Cheap, clean, well located, spacious rooms. Good price since there are not much alternatives in Santiago, as far as hostels are concerned.

Located in the very heart of Santiago de Cuba, this is one the best accomodations in town. The beautiful building is in walking distance of all the cities sights but still very calm. There's a few private parkingspots right in front of the hotel.

The small hotel has only a few rooms that all surround two well maintained, elegantly tiled and plant-filled courts. The rooms are spacious with high ceilings and nice colonial style furniture. Clean bathrooms and sheets, a silent airconditioning and a working fridge all meet the expectations.

The small breakfast room serves fresh fruit and wellmade sandwiches and some snacks during the day.

San Basilio's staff is friendly, but a bit on the formal side. The softdrinks in the room's fridge were free, according to the staffmember on the reception the day of arrival, but appeared on the bill when we checked out another personel.

My parents (aged 60) and I (aged 23) recently went on a tailor-made tour of Cuba, and during our trip we spent 2 nights in Santiago de Cuba at the Hotel San Basilio (my parents also stayed here in July 2009, during the carnival). Background on me: I’ve travelled fairly extensively over the last few years, to Cuba, the DR, Mexico, Turkey, Europe etc, staying in various hotels from basic 2* hotels to 5* luxury adult only resorts, and try to be realistic in my expectations. For me, the major pluses of San Basilio hotel are it’s location (very central), the size (it is very intimate with just 8 rooms), and the decor: the rooms are beautifully decorated and furnished in traditional colonial style. I was very close to giving the San Basilio 4/5, but a couple of things (like the AC which wasn’t great, and the noise which was tiresome) made me give it a three; but, I’d say it’s really a 3.5/5, or a 7/10. I’ll break my review into sections for ease:

Check-in: quick, efficient, and friendly, with rooms ready for us.

Rooms: we had two double/twin rooms. My room was large, with two large single beds, a decent sized wardrobe, a dressing table with a mirror and satellite TV, plus two chairs and a table. Small safe in the room available at an extra charge (as with many hotels in Cuba, don’t expect to fit much in it; when I say small, I mean small!). Mini-bar and fridge, but the mini-bar was overpriced IMO (2 CUC for a local beer), and wasn’t fully stocked. The AC wasn’t great (I’d suggest leaving it on when out to get any benefit from it), and the rooms were noisy at night, with music playing loudly close-by until 12am (bring ear plugs!). The bathroom was large and clean, with a good hairdryer, but the shower was poor; though, I do have long hair and still managed OK, it just took longer. Plenty of towels provided (2 large plus a handtowel pp).

Breakfast: not great. Eggs cooked to order with bread or toast and jam, and a small amount of fruit, plus a juice and a tea or coffee. A la carte so no helping yourself!

Location: very good; extremely central with the Rum museum and a paladare down the road; close to all the museums, the Casa de la Trova, etc (approx 5-10 min walk).

This hotel really is very pretty and I did enjoy my stay here; it is not fancy by any means, but the decor and rooms are lovely, and the staff are very friendly (which can be unusual from my experiences in Cuba!). I would highly recommend it for a short stay, and it would make a lovely choice for a couple (I really wished by OH was with me as it was really quite charming and romantic).

If you would like any more info, please PM me and I’d be happy to help.

A lovely boutique hotel (only 8 rooms) all recentlyrenovated with beautiful mosaic tiling & bathrooms. Very difficult hotel to locate if driving - parking (supervised at night only) in the narrow street . Rooms airconditioned but no pool ( a drawback in the intense heat and humidty of Santiago de Cuba in June/July), fridge in room, luxurious toiletries supplied, breakfast in tiny but pleasant dining room. Easy walk to most attractions (rum museum just down the street) and main shopping street. Staff helpful and nice. Avoid noisy room 2 which is adjacent to reception where the TV is on all night and staff & guests are constantly coming & going. Be sure to have a good map and lots of patience when trying to find this hotel.