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Hostal Valencia

Hotels - Hostal Valencia

About  Hostal Valencia

The Hostal Valencia was the first Old Havana mansion to be converted by the Office of the City Historian into an hotel. Originally constructed for Alderman Sotolongo, a member of Havana’s Town Council, a large part of the building had actually collapsed by the time it reached the head of the queue for restoration – the remainder was braced against surrounding edifices with a complicated structure of wooden scaffolding.

Once this had been removed and the ruins consolidated, the collapsed section was rebuilt and balcony railings in this area have been left plain to indicate to architectural historians which part is restoration and which recreation. The Hostal Valencia is modest in style compared to establishments such as the Santa Isabel and the Saratoga, but its charm and very acceptable prices ensure an almost constant waiting list for bookings. 

Entering the Valencia, one passes through impressive colonial portals to a large hall which in spite of having been built at the end of the eighteenth century has a distinctly seventeenth century atmosphere; this is carried on throughout the general layout of the house and such details as the terracotta-tiled staircase, enormous mahogany beams and cobbled courtyard which is framed by bright green ferns and long strands of malanga vine trailing down from the upper floors.

The establishment’s two bars continue the general impression of antiquity with low ceilings and dim lighting so that one fully expects a pirate to come lurching out of the gloom clutching a half-drunk bottle of rum and muttering about dead men’s chests.

The people who work at the Valencia are especially kind and helpful and greet clients like old friends, which they generally are as many people return to the hotel again and again. The restaurant on the corner is renowned for its huge iron pans of prizewinning paella and the coffee from the courtyard bar is sublime.

 

Oficios No.13, La Habana

Automobile Museum

The Museo del Automóvil (Automobile Museum) is located in an 1892 Neoclassical construction in Old Havana. This museum is divided in two exposition rooms, which share the entire collection composed by 30 promenade cars, two rigid trucks, a funeral carriage, a special vehicle, seven motorcycles, a semaphore, three fuel pumps and two didactic imitations. This museum has a very well preserved and interesting collection of old automobiles, among which are the noteworthy Thunderbird, Pontiac, and Ford T, among others. The oldest vehicle in the collection dates from 1905, and the latest one comes from 1989. Most of them are North American, although some cars were made in Italy, Spain, Germany and Great Britain. It houses automobiles related to specific people and others antiquated vehicles. An example of this is the Cadillac used by Ernesto Che Guevara when living in Havana, the 1930 Fiat from Flor Loynaz, or the 1959 Oldsmobile used by Commander Camilo Cienfuegos.

Calle San Ignacio 54 (Plaza de la Catedral), Habana Vieja, La Habana

El Patio Restaurant (Marquis of Aguas Claras Palace)

This is a 1760 Baroque palace venerated for the great beauty of its Andalusian patio. It has a fountain surrounded by tropical vegetation where you will find several tortoises. Before the Revolution, this monumental building was the headquarters of the Industrial Bank; nowadays it houses the El Patio Restaurant. Although it offers traditional Cuban food, it speciality is meat and crustaceous, dishes as the Cathedral Mixed Grill (a varied grill) and skewers of lobsters and shrimps. The bar serves a collection of wines beers, rums and cocktails. It is currently possible to buy souvenirs in the craftworks shop located in the former Casa de Baños House, on the western side of the Cathedral square.

Calle Mercaderes No.120, Habana Vieja, La Habana

Tobacco Museum

The Museo del Tabaco (Tobacco Museum) is located within an 18th century building that belonged to the Bartolomé Luque family, in Calle Mercaderes Street, Old Havana. This museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of collections related to the plantations, production and commercialization of Cuban tobacco. It exhibits a large collection of pipes, leaves and other related items, as well as a collection of lithographic stones and machines of important cigar companies. The museum has a small shop where you’ll be able to get different Havana cigars and items for smokers.

Calle Inquisidor e/ Muralla y Teniente Rey, Habana Vieja

Old Square

The neighbors of the town insisted to the town council on the need to create a new public square for their amusement. In 1587, the town council decided to use as a public square the area behind the Convento de San Francisco, which was being built at the time. During the latter decades of the 16th century, this square was called the Plaza Nueva (new square), but from the 18th century onwards, once the Plaza del Cristo had been built, it began to become known as the Plaza Vieja (old square). The most remarkable feature of this square are the buildings around it, with their unquestionable historical and artistic importance of having been the blueprint for a style of architecture which, along with certain developments, subsequently spread throughout the city and characterised the Cuban architecture of the 18th century.

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