August, 2010


We spend some days at Casa Mercedes. It is a good and clean place and near all the things we wanted to visit (Capitolio, Plaza das Armas, Plaza Vieja, Obispo etc) Mercedes is very friendly and helpfull. She gave us good adresses of Casas in other cities. They were clean and well situated. She speaks English very well and so you can learn a lot about the country.
I would highly recommend this casa

Peter and Marie José
Holland

Be prepared for hard beds and very thin walls and a lot of snoring and coughing all through the night.

The hostel itself is ok for cuban standards,nicely situated in Old Havana and with decent rooms. No dinner is served in the hostel but there are several restaurants nearby.

We were however quite annoyed with the owner, as she seemed to constantly try to get more money out of us (she went as far as to suggest that we shouldn't buy cigars from strangers because it's illegal and they're conmen...only to add that she could find cigars for us from a 'friend' who works in a cigar factory,which by the way is the line street conmen use..). After she saw that we were not going to generate any more cash for her,she lost any interest in conversation and didn't bother us any more.

I believe that the personality of the casa owner is quite important as this is one of the best ways to discover the cuban lifestyle,and on this basis i wouldn't recommend the hostel to anyone visiting Havana.

Casa Mercedes, is situated in an old colonial building within the hustle and bustle of Havana Vieja. It is very clean and the the rooms have private bathrooms with hot and cold showers and air conditioning. The breakfasts are excellent too.

But what makes this casa special are the owners and Mercedes in particular who can speak very good English and will help you find your way around Havana, and will organise very good accomodation practically anywere on the island. She treats you like one of the family and welcomes you with a huge smile and hug, to make you feel at home immediately. We were two girls travelling alone-and she was like a guardian angel to us!

The casa is in a great central area for anywhere in Havana, and I would definitely recommend it .