The grandest of Old Havana’s hotels, and its location is perfect: it stands on the eastern side of the Plaza de Armas, Havana’s earliest and most beautiful colonial square. The building is an eighteenth century mansion which was constructed for the Countess of San Juan de Jaruco but was later bought by Count of Santovenia, whose initials can be seen in the decorative iron balcony rails. Converted to a hotel in the late nineteenth century, it was restored and is now run by the Office of the City Historian of Havana, so all its profits are reinvested in the restoration of the city’s historical centre.

Its courtyard is full of plants and echoes to the gentle splashing of its central fountain, and the mahogany and leather planters’ chairs there are exquisitely comfortable.

The rooms all overlook the Plaza de Armas with the exception of a few side rooms. The Santovenia Suite is the grandest and most spacious and the Junior Suites are also very satisfactory, but the third floor standard rooms, all of which have a small terrace overlooking the square, are excellent value.
All the rooms have air conditioning, balcony or terrace, bathroom, safe, modem, 110v and 220v electricity, jacuzzi, minibar, radio, hairdryer, room service, telephone and cable TV. The hotel’s suite, the Suite Santovenia, is a light, pleasant space with a generous, well-designed seating area. It overlooks the Plaza de Armas and is a popular choice for visiting VIPs. The junior suites are not as large as the Santovenia, but are nonetheless very acceptable. The majority have traditional stained glass fanlight windows, all of them overlook the square and they are airy, spacious and welcoming.

Facilities include Conference Hall/Rooms, Disabled Facilities, Laundry, Multilingual Staff, Nursery, Parking, Restaurant, Shops Max 2min walk.