but the trip was still fantastic. Jeff and I did walk by though and it was a beautiful area for sure. I will have to read your other blogs. Take care!
Anonymous....Sorry not to respond to this sooner! Also sorry that you weren't able to stay at La Cecilia....the renovations were underway while we were there and things probably don't get done as quickly as they'd like. I want to go back and see what they've done with the rest of the house...it will be beautiful for sure! I'm glad you got to take a look at the area....it truly was beautiful and picturesque! Hope you had a wonderful time!
Ah sorry....not anonymous...should have been to Donna! Lo siento!
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