El Castillo

“Excellent views and comfortable place to spend a few days”

We drove down from Santiago to get to Baracoa - word of warning that maps.me doesn't find the coastal road it will try and take you up to Jamaica and across on impassable roads in the mountains so ignore her instructions to do a U-turn coming out of Guantanimo and keep on the coastal road and up vi… more

We drove down from Santiago to get to Baracoa - word of warning that maps.me doesn't find the coastal road it will try and take you up to Jamaica and across on impassable roads in the mountains so ignore her instructions to do a U-turn coming out of Guantanimo and keep on the coastal road and up via the Farola Viaduct - v steep and a lot of switchbacks but quite a pleasant road. Baracoa was a delight after Santiago and pretty place to spend 2 days. The hotel is in a good location overlooking the sea and the bay behind- we had room 225 which overlooked the bay behind. We didn't have a problem with air con as it was so cold outside - we had 2 days of storms. Nice comfy room with balcony and bathroom was nice and big and again no hot water but I came to expect that everywhere - it was rare anywhere to get hot water. Breakfast was ok - quite basic and every day it had something different but get up early if there is a big tour group staying it will be decimated in minutes. Also be aware that the clocks go forward on March 7th ! we missed our tour on the monday - I asked the bar person what the time was on the Sunday and she had the same time as me but not everyone knows this important fact - we would also have missed our flight had we not asked someone else we met and they explained to us Cuba had moved to summer time. Word of warning if driving do not attempt the road from Baracoa to Moa in anything other than a 4x4 - it takes 3 hours to do 30km and the bridges have sections missing

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“Great location”

The bedroom and bathroom were very spacious; the air-conditioning not as effective as we would have liked. The breakfast was good. Although the dinner choice was unfortunately rather limited, it is easy to walk down into town to one of the many eateries available there. The hillside location mad… more

The bedroom and bathroom were very spacious; the air-conditioning not as effective as we would have liked. The breakfast was good. Although the dinner choice was unfortunately rather limited, it is easy to walk down into town to one of the many eateries available there. The hillside location made for excellent views and a great breeze. The pool was decent and it was pleasant to sit in the bar area to use the wifi.

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“Closed”

Don't bother climbing the steps. It was closed when I was there in May 2022. I usually include the hotel bar in my Tour de Mojito on the day of my arrival in Baracoa. To find the doors locked and windows shuttered. The views of the city and of the Russian-built helicopters are still nice from t… more

Don't bother climbing the steps. It was closed when I was there in May 2022. I usually include the hotel bar in my Tour de Mojito on the day of my arrival in Baracoa. To find the doors locked and windows shuttered. The views of the city and of the Russian-built helicopters are still nice from the hill that this old fortress stands on.

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“A Mixed Bag”

This hotel is in an excellent position offering views over the sea and town and across to El Yunque. My room, in the original fortress building, was basic, but clean and adequately comfortable. The bathroom had obviously been refurbished relatively recently and had new fixtures. Unfortunately, how… more

This hotel is in an excellent position offering views over the sea and town and across to El Yunque. My room, in the original fortress building, was basic, but clean and adequately comfortable. The bathroom had obviously been refurbished relatively recently and had new fixtures. Unfortunately, however, it was often impossible to get any hot water for showering, a complaint I heard echoed by a number of other guests. Breakfast was pretty poor - omelettes cooked to order were satisfactory but things like bread, juice, fruit, coffee or cereal had frequently run done and not been replenished. The outdoor bar, overlooking the pool, was pleasant and served good espresso and rum.

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“OK hotel, but some rooms have air-condition issues!”

Nice hotel at the top of the hill overlooking the whole city. Nice pool area and pool bar with ok food. My family had two rooms and we had to change both rooms several times to find one with working air-condition. Apparently, they did not have an overview of non working rooms and we got the impress… more

Nice hotel at the top of the hill overlooking the whole city. Nice pool area and pool bar with ok food. My family had two rooms and we had to change both rooms several times to find one with working air-condition. Apparently, they did not have an overview of non working rooms and we got the impression that this was a regular problem they solved by moving people around till the visitors got tired of complaining. But if you don't mind the air-condition, this is an ok place.

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