Cuba - Lonely Planet [337]
Hotel Balcón del Caribe (Islazul; Map; 69-10-11; Carretera del Morro Km 7.5; s/d with breakfast CUC$53/69; ) The tremendous setting next to El Morro castle is countered by all the usual Islazul foibles: flowery curtains, ancient bed mattresses and furnishings salvaged from a 1970s garage sale. But you’ll feel better after a dip in the pool and an hour or two spent contemplating the stunning Caribbean view. Situated 10km from the city center you’ll need your own wheels if you’re staying here.
Hotel Las Américas (Islazul; Map; 64-20-11; cnr Avs de las Américas & General Cebreco; s/d CUC$53/69; ) Cheap and normally pretty cheerful, Las Américas sits opposite the Meliá but is a long way from it in price and quality. The 70 rooms offer the usual Islazul interiors though the general facilities – restaurant, 24-hour cafetería, small pool, nightly entertainment, and car rental are comprehensive for the price. The downside is the distance to the historical center (20 to 30 minutes on foot).
Motel San Juan (Islazul; Map; 68-72-00; San Juan Hill; s/d CUC$53/69; ) Surrounded by beautiful grounds on historic Loma de San Juan, with lots of lawn and a children’s pool, this place is great if you don’t mind some long walks (or taxi rides) into the city center. The rooms are laid out in small blocks and have good amenities with welcome little extras such as radios. Service is friendly. Drive 1km east of Hotel Las Américas via Av Raúl Pujol to get here.
Hostal San Basilio (Cubanacán; Map; 65-17-02; Bartolomé Masó No 403 btwn Pío Rosado & Porfirio Valiente; r CUC$60; ) At last, a boutique hotel that deserves it title. The lovely eight-room San Basilio (named for the original name of the street in which it lies) is one of only four of Cubanacán’s so-called Encanto hotels. Think intimate, comfortable and refreshingly contemporary within a romantic colonial setting. Rooms have cable TVs and modern beds and the communal patio is a riot of dripping ferns. There’s a small restaurant serving breakfast and lunch.
TOP END
Hotel Casa Granda (Gran Caribe; Map; 65-30-24; Heredia No 201; s/d CUC$78/112; ) This elegant hotel (1914), artfully described by Graham Greene in his book Our Man in Havana, has 58 rooms and a classic red-and-white-striped front awning. Greene used to stay here in the late 1950s where he enjoyed relaxing on the streetside terrace, while his famous pen captured the nocturnal essence of the city as it wafted up from the bustling square below. Half a century later and – aside from the Che Guevara posters and some seriously erratic service on reception – not much has changed. The hotel’s 5th-floor Roof Garden Bar (open 11am to 1am) is well worth the CUC$2 minimum consumption charge and the upstairs terrace is an obligatory photo stop for foreign tourists on the lookout for bird’s-eye city views. There’s music here most nights and an occasional buffet on the roof. It’s like Fawlty Towers without the laughs.
Meliá Santiago de Cuba (Cubanacán; Map; 68-70-70; cnr Av de las Américas & Calle M; r CUC$115; ) A blue-mirrored monster (or marvel, depending on your taste) dreamt up by respected Cuban architect José A Choy in the early ’90s, the Meliá is Santiago’s only ‘international’ hotel. Raising its game for the business crowd, there are real bath tubs (in every room), three pools, four restaurants, various shopping facilities, a fancy bar on the 15th floor, and rooms for nonsmokers. The downsides are its out-of-center location and lack of genuine Cuban charm.
Eating
For a city of such fine cultural traditions, Santiago’s restaurant scene is surprisingly lean. You’ll find no hidden Havana-style experimentation here. Instead, the outlook is generally mediocre with the odd get-out-of-jail card.
PALADARES
Santiago’s paladar scene is a bit of a damp