Islazul Las Terrazas Aparthotel, Havana

...scale and, you've guessed it, Islazul is at the bottom. In fact, the guide books say that Islazul runs the hotels that Cubans stay in and this is true but don't let poor reports in the guidebooks put you off.

Islazul does have some properties that you really wouldn't want to stay in if you had a choice. We saw one such place when we arrived in Guanabo, one of the three resorts which makes up Playa del Estes (literally "beaches ...
...the main road and had "chalets" (more like a brick outhouse) around a central area with an over-crowded pool and blaring music. Rubbish was piled up by the gates and the smell was not very nice.

Instead we made our way along to Playa Santa Maria a more upmarket stretch, closer to Havana where we decided to see if Las Terrazas had any rooms available. It couldn't have been more different. Las Terrazas is about 100 metres from ... more

It seems I caused some confusion with my last review of a Cuban hotel; how could I recommend the hotel having just said that the service was quite poor, the breakfast was poor and that the air-conditioning didn't work?

Perhaps I should have explained a bit more about Cuban hotels. Aside from a little private enterprise (which is strictly monitored by the government) all business in Cuba are government businesses. In recent years a number of foreign hotel chains have moved into Cuba but to do so they must operate in partnership with the Cuban government. This means that they only employ Cubans and that the staff they employ are paid at the rates dictated by the Cuban government.

As you can imagine in a country with shortages of many consumer items (and the total unavailability of most others) Cubans are keen to work in the tourism sector because of the potential for earning extra money. The average wage in Cuba is around US$60/month so anything you can get from tips or from selling stolen cigars to tourists is gratefully accepted. However, when you can't get your hands on consumer goods and it's nigh on impossible to lay your hands on even the smallest part to fix something how can you provide just what tourists want?

Petty pilfering is rife amongst state employees in Cuba; go into any state run hotel and at least a third of the light bulbs will be missing. The lock on your hotel room has broken; you go to reception to report it but hours later nobody has arrived to fix it. It's not as easy as popping down to Homebase to get a new lock; it'll probably be a while before they can get their hands on a new lock. If there's another room free they'll probably move you - if you insist - and the room you were in will be out of action until a new lock is found. The staff aren't ignoring you: they just don't know what to do. There's no incentive to go out of their way for you and even if there was they probably can't get what you want.

If you want to be treated well in Cuba then don't stay in a "commercial" hotel. Stay in a "casa particular" - a private house where (because you pay in Dollars) the owners have the incentive to look after you and can use your hard currency to get things on the black market.

If you do stay in a Cuban state run hotel you could do a lot worse than the Las Terrazas Aparthotel in Playa del Estes which is run by Islazul. Your Lonely Planet and Rough Guides will tell you that there are three Cuban hotel chains; Islazul, Horizontes and Gran Caribe. Horizontes no longer exists and most of its mid-range hotels have been swallowed up by Cubacan, a wider reaching Cuban tourism company. Gran Caribe is at the top of the scale and, you've guessed it, Islazul is at the bottom. In fact, the guide books say that Islazul runs the hotels that Cubans stay in and this is true but don't let poor reports in the guidebooks put you off.

Islazul does have some properties that you really wouldn't want to stay in if you had a choice. We saw one such place when we arrived in Guanabo, one of the three resorts which makes up Playa del Estes (literally "beaches of the East" of Havana). This place was next to the main road and had "chalets" (more like a brick outhouse) around a central area with an over-crowded pool and blaring music. Rubbish was piled up by the gates and the smell was not very nice.

Instead we made our way along to Playa Santa Maria a more upmarket stretch, closer to Havana where we decided to see if Las Terrazas had any rooms available. It couldn't have been more different. Las Terrazas is about 100 metres from the beach and has fences all around it. You have to show your key to the guard on the gate each time you come in. The lawns are immaculate and the flower beds are well tended, all the buildings look in good repair.

At reception we asked about room availability; there were loads of free rooms but the receptionist still had a little tut to herself because we had turned up without a reservation! We found our room easily enough, on the second floor of a three storey block. It was clean, pleasant and sparsely but nicely furnished. This was a "two party" apartment which meant that, in theory, we could have been sharing with strangers, but nobody ever turned up.

There were two bedrooms, a sitting area, a tiny balcony (not large enough to sit on), a kitchenette and a bathroom/toilet. The kitchen had a two-ring hob (no oven) and a tiny selection of cooking utensils and pans. It wasn't until after we'd bought a tin of tuna that we realized the kitchen didn't have a tin opener! While the other half chopped an onion I went to try the apartment next door in the hope of getting my hands on a tin opener. Finding three English guys, I stopped to share travelers tales and a beer; five minutes later, however, there was frantic knocking at the door. The ceiling in our bedroom had developed a fast-flowing leak. I ran to reception to report it and was amazed when ten minutes later a maid arrived at the door. Thankfully I managed to scream "NO!!!!!!" just in time to stop her from switching on the light in the bedroom to get a better look at the situation; apparently she had no idea about the dangers of water and electricity in combination!

Unusually for Cuban hotel staff, she had an answer straight away; they would move us to another apartment. In fact it was to another block, but it was a nicer one and this time there was a larger balcony and a view of the sea! Ok so the balcony had no chairs or table, you had to take two wooden chairs from the bedroom out onto the balcony but who's going to complain about that? We couldn't even both get onto the balcony at the same time in the other apartment. This apartment even had a "laundry room" - a cupboard with a stone sink for hand-washing! I am pleased to report that the air-conditioning was in full working order and there were no problems with the plumbing - in our apartment OR the one upstairs!

FACILITIES

Other than a handful of American channels on TV there were no facilities in the room; for a state run Cuban hotel this is the norm. You don't book in at this kind of hotel to treat yourself!

The hotel though had an outdoor pool that was immaculately clean and in excellent repair; no cracked or missing tiles in the pool or around it. The sun beds were also clean and in good condition. A lifeguard kept an eye on the pool and there was a sectioned off shallower area for younger children. You could buy drinks in the bar and take them to the pool area and, every now and again, the barman would come round to serve at the poolside. There was music playing but not so loud as to be a problem. There were no fancy slides or jets of water but everyone still seemed to be having a good time.

The great thing about the hotel having a pool was that it was so much more pleasant to sunbathe and swim here than on the beach; the Atlantic coast is very windy with big waves and it can become very tiring to try to bathe on the beaches in this area. The sound of the waves quickly becomes annoying not to mention the sand being whipped against your skin when you're trying to catch the rays.

The hotel restaurant was open first thing for breakfast, then for light lunches and again in the evening until about 9.30p.m. It wasn't great, just OK. We ate there for breakfast and once in the evening and found the food acceptable, though the portions were small. The table cloths were grubby and there were several stray dogs and kittens around your feet begging for scraps; being a soft-hearted animal lover I indulged them but I realise many people aren't keen on this kind of thing.

Breakfast was considerably better than the evening food; there was a Cuban take on "eggy bread" made from a kind of sweet brioche type roll and some lovely spicy ground meat which was great with mushrooms for a sandwich; my partner loved the omelettes which were made to order. For $4 it was pretty good value and you could go back to help yourself as many times as you wished.

There was one computer with internet access in reception, which was nearly always free and the reception staff could book organised excursions, car hire and fishing trips. A service bus ran regular services into Havana but it was just as easy to go by taxi given the poor condition of the buses and the number of people you could see crowded in; we did this on our last day when we needed to be back in town and it costs $15 for two people to make the 30 minute journey. There is a small shop (which operates bizarre and erratic opening hours) where you can buy a limited selection of groceries but I would not advise on self-catering; it's just too hit and miss. Better to buy a bottle of rum, some Tropicola and a few limes and use the kitchen for your cocktails!

THE RESORTS

There is little to do in any of the Playa del Estes resorts than enjoy the sun and the sea but there are some interesting places nearby; you can visit Ernest's Hemingway's house (now a museum) at Cojimar or take a trip along the coast to Mariel, the small town which became notorious in the 1980s as the point from which hundreds of desperate people tried to make for Key West in Florida; as a temporary measure, Castro allowed anyone who wanted to leave to do so from Mariel between April and October 1980.

The Playa del Estes resorts are also limited in terms of places to eat, all the restaurants nearby in the area are state run; my tip is to speak to a member of staff and ask them to find a "paladar" for you (a private restaurant run from someone's home), they may even come and pick you up!

MY VERDICT

At around only £25 a night for two people Las Terrazas is pretty good value for budget accommodation. It may not have much in the way of facilities but those it does have are acceptable. I would recommend it to those holidaymakers who are prepared to get off the beaten track and be a little adventurous; some things just need a little effort to get the best out of them.

I would not recommend it to people with very young children (there are lots of steps around the complex) and the pool is not very shallow; my cautious recommendation would be that it is not suitable for children under seven.

www.cuba.tc/havana/LasTerrazas.html

Avenida de las Terrazas (between 10 and Rotondas)
Santa Maria del Mar
Ciudad de la Habana

 

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