Information and Contact Details for the Casa Particulares we Stayed in during our time in Cuba

As a follow up to our recent post about what to expect when staying in a casa particular, here are the details of the home stays we lodged at during our travels through Cuba.

One of the great things about casa particulares is that, being private homes, they are all different designs architecturally. Sometimes you might be staying in an old apartment, sometimes a modern house and sometimes a colonial mansion full of antiques; the type of building also seemed to vary from region to region. But one thing was consistent and that was, the occupants were all incredibly warm and friendly.

With one exception (which isn’t mentioned in this post) we didn’t stay in one single casa particular that we wouldn’t recommend to others. Many of the houses we stayed at were recommendations from Amaryllis, the owner of the first casa we stayed in Havana, and they were all solid recommendations.

All prices are based on two people sharing a room (it’s usually five less for a single traveller) and unless mentioned the rates are based on room only. Breakfast at a casa particular typically costs between 3 and 5 CUCs. All have air-conditioning and an en-suite bathroom with hot water.

Note: One CUC is equivalent to One US Dollar (or approximately 65 pence). The prices listed are what we paid; these are obviously subject to change and should be used as a guideline only.

Old Havana

Hostal Leonel
Situated in Old Havana in a traditional residential building on the third floor, Hostal Leonel was our first casa particular experience in Cuba, and we weren’t sure exactly what to expect. We had arranged for the owner to send a taxi to collect us from the airport, which was just as well because the driver had problems locating the address – we would have had no hope left to our own devices! Not-so-fresh off the flight from London, we were initially unnerved by the unkempt appearance of the neighbourhood, being led up several flights of scruffy stairs and the triple-locked front door. We needn’t have been and were warmly welcomed into the family home. Once we had settled in, we were welcomed further with a mojito – the classic Cuban cocktail with which we would become very familiar with over the following three weeks.

Hostal Leonel is primarily run by Leonel and his mother Amaryllis – they both speak excellent English, which was a great help as our basic Spanish was very rusty at this point of our journey.

Hostal Leonel, Havana

Costs and contact information for Hostal Leonel:
$30 for a large room with 1 double and 1 single bed.
Number of rooms: 3

Hostal Leonel (Leonel and Amaryllis – mother and son)
2nd Floor, Apartment 3
#362 O’Reilly
Between Habana and Compostela
Habana Vieja

Telephone: +53 (0)7 860 0191
Mobile: +53 (5) 290 1738
Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
Website: www.hostalleonel.com

Jesus y Maria
For our second stay in Havana, we decided to try a different casa. This was partly because we had originally planned to try and stay across the bay from Old Havana, in Casa Blanca, and hadn’t made any advance bookings. But when we arrived in Casa Blanca on the Hershey train, accommodation was looking a little thin on the ground and so we decided to continue by ferry to Old Havana. Arriving in the old town at around 5pm, the first couple of houses we tried were full but then one owner recommended another just around the corner. We headed to ‘Jesus y Maria’ who did indeed have room at the inn and we both instantly liked it. A large house spread over almost three floors with five guest rooms and plenty of terrace space, it felt a bit more like a guest house than a family home and part of the appeal may well have been this refreshing change in environment.

Jesus y Maria Hostal, Havana

Costs and contact information for Jesus y Maria
$30 for a large room with 1 double and 1 single bed (other rooms had different configurations)
Number of rooms: 5

Jesus y Maria
#518 Aguacate
Between Sol and Muralla
Habana Vieja

Telephone: +53 (7) 861 1378 or 866 7765
Email: [email protected]
Website: Not found

Vinales

Villa El Panchon
A close contender as our favourite casa in Cuba! A few minutes walk from the plaza, on a residential no-through road, Villa El Panchon was a lucky find. We arrived in Vinales without a reservation; which judging by the amount of rooms for rent in the town would never be a problem. We tucked down a side road from the bus stop and enquired at the first nice-looking house we reached. Presumably, they were full because the lady called her neighbour out who suggested she could take us to a good house. We duly followed and a minute or so later were at Villa El Panchon meeting Gladys and her daughter Janice. This casa is a single storey verandaed bungalow of the kind typically found in Vinales. Most are brightly painted and El Panchon is a pretty turquoise with wooden slatted windows and four rocking chairs on the front porch. The guest bedroom was at the front of the house and had two double beds, windows on two sides, hanging space for clothes and a good bathroom. The room had air-conditioning and a fan and although it lacked some features other casas had like a television and fridge, these were things that we never use and didn’t miss.

Villa El Panchon, Vinales

All of the hosts mentioned in this article were extremely hospitable but for me, Gladys at Villa El Panchon tops the list. Maybe it was because we spent a little more time “at home” than we did at some of the other casas or the congenial atmosphere created by neighbours popping in and out, but we found Gladys and her family particularly welcoming. Little touches like the ice-cold glasses of homemade lemonade after we returned from a day of cycling were great. In some casas (but by no means all) there was a slight underlying feeling of them trying to make a little bit more money from you – from selling a horse riding excursion, sending you off to a restaurant of their choice with a business card (presumably to ensure some kind of reciprocal back-scratching) or simply making sure you know their fridge is full of over-priced drinks, but at Villa El Panchon we didn’t feel any of this.

Villa El Panchon, Vinales

Costs and contact information for Villa El Panchon
$25 including breakfast for a good-sized room with 2 double beds
Number of rooms: 1

Villa El Panchon (Gladys with help from her daughter Janice)
#30 Joaquin Perez
Vinales

Telephone: +53 (048) 696789
Email: [email protected]

Trinidad

Casa Barcella
In the heart of Trinidad’s old town and very centrally located, close to the Casa de la Musica and the main square is Casa Barcella. Maricela was a good hostess but she’s very young and had only been operating a few months when we stayed, and a little bit too keen for our liking. I think it’s because she wants to know she is doing things right and is also clearly trying to build a business but sometimes she came across as a little pushy.

We had a good room here, just off the family courtyard, with a modern bathroom and two double beds. Casa Barcella was the place in which we came to really appreciate a casa-style home-cooked meal. Maricela’s roof-top breakfasts and dinner were very tasty – there are plenty of restaurants in Trinidad and we tried a couple of them, but they didn’t match the casa meal in terms of value, quantity or flavour.

Casa Barcella, Trinidad

Casa Barcella, Trinidad

Costs and contact information for Casa Barcella
$25 for a good sized room with 2 double beds
Number of rooms: 1 (with plans to add more at some stage)

Casa Barcela (Maricela and Reiner)
#3 Galdos
Between Jesus Menendez (Alameda) and Ernesto Valdez Munoz (Media Luna)
Trinidad

Telephone: (+53) 0141 992 506
Mobile: (+53) 01 5240 7886 or 5251 1893
Email: [email protected]

Cienfuegos

Hostal Las Terrazas
Eloida speaks excellent English – her day job is a doctor and her husband looks after things during the day. Their home is about a ten-minute walk from the centre of Cienfugos and they’ll come to the bus stop to meet you to make sure you don’t get lost. Postal Las Terrazas is a lovely traditional Cuban home, part of a terrace of houses with tiled floors and shuttered windows. Our “room” consisted of the entire upper level of the house. It is reached by a spiral staircase and is a unit which in addition to the bedroom and bathroom has a kitchenette with dining table and two terraces. Loads of space and privacy and a great option for longer stays too.

Hostal Las Terrazas, Cienfuegos

Costs and contact information for Hostal Las Terrazas
$25 for a large room/mini apartment with 1 double and 1 single bed.
Number of rooms: 1

Hostal Las Terrazas (Rolando and Elodia)
#5230 Calle 47
Between Ave 52 (Arguelles) and Ave 54 (San Fernando)
Cienfuegos

Telephone: (+53) 043 514114
Mobile: (+53) 01 5312 6105
Email: [email protected]

Camuguey

Casa de Angela y Luis
We dubbed the sweet couple at this place our ‘Cuban granny and grandad’ as they really couldn’t do enough for us. They only speak a little bit of English but, like so many casa hosts made a really effort to understand our broken Spanish. Their home is typical of a more modern house in Cuba and is located in a friendly residential neighbourhood on the edge of the town. It took around 15 minutes to walk to the colonial heart of Camuguey. Angela and Luis occupied the ground floor of the house and their daughter and her young family the upstairs. The decor of our bedroom was similar to that of staying with an elderly relative – a bit dated but very homely. The breakfast was also very good.

Casa de Angela y Luis, Camagüey

Costs and contact information for Casa de Angela y Luis
$25 for a fair-sized room with 1 double bed
Number of rooms: 1

Angela and Luis
#753 San Martin
Between Bembeta and Roosevelt
Camuguey

Telephone: (+53) 0132 242350
Mobile: (+53) 01 5291 3401
Email: [email protected]

Also recommended by Amaryllis although we didn’t stay at them, because we didn’t have time to make it to the towns on this occasion, are as follows. Obviously we can’t vouch for them personally because haven’t seen them but based on her other recommendations would suggest they are worth checking out. If you do, let us know.

Santiago de Cuba

Casa de Ernesto y Davia
#406 Calle Habana (J.M. Gomez)
Between Santo Thomas (Felix Pena) and San Pedro (General Lacret)
Telephone: (+53) 0122 623 465

Baracoa

Casa de Ricardo y Yamaris
#26 Calle Libertad (first floor)
Between Mariana Grajalesy and Emiliano Corrales
Telephone: (+53) 0121 643 484<

Matanzas

Casa de Raisa Rodriguez
La Casa Verde – Casa Foto-estudio
#29215 Calle Medio (85)
Between Saragoza (292) and Manzauares (294)
Telephone: (+53) 0145 242703

If you enjoyed reading our casa particulares reviews, you may like to read more about our experiences of staying in casa particulares or one of our other posts featuring Cuba.

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