Just a short review on this hotel as there is nothing about it already posted on this site.
I stayed here for a couple of nights in September. This hotel is located in the old quarter of Havana very close to the larger better know Hotel Florida. Unfortunately it does not look like much from the outside as the street it is on is pretty run down. However it is a very different story once you step through the big mahogany door with bronze nails which allows entrance to the hotel, where the typical interior patio has a marble staircase that leads to the upper floors. The rooms are all arranged around a central atrium which is lit by the spectacular stained glass roof.
The building originally belonged to a rich Irish family, hence the name, and there are pictures and antiques which belonged to them in the area adjacent to reception.
The four-star hotel has 38 rooms, including 35 standard rooms and three junior suites. Facilities for leisure are distributed in three floors, each of which was decorated following the style of different centuries: the 18th century for the ground floor, the 19th century for the second floor and the 20th century for the third floor.
There is a cigar shop, restaurant and bar on the ground floor where we enjoyed a very good Jazz band and then an a cappella group that resembled the Temptations and were excellent.
Double rooms here run at around 80 CUC or approx 50 GBP including breakfast although I wouldn’t rush down for that. Mind you food in Cuba is not good anywhere however it was at least edible.
The rooms were very large, clean and comfortable and the aircon was great. Had to get up in the night to turn it off I was so cold. I had a double on the top floor so the junior suites must be enormous. Not much of a view from the window though but the locals are very friendly.
There is broadband internet access by reception for 3CUC/hour. The computers are fairly new and the connection was pretty fast.
As I said before the hotel is in the old quarter of Havana so within walking distance of lots of other attractions like the Hotel Ambos Mundos where Hemingway frequented. Take the elevator to the top floor and enjoy a beer or some food on the roof terrace which has great views over the harbour. The food was ok here too and they do a lunch special for 18CUC’s for a three course meal which included lobster tail.
One other tip if you are staying in Havana is to take a taxi tour with your own private guide which costs 15CUC’s per person (I guess up to a maximum of three people as you can’t get any more than that plus the guide in the taxi). This takes you all around Havana with a very knowledgeable tour guide then a walking tour of Old Havana. Learnt a lot about Havana and Cuba on this. You can book it with the tourist desk I the lobby of the hotel.
Very important – there is a Western Union money exchange office around the corner from this hotel with three ATM machines. Not too common a site even in Havana
All in all I would recommend this hotel.