The Santa Isabel is the grandest of Old Havana’s hotels, and its location is perfect: it stands on the eastern side of the Plaza de Armas, Havana’s earliest and most beautiful colonial square. The building is an eighteenth century mansion which was constructed for the Countess of San Juan de Jaruco but was later bought by the Count of Santovenia, whose initials can be seen in the decorative iron balcony rails. It was converted to a hotel in the late nineteenth century. Recently it was restored, and is now run by the Office of the City Historian of Havana through its company called Habaguanex. All its profits are reinvested in the restoration of the city’s historical centre.

The Santa Isabel courtyard is full of plants and echoes to the gentle splashing of its central fountain, and the mahogany and leather planters’ chairs there are fatally comfortable – indeed they can be virtually impossible to get out of after a few mojitos.

The rooms at the Santa Isabel Hotel all overlook the Plaza de Armas with the exception of a few side rooms which have disappointing views and should be avoided. The Santovenia Suite is the grandest and most spacious and the Junior Suites are also very satisfactory, but Cubaism’s opinion is that the third floor standard rooms, all of which have a small terrace overlooking the square, are excellent value.

All the 17 standard rooms at the Hotel Santa Isabel have air conditioning, balcony or terrace (except one side room, number 203, which should be avoided anyway due to its dismal outlook), bathroom, safe, modem, 110v and 220v electricity, jacuzzi, minibar, radio, hairdryer, room service, telephone and cable TV. 4 of the rooms are twin bedded and 13 of them have matrimonial beds.

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The hotel’s suite, the Suite Santovenia, is named after the Counts of Santovenia, former owners of the mansion. It is a light, pleasant space with a generous, well-designed seating area. The Santovenia overlooks the Plaza de Armas and is a popular choice for visiting VIPs. There is often a long waiting list for bookings.

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The 9 junior suites are not as large as the Santovenia, but are nonetheless very acceptable. The majority have traditional stained glass fanlight windows, all of them overlook the square and they are airy, spacious and welcoming.

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