Hotel Inglaterra

Rooms and decor

Picture a white neoclassical building that has stood across from Parque Central since 1875 in the middle of Havana — that is Hotel Inglaterra, the oldest hotel in Cuba, which has passed under the eyes of poets, politicians, businessmen and travelers for nearly 150 years. Step into the lobby and you meet a mudejar hall that folds Arab-Spanish charm into the neoclassical bones: high ceilings set with blue-and-yellow tile, old stucco patterns, and antique lamps throwing a warm, soft light. The roughly 83 rooms hold onto a turn-of-the-1900s feel in almost every detail — old mosaic tile floors, ceilings nearly 4 metres high, dark colonial-style wood furniture, and cream-and-deep-red bedding that reads grand. Many rooms have black wrought-iron balconies over Parque Central, so you can open the doors in the morning to the breeze and a postcard view of old Havana, complete with the clatter of horse carts and vintage Chevrolets rolling past. You will not find this from a new hotel in another neighborhood.

Food and amenities

The heart of a stay here is the Sky Bar, the sixth-floor rooftop bar that pulls in guests and locals alike. Go up in the evening and you find a live band playing real Cuban music — son, salsa, bolero — every night, with the Capitolio Nacional, its clean white dome modeled on the US Capitol, the Gran Teatro de La Habana, the city's loveliest opera house, and the brown-tiled old-town roofs stretching out around you. Order a real mojito, sit back to the trumpet and congas as the last light hits the Capitolio, and you have an image that sticks. Downstairs the colonial-style restaurant serves Cuban and Spanish dishes by the book — ropa vieja (shredded stewed beef), moros y cristianos (black beans and rice) and paella. Breakfast is a small buffet with eggs made to order, Cuban bread, tropical fruit and a strong cafe cubano that could wake you for the whole day. Service in the lobby and at the bar is warm in the Cuban way — many of the staff have worked here for decades and know the hotel and the city without reaching for Google, so ask them anything about sights, food or rides.

Location and getting there

Location is this place's best card. Hotel Inglaterra sits directly across from Parque Central, the park at the heart of Havana right where Habana Vieja (the old town) meets Centro Habana. Next door are the Capitolio Nacional, the white dome that was recently restored into the city's main photo landmark, and the Gran Teatro de La Habana, a baroque opera house that looks like a palace, both just a few steps away. The Obispo pedestrian street, the main artery of Habana Vieja and full of cafes, cigar shops, bars and street musicians, is only a 5-minute walk. From here you can spend whole days exploring Plaza Vieja, Plaza de Armas, the Havana cathedral and the Malecon seafront (a promenade more than 8 km long) on foot, no taxi needed. The building has stories for a whole night — it opened in 1875 and lived through Spanish colonial rule, the Cuban revolution and the Castro years to today. In its early-20th-century heyday it was a meeting point for important poets, writers and politicians, and it even appears in the writings of Jose Marti, Cuba's national hero. Jose Marti Airport (HAV) is about 25 to 30 minutes by taxi.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. The most common complaint in reviews is the age of the rooms — since the building is nearly 150 years old, the furniture and bathroom fittings are not always in top shape, some rooms have inconsistent hot water (run it a while before you use it), and the air-con can be louder than a new hotel, so pack earplugs if you sleep lightly. Second is the slow, limited Wi-Fi, a country-wide problem across Cuba rather than this hotel alone — you buy an ETECSA card (sold in the lobby) to top up, so set your expectations and do not count on European or Asian speeds. Third is noise: street-facing rooms can pick up the horns of carts and vintage cars by day and live music from the rooftop bar at night, so light sleepers should ask for a higher floor or a room facing the interior. On top of that, booking direct (in CUP) tends to run noticeably cheaper than booking through an OTA, though you trade that for the convenience of locking in a room ahead of time. Finally, on payment — in Cuba carry backup cash (EUR or USD, exchanged at a CADECA), because credit cards from some countries, American ones in particular, are not accepted everywhere.

Our take

After reading through hundreds of real reviews, Hotel Inglaterra sells history, a dead-central location and a live-music rooftop bar at a price that is hard to match in Havana. If the trip in your head is walking out of the hotel to sit under the trees of Parque Central watching vintage Chevrolets roll past the Capitolio, then heading back up to the rooftop for a mojito and a live band playing son as the last light falls on the old-town roofs, this is about as good a fit as it gets, and remarkably good value. But if you expect a brand-new room, strong hot water, fast Wi-Fi and the service of a 5-star European chain, this may not be your pick — look instead at a newer hotel in the Vedado district. Overall we give it 7.8/10, best for couples, solo travelers and anyone who loves history and atmosphere more than newness and tech, and who wants to use Habana Vieja as a base to explore the city every day.