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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.

San Ignacio No.61 (Plaza de la Catedral), Habana Vieja, La Habana

Colonial Art Museum

The Museo de Arte Colonial (Colonial Art Museum) is housed within the oldest construction in Old Havana, the Condes de Casa Bayona Palace, a mansion rebuilt in 1720 by Cuban Governor, Don Luis Chachón. The palace’s Classical patio and coffered ceiling made intricately of wood stand out within this construction. The palace boasts a wonderful location, right in front of the San Cristóbal de La Habana Cathedral. This small museum has a Colonial furniture and decorative art exhibition, amongst which will stand out some pottery with Colonial Cuba motifs, as well as several scenes of Colonial dining rooms and a fantastic collection of ornamental flowers.

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. 114, Habana Vieja, La Habana

Maqueta Museum of Old Havana (Scale Model Museum)

The Museo Maqueta de La Habana Vieja (Maqueta Museum of Old Havana) (Scale Model Museum) hosts a 1:500 scale model of Old Havana, one of the most important of these models in all of Cuba, and is considered as a place of great interest, knowledge and entertainment by its inhabitants. It is continuously updated and is rather impressive due to the incredible attention to detail in its works in regards to some of the most important buildings of Old Havana. This is one of Old Havana’s must-visit museums, as it allows you to imagine what the historical center of Havana is like as a whole, and therefore being able to get a better look at it when walking its streets.

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