Hôtel Florida

For reasons that we presume are obvious enough, the boutique-hotel revolution hasn’t hit Cuba just yet; quite understandably, Havana isn’t exactly a hotbed of cutting-edge modern design. Here the hotels come in various shades of nostalgic history — and there may be none quite so dedicated to the city’s 19th-century Spanish Colonial heritage as the Hotel Florida, just off the Plaza de Armas in the heart of Havana’s old quarter.

It’s nothing if not grand, its lobby lit by sunlight from the atrium above, and surrounded by the columns and arches of a traditional colonial-style arcade. Public facilities include two bars, one of them a lively piano bar with regular live performances, as well as the Floridana restaurant, an elegant, old-world dining room serving Cuban and international fare.

And for all that, the Hotel Florida has just twenty-five rooms — standard rooms and junior suites alike have traditional beamed ceilings, marble floors, bathrooms in distinctive green Cuban marble, and antique furniture and artworks. Many open onto balconies via French doors. All travel in Cuba is, to some extent, a trip back in time. It’s just that the Hotel Florida takes you farther back than most.