My husband and I stayed for two nights (Mar 13 to Mar 15) at the Casa Obrapia. What can I say? This was the highlight of our 7-day trip to Cuba. The Casa Obrapia is a very beatiful colonial house right in the heart of Vieja Habana, close to everything. It is a 3 minute walk to busy Calle Obispo and a few short blocks from Calle Mercaderes.

We reserved via bedincuba.com and contacted the owner (Reymond) via email. Our reservation was honoured! The room we were provided was gorgeous and immaculate, with an ensuite bathroom and AC ($35CUC per night). For $4CUC, we had a big breakfast prepared both days, complete with eggs scrambled with tomatoes and onions, local fruit, fresh coffee and smoothies, lots of bread and mantiquilla (butter).

Our host, Reymond, was gracious and very helpful. He is lovingly restoring this gem, already 3 years in the making. We felt that we experienced the real Cuban culture outside of resorts and fancy boutique hotels while we were here. In fact, just standing in the balcony watching Cuban life goes by was a real treat.

Your trip to Cuba will not be complete if you do not stay for at least 2 days in a Casa Particular.

When we arrived in Cuba we were originally booked into a big hotel but quickly realised that we wanted to stay in a casa particular instead. We found Casa Obrapia through trip advisor and it turned out to be the bet thing to happen to us on holiday.

Initially Reymond didn't have space for us ... but we were already hooked by the sudden surprising beauty of the renovated interior, high ceilings and brightly coloured rooms. Within minutes Reymond had called a friend down the road and arranged for us to stay in an alternative casa run by their freinds (as it turned out we loved it there - see review for Casa Dania Castillo Lopez).

We did eventually get to stay with Reymond and Raydel. Their casa is just stunning and right in the heart of Habana Vieja. They were endlessly warm and helpful as well as being alot of fun to be with. Our room had an ensuite shower ($35) which rivalled that of any quality European hotel with crisp clean cotton sheets and air-conditioning. Reydel is an excellent cook - a far better choice than most Havana restaurants!!

I made a round trip through Cuba with a friend, starting out in Havana. Since the casa where we made our booking wasn't available after all, we ended up at Casa Obrapia. What a great luck that was!! Reymond and Raydel took great care of us. On top of the clean and beautiful rooms, the excellent food, perfect location and their perfect service they offered, they also immediately made us feel like home. They even helped us to plan our trip and gave us helpful advise on lots of things. We were so happy there that we decided to go back at the end of our tour. Rooms weren't available, but we were welcome to walk in and out en even have diner there every day. We stayed in a lot of casas, but to this one we have the greatest memories!

We had organized a bus to take us from Varadero to Havana and this Casa Particular with Cubatur (in Varadero), which is how we found this place.

La Casa Obrapia is run by two men, Reymond and Raydel, both are great people. The entrance to the place is just a red door with doorbell opening to Obrapia street, and if you're just arriving, someone will peak over the balcony to check before letting anyone in. Late night they have an extra gate which they lock for security after the main door, though they made it clear that if we were out late, all we needed to do was ring the bell and it was no problem at all to let us in. I think we paid 30 CUC per night, a much better price than any of the hotels in the area! It is located right in the Old Havana area, and I noticed that there seems to be activity in the evening between people on the street coming and going, so if you're a light sleeper, I'd bring some ear plugs just in case.

The place is very beautiful by Cuba standards-- our room was clean and spacious. The bed was about the size of a double (enough for myself and my boyfriend), had towels and a place where we could hang up our things in a cabinet, as well as an air conditioner. The doors to the room (opened in the middle) had their own lock and there was a shutter/window that we could open to the hallway. The shared bathroom was beautiful with gorgeous tile from floor to ceiling .

Talking with Reymond (who speaks pretty good English and is really nice) we found that he'd been in this business for some time and organizes the various renovations/updates to the place all to his own design, when he can. The roof terrace was still in progress, as I had seen from an earlier review, but he let us take a look up there and I'm sure it's going to be gorgeous when it's done.

Raydel is really great too! My Spanish was quite rusty and limited, but with his patience and some English, we managed to sort out talking more than just hello and good bye! He is a FANTASTIC cook and if you get the chance to have a breakfast or a dinner there, do it!

Generally the food in Cuba is nothing to write home about (especially back at the resort in Varadero) due to the limitations of what they can get, but Raydel made the best breakfasts and dinner that I had on my whole trip. Seriously, if you get the chance, do it! I think it was one of the highlights of my whole trip.

We had a lovely fruit salad, good coffee and hot milk, bread and butter, and eggs prepared to order for breakfast. For our dinner we picked to have lobster, and much to my surprise, dinner was a delicious soup, salad (a variety of veggies on a place to pick from and make your own), bread and butter, lobster (we picked a cuban style tomato sauce which was tasty), rice, and vegetables, as well as espresso and a cake-like dessert.

The salon area/living room is also nice to hang out in. There are three doors that open up to the balcony and you can look out on the life in Havana from above. Also, they have a small black dog named Rocky who is extremely tame and docile, and a large goldfish named Frida.

Unlike the resorts in Varadero that are all owned by the government, La Casa Obrapia is owned/run by Reymond and Raydel, part of the small percentage of self employed individuals in Cuba, and are licensed to operate as a bed and breakfast aka Casa Particular through expensive permits. They have people which they employ to help run the place from cleaning to laundry, and they all work together really well as a solid team. I'm glad to support their business.

One important thing--The culture in Cuba is friendly and warm! It's important when staying essentially in someone's house to make sure you take the time to say hello/goodbye to your hosts. Even if you don't speak a word of Spanish, poking your head to the kitchen with a smile and a wave will go a long ways when coming and going from the house.

I felt really lucky to be able to take the time out of busy Havana city, where many people wanted to sell me things or were asking for things, and just hang out and talk with Raydel or Reymond. They made us feel really comfortable and welcome, and were overall great hosts.

I would go back here in a heart beat!