2011/12 – Havana : Casas Particulares

5 Dec

Enjoying my Casa

Nov. 2011

I always come back from Cuba with new lessons learned due to experiences I had.

Just like I will not attend another official cigar event, I have learned this trip not to use a Hotel in Cuba again if I can avoid it, except to exchange money, use the Internet or have my café con leche and a morning cigar at the LCDH.

Having “lived” in Hotels 35 for years I have learned to accept rules but I felt humiliated in Cuban Hotels by not being able to host my Cuban friends. At the Hotel I stayed the “security” quite aggressively requested Cuban friends to leave my bungalow, harassed them, and I was not able to do anything about it as it would have caused problems for them. Foreign friends of course were exempt from this treatment creating an apartheid I am not prepared to accept.

I decided to move out to a Casa particular where I found great hospitality, warmth, service, security and most important of all, my Cuban friends were welcomed.

It was the most relaxing part of my stay in Cuba and I got to meet and appreciate my Cuban hosts, learning about their personal history and backgrounds, their daily life, their hardships, receiving advice and making friends. I chose to leave my pre-paid bungalow to a friend and move out of it altogether – best decision.

Here’s a gallery of fine places in Havana/Cuba where I found a warm welcome and great accommodation.

Nino