Hostal Valencia

The cigar shop from the conde de Villanueva has moved here, along with the new roller Ramon. It still has the same feel, and they even brought over the old furniture. Ramon sells custom rolls, and they smoked great. Loved it. If you want to try Cuban custom rolled cigars, this is a definite must.

The location is very central for the plazas of Habana Vieja, and the staff were pleasant. The courtyard is beautiful, but the rooms are extremely overpriced. Nearby casa particulars at $30/night were nicer, so this place would make sense to me at less than half the price. Our room had a toilet that wouldn’t flush and a stall door only about 3 feet tall, so there was no privacy for either of us. The shower was so small the plastic curtain stuck to you, and getting through the balcony door meant being strong enough to drag it open and squeeze through. We were promised a queen bed but got 2 twin sized beds instead.

We started out in a small room with no window, so we asked to move. The room we got was HUGE, with windows on two sides and twin balconies. Fantastic. The courtyard was quaint and the food was good, though the shower only trickled throughout our stay. Loved it.

We were walking around Havana while in town with the Carnival Cruise when we spotted people leaving this hostel with Mojitos. We thought, why not? Went in, got a couple Mojitos, and life was good!