Stayed here with my mom in November of 2006 - we moved here after not being happy with our room at the Douglas House (it's the hotel next door, and they manage the Cuban Club, plus, I think, a few other places, too). This review really covers both places since they share amenities (like the pool) and are in similar shape. The grounds of the Douglas House are beautiful - cute pool (they now only have one pool and not two) and jacuzzi. Management was kind of cold, but did an okay job of greeting us. The room we had (Travelers Palm) was nice, but it was in desperate need of upgrading, and it was very dark inside, and pretty musty. After one night on the very uncomfortable bed and sofa bed, we asked if anything else was available and were moved to the Cuban Club. We had a huge room with a nice big porch on Amelia Street and at the quiet end of Duval - the location is superb - there is a lot to walk to and it's easy to get around. Again, however, the rooms/suites really need some upgrading and repairs, and the bed and sofa bed were just horrible! The place was clean, and has a lot of potential, but I hesitate to recommend it until they do some things to get it in line with the rates they charge (we paid $235 a night). The continental breakfast is fairly useless - small packs of cereal, bread and fruit, plus coffee or tea. Furtunately, there are great places to get food, like Alices (on the corner of Duval and Ameila) and the Banana Cafe (on Duval). At this point, if space and location are your prime concern, it's fine to stay here, but if you want anything else, look at other properties - for this money I expect bathrooms and furniture and kitchens that are not 25 years old and in desperate need of repair.

The short review:
Not Recommended:
Pros: Location, room size, full kitchen, charm and character
Cons: Smelly and cheap indoor/outdoor carpeting, no pool on-site, miserable Continental breakfast, uninterested staff

The longer-winded version:
My wife and I travel to KW annually with friends of ours, so we usually rent 2/2 apartments or condos, which can be somewhat hard to find. The room configuration was what initially attracted us to the Cuban Club and honestly, this property has a lot going for it – a great location just south of Truman (the quieter end of Duval St), an historic building with lots of character and spacious rooms with wraparound porches. But it only gets three stars from us because of the aloof management and substandard condition of the property. Bear in mind, this is not a housekeeping complaint. The staff did the best with what they have to clean, but things like cracked tiles, rotting wood, ripped upholstery and most notably a strong musty smell keep this place from being someplace I'd recommend.

We arrived and were greeted professionally but with no trace of any warmth or congeniality that was prevalent in the other places we have stayed in the past. After agreeing to a set of rules seemingly written for Spring Breakers, we were “shown” to our room. This consisted of opening the door. I should also mention that the other staffer at the front desk was shopping on the Banana Republic web site and didn’t even bother to acknowledge our existence. The room smelled like Grandma’s (if Granny had a drinking and mold problem.) The upstairs room had a door that was so warped it wouldn’t open and the furniture was a mish-mash of some nice but mostly really trashy stuff. The beautiful wrap around deck was great (until your neighbors began to use theirs as well) and the apartment has to be close to 1,000 square feet, which really made the space comfortable (if you could stand the odor).

This place is owned by the adjacent Douglas House, which is where you have to go to check in, use a pool, or get breakfast. Don’t bother with the breakfast. Pre-packaged cereal, mini-muffins and bread (yes, just slices of bread) make up the Continental breakfast. The audacity to have a tip jar next to this paltry array made me chuckle. If you want a really great breakfast, and we did, since we were paying hundreds per night, walk right next door to Alice’s – a fine dining place that is open for breakfast and who was so good we went back the next day.

The problems with the Cuban Club could easily be fixed with a little re-investment and attention from the management company. Due to its room configurations, it’s very likely become a popular Spring Break rental and has no doubt been the site of some legendary parties. But so have many other Key West properties that manage to keep the places in better shape. The comment card in the Cuban Club says they “aim to exceed your expectations.” If your expectations are low, they may succeed, but since this place costs the same as other, much nicer and better-cared-for properties, I’ll stay elsewhere next year.

I stayed at the Cuban Club for four nights with my wife and another couple. Our unit had one bedroom downstairs and a large loft upstairs with another bed and full bathroom. It was spacious (1500 Sq Ft) and had a balcony overlooking Duval St, which we spent ALOT of time on waiting for the wives to "do" themselves up. The units are privately owned and managed by Douglass House, so call them directly and ask them for the AAA discount for an even better rate than advertised.
We walked to Southernmost House (3 blocks) and Mallory Square (10 blocks) with ease. It really is an easy, lazy walk. We did most of the walks while somewhat intoxicated and/or full from dining. There are two small pools and a hottub which are on the Douglass House property. You may think that would be a long walk, but it is literally about 90 seconds from your door. Down the steps, through a small parking lot, and onto the DH property. They offer a daily continental breakfast at the pool area-coffee, cereal, breads, juice, etc. Another breakfast spot is about 75 feet south of Cuban Club; we, unfortunately, never got the chance to eat there. Below the suites are two stores and there is a market across the street-for our six packs!

Would I stay here again, absolutely! I found it to be the perfect mix of location, price, and size for my vacation needs.

The place was perfectly located and clean. I was a little disappointed with the quoted reservation price verses the price actually charged. Apparently, there is a standard room fee (this was $224 a night--a "discounted rate"--which I assumed was because of the hurricane season), then an additional $10 per person added to the room. I was never told of the additional charge--and would not have thought to ask given the fact that the place could sleep up to 6 adults (split floor loft w/ 2 bedrooms/2 baths and queen sofa sleeper).

Would probably stay at the Southern Most Hotel.