Boutique Hotel Ánimas & Virtudes

Set directly on the Paseo del Prado in Havana Vieja, Hotel Ánimas y Virtudes occupies a mansion built in the early twentieth century and since reconstructed room by room. Marble floors, timber joinery and wrought ironwork trace the building's original character, while a vertical garden fills the inner courtyard with green. It is a short walk from the centre of the old city. The Parque Central, the Capitolio Nacional and the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso are all five minutes on foot. Rooms vary in character rather than following a single template: some open onto private balconies over the avenue, others sit on the top floor with wide views across the rooftops toward the Prado below. The first-floor suite has its own pantry with a fridge, microwave and coffee maker, plus a bathroom large enough for a separate bathtub and shower. Reception runs around the clock, and a welcome cocktail greets arriving guests. Ground-floor space is given to a restaurant run under the name of La Guarida, Havana's long-running paladar, serving a menu built on Cuban tradition. Breakfast runs daily, with an early service available on request for guests heading out on scheduled trips. Bathrooms throughout are bright and generously sized, a detail the hotel treats as a small point of pride.