Hotels in east_havana, accommodation in east_havana, lodging & places to stay in east

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. A pool with a view. We love it! However, poolside "animations" for tour groups and (mainly) Cubans families on weekends are a slap in the face for visitors wanting to savior the solitude in silence.

Hotel Rancho San Vicente is located in the San Vicente Valley a little out of Viñales town (5km) where the famed mineral and medicinal springs became popular in the 19th Century and next to the Cave of the Indian, Ancon's Creek and Jaruco's Hole.

A lovely setting (although no view), although the 54 rooms are pretty basic and the swimming pool often pretty full with day visitors.

The Las Terrazas restaurant, decorated country still and serving a motley menu of continental and traditional criolla fare, overhangs the valley—a superb setting. The mood is enhanced by live troubadors. Make the most of breakfast here, but you're better off dining in the village by night.

Accommodations are in four two-story blocks with shaded porches or balconies with Adirondack chairs. Choose your room carefully, as some of the blocks are angled at ninety-degrees to the valley. A few older rooms are further back and don't have quite the same enthralling views. Rooms are kept spic-and-spac, although at last visit they showed visible signs of aging. Ceiling fans help keep things cool, and there's air-conditioning for those who prefer. Furnishings are utlitarian—nothing fancy here—and things could be improved with better quality mattresses. But overall, rooms are comfy enough and, let's face it, unless it's raining you're going to be out exploring.

It's a 30-minute downhill hike into town, but taxis are usually on hand outside the hotel. Further downsides here are an unenthusiastic staff, and the loud poolside music that detracts from the quietude of the valley.

The top-floor restaurant, cross—ventilated through French doors, exudes yesteryear charm and has the same stupendous views. Its therefore easy to forgive the ho-hum food. The mahogany bar tempts you to light up a cigar and quaff a mojito. There's also a disco here, but forget it. You're here for the scenery and Viñales' pickled—in—aspic lifestyle.

The main building is graced with tilework, wrought—iron balconies, and stained—glass mediopuntos (half-moon windows), all in elegant traditional fashion. Bedrooms here are larger than 486 newer units in the modern adjunct on the hillside; either way, ask for an upper-story room to guarantee the best views. We also like the 16 more rustic duplex cabañas beneath the pool. But furnishings (especially the tired fabrics) screamed out for upgrading at our last visit.

However, as at the nearby Hotel La Ermita, its difficult to rouse the staff from their lethargy. And we're concerned at upkeep here. Not least, the plumbing and ephemeral water—supply are serious deficiencies that need a radical overhaul. If Cubanacan can resolve these issues, then this hotel is definitely preferred to the Hotel La Ermita.