Billed as Cuba´s leading eco—resort, this lovely woodsy hotel, a two-hour drive west of Havana, doesn´t live up to the billing but is nonetheless a delight in so many other regards. Surrounded by pine trees, it squats atop a hill overlooking the quaint mountain community of Las Terrazas (a purpose-built, post-revolutionary model village laid out around a large lake in terraces below the hotel.

You know you´re in for a visual treat as you snake uphill to this three-star hotel perched on the precipice of a mogote (limestone hillock) with dramatic vistas across the Valle de Viñales. Designed in neo-colonial fashion, this hotel is laid out in a kind of half-moon around spacious lawns studded with an attractive Olympic-size swimming pool.

With its unbeatable position overlooking the Viñales valley, Los Jazmines is one of the most renowned hotels in Cuba. It´s also a great bargain. The views alone are worth the price. But this hotel also has plenty of charm. The main building in a Mediterranean neo-colonial style rises three-stories over a swimming pool suspended on the very edge of the valley.

Take a tiny coral isle fringed by a talcum-white beach that shelves into bathtub-warm turquoise waters. Add palm trees for shade. Build 35 simple cabins. Service the cay with twice daily ferry service. And, voila! You have the ingredients for a perfect tropical paradise. So how does Cayo Levisa, off the north coast of Pinar del Río, shape up?

Tucked into a lovely bay near the western tip of Cuba, this ever-expanding facility began life as a dedicated no-frills scuba resort two decades ago. It still functions as such, but has expanded to serve general tourist traffic and now offers more salubrious options than the rundown beachfront cabins that were once your only option.

This long-awaited newcomer, which opened in 2008, is tucked into a cove at Playa Las Tumbas, at the very westernmost tip of Cuba. The all-timber single-story hotel is intended to serve as an eco-resort granting access to the Península de Guanahacabibes Biosphere Reserve, preserving a rare swatch of tropical dry forest inhabited by endemic species such as solenodon and jutía.

Hotel Soroa is located in a World Biosphere Reserve in the Sierra del Rosario Mountains in Pinar del RíoProvince. This is an ideal exploration point for nature lovers given the close proximity to an attractive 21-meter waterfall and Cuba´s largest (and very beautiful) orchid farm with over 700 species of orchids.

This little hotel a quite well-run option 82 miles South West from Havana. The rooms are all set in a two-story building above and

Travelers seeking a bucolic retreat a notch above rustic will be pleased by this Cubanacán hotel that is a revamped (and previously motley) spa facility with a long pedigree. Just a short stroll from the Cueva del Indio and tucked below the mogotes of the Viñales valley, it enjoys a premium locale for nature lovers.

This 136-room hotel was built in 1979 and it located at the entrance to the autopista on the south side of Pinar del Río city. This is not a premier spot in our view. It is ugly, the disco loud, pool unappealing and general amenities pretty poor. Stay if you must but there are plenty of much more attractive locals if you want a stop-over place en-route to another location.

Vueltabajo is located in downtown Pinar del Río and offers 37 fan-cooled rooms. This was under renovation for some time and may offer a reasonable option if you chose to stay in Pinar del Río city (not our recommendation).

This is a pleasant fishing resort some 18 km off the highway to María la Gorda outside of Pinar del Río. It consists of 12 thatched cabanas and is located directly below the dam that created the Embalse Laguna Grande, which is presently stocked with bass.The primary attraction here is the fishing although we have heard slightly mixed reports so it is worth checking before you visit.

The modern and comfortable tourist cabanas/villas are located in peaceful natural surroundings between Pinar del Rio City and Viñales valley. At dawn, you may hear the songs of endemic birds like the “bijirita” and the “sinsonte”, as well as breath the fresh smell of the pinewood trees that give their name to this province.