Page 132 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

130 ❯❯ Streetsmart

Rural Hotels offers a lovely natural Rancho San Vicente,
setting, with leafy grounds Viñales
Hotel Hanabanilla, that slope down to a MAP B2 • Carretera a
Sierra Escambra swimming pool. Choose Puerto Esperanza, km 33
MAP H3 • Embalse from comfy cabins or • (48) 79 6201 • www.
Hanabanilla • (42) spacious self-catering hotelescubanacan.com
20 8461 • recepcion@ villas with private pools. • $$
hanabanilla.co.cu • $ This refuge in a wooded
A stunning lakeside Hotel Las Jazmines, valley features simple air-
setting in the foothills Viñales conditioned cabins, with
of the Sierra Escambray MAP B2 • Carretera porches and huge win-
make up for the dull a Viñales, km 23 • (48) dows. A lovely restaurant
archi tecture of this Soviet- 79 6205 • www.hoteles overlooks the pool.
inspired two-star hotel. cubanacan.com • $$
Rooms are refurbished, Housed in an original Villa Cayo Saetía,
with modern amenities. 1950s neo-colonial pink Cayo Saetía
Local tours are offered. It structure, this hotel has MAP P4 • Cayo Saetía
can get noisy on weekends. a spectacular hilltop • (24) 51 6900 • www.
setting that guarantees gaviota-grupo.com • $$
Motel La Belén, incredible views. Of This beachside cabin
El Pilar the three room types complex is on a forested
MAP L4 • Comunidad available, the most island once used for hunt-
El Pilar • (52) 19 5744 comfortable are those ing by Com munist officials,
• ecotur@caonao.cu • $ in the modern annex. hence the abundance of
This off-the-beaten-track exotic wildlife. The rustic
hotel in Sierra del Chorillo, Hotel La Moka, restaurant is adorned
southeast of Camagüey Las Terrazas with animal heads.
city, appeals to nature MAP C2 • Autopista
lovers. The five spacious Habana-Pinar del Río, Villa Mirador de
rooms have modern km 51 • (48) 57 8602 Mayabe, Mayabe
bathrooms, and there • www.lasterrazas.cu • $$ MAP N4 • Alturas de
is a cozy lounge as well Poised over Las Terrazas Mayabe, km 8 • (24) 42
as a swimming pool. village and shrouded in 2160 • www.islazul.cu
woodland, this colonial- • $$
Villa Pinares de themed hotel focuses on Perched atop a hill with
Mayarí, Pinares ecotourism, with a lobby spectacular valley views,
de Mayarí that is built around a tree. this villa has a clifftop
MAP P5 • Loma La The spacious rooms offer pool and thatched res-
Mensura • (24) 45 5628 scenic forest views. taurant popular with tour
• www.gaviota-grupo. groups and locals. The
com • $ Rancho Charco refitted cabins have air-
This charmingly Alpine- Azul, Artemisa conditioning, satellite TVs,
style mountain resort MAP D2 • Cayajabos, fridges, and telephones.
offers hiking, mountain 9 miles (14km) W of
biking, and bird-watching. Artemisa • 7649 1055 or Villa El Saltón,
Set amid pine forests 7204 5188 • $$ El Saltón
near lakes and waterfalls, A peaceful country MAP N5 • Carretera Filé,
it can only be reached via retreat, this converted Tercer Frente • (22) 56
a daunting unpaved road. coralstone mansion is 6326 • www.campismo
at the center of a horse- popular.cu • $$
Horizontes Villa breeding facility and Focused on ecotourism,
Soroa, Soroa opened in 2016 as a eco- this riverside hotel, sur-
MAP C2 • Carretera de friendly boutique hotel rounded by forest, offers
Soroa, km 8 • (48) 52 with four rooms and eight guided hikes and bird-
3534 • www.hoteles chalets. Facilities include watching trips. Rooms are
cubanacan.com • $$ a swimming pool and simply furnished but have
Surrounded by forested dining, and horseback satellite TV. The res tau-
hills, this bucolic option riding is offered. rant overlooks a waterfall.

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