El Castillo

We spent almost a month in Baracoa, and this hotel had the best breakfast coffee of the few casas we stayed in. The staff were friendly and mostly spoke English. The view is breathtaking. If you're up for some exercise in the morning, try taking the stairs up and down. Thanks, we'll be back for sure.

The views are the big draw here: from above Baracoa you can see the sea, harbor, town in both directions, the bay, and El Yunque, the flat-topped mountain behind the city. There's a big pool in the central courtyard and a nearby bar that makes a mean Baraco 500 cocktail. The restaurant was decent too. Its usual lunch and dinner menu seemed more varied than at an average Cuban restaurant, with some vegetarian choices, though options were limited after Hurricane Matthew. We arrived only a couple of weeks after the hurricane, so repairs were still underway in parts of the hotel, including many rooms in the newer building. The rooms in the old building are fairly basic. The walk back up from town is very steep, and could get tiring over a longer stay, especially in the usual hot weather, but it didn't bother us. One thing to know about breakfast: go around 7am when it starts being put out. Fruit flies gather quickly, and by 8:30am the food is noticeably less appealing.

It's one of only a few hotels in Baracoa. The pool is awesome, and you can use it without staying at the hotel for $10 per person. The gift shop is OK and the staff are friendly, though only one or two people spoke English. Breakfast had loads of choices, including an omelet bar.

The view was incredible, though getting to town meant a long walk downhill and back up. The room was OK, just small, and you could see where water had leaked in during a small shower. Since the hurricane had hit the hotel only five months earlier, some of our complaints may have been fixed since then. The shower and sink barely had any water pressure, just a trickle. There was no hot water, only lukewarm water after 15 minutes. The pool was actually warmer, so we'd start the shower, jump in the pool, then soap up and rinse off in the shower. The food was standard Cuban fare and might disappoint foodies, plain but clean. Breakfast was the best meal.