Martha's Guest House, Havana, Cuba

This is a Trusted Review. Why?

It is very nice place.

Overall

5

Location

4

Cleanliness

5

Value

5

Facilities

5

Service

5

marta.pilczuk stayed here in Jun '12

This is a Trusted Review. Why?

Marthas is a perfect casa particular for anyone who wants to experience Havanna with a safe haven were to go after the day in the city. We stayed there for four nights with couple of friends and I would recommend this place anytime!

The appartment is beautifully furnished and the views from the balcony are spectacular. Martha is a lovely lady, who speaks good English and with who it is easy to organize things. The location is good, the building is near the old american villas, not far from the city but still in a peaceful area, right next to malecon, the old boulevard on the sea. Taxi to the city was around 3-4 cuc, we always told the taxis to go to "musee de la danza" which was right next to Marthas.

Rooms are spaceous, clean and beautiful and the showers are really good. Breakfast costs 5 cuc, and we ate it there every morning. It includes tea and coffee, scrambled eggs, fresh juice, fruits and bread. We made a three day trip to trinidad, and were able to leave some of our stuff to Marthas to wait. Really a lovely and good quality place, I would defenetly stay here again!

Overall

5

Location

5

Cleanliness

5

Value

5

Facilities

5

Service

5

katariina.FIN stayed here in Apr '12

This is a Trusted Review. Why?

Martha's was a very pleasant surprise. I would never have expected such a place for that price. Our room was spacious with a clean and cute bathroom, A/C, lots of space for clothes, a fridge (refilled daily with beer, cola and water) and great views over the city. The living and dining rooms were also very stylish and nice, and the balcony - huge! It was always very quiet, except for some barking dogs outside. Martha is a lovely lady and gives good advice whenever needed (and speaks good English). The breakfast is 5 dollars and worth it: fresh fruit, toast, eggs and coffee. There aren't really much choices for breakfast anywhere else though so I'd recommend it anyway. If you need laundry service Martha will take care of that as well. There's no internet at Martha's, but we went to the nearby Hotel Presidente where you can use theirs for 6 cuc per hour. A taxi is also always available at the hotel if you can't catch one on the fly, costs about 5-6 cuc to Habana Vieja. Overall we had a lovely stay at Martha's and I would recommend it to anyone. An extra tip: there's a nice little paladar called "El Idilio" just one block away, with outdoor seating and great grill dishes.

Overall

4

Location

4

Cleanliness

5

Value

5

Facilities

4

Service

5

katariina.laine stayed here in Apr '12

This is a Trusted Review. Why?

Go to Marthas and you will find a beautiful apartment waiting for you, owned and run by a beautiful lady...

We stayed at Marthas in Havana for a total of 12 nights in March / April 2011. On arrival you enter the building (an 18 storey tower block) through the garage which is a little dark and daunting, but then once you get up to Marthas on the fourteenth floor, you’re greeted by a whole new world.

The apartment (almost the whole 14th floor) is decorated in a neo-colonial style with marble floors and cool well appointed furniture. The bedrooms are large and airy with good quality fittings. The bathrooms are private, very clean and spacious, and more importantly there is constant hot water for the showers. The apartment has a beautiful balcony patio area which is ideal for whiling away a few hours, drinking rum, smoking cigars and playing the odd game of Cuban dominoes.

Martha is instantly loveable with a relaxed honest attitude and loves quiet polite travellers. Martha herself is a beautiful lady who’s been in Havana since the time of the revolution, and enjoys chatting about the pros and cons of the socialist system.

Martha will cook you a decent breakfast for 5 CUC (4 USD) per person which is great. It is really easy to get an official taxi to the city centre from the Hotel Presidente which is on the same Avenue as Marthas, and remember to tell the taxi driver your price before starting out. Four Cuban Convertible Pesos (3 USD) will get you to Parque Central, which is the hub of most things in Havana, near to the big hotels, El Capitolio (Parliament Building) and the start of the Old City. Ask Martha about the best places to eat in the area, especially the small local cafe / restaurant set in a small garden on Calle 13, the same street that the tower block is on, great friendly service and great cheap food.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable time was spent there, and we would definitely return. One other thing, don’t be confused by the fact that Marthas is listed on hostel booking websites, this is not a hostel, as each room is totally private with private bathrooms. This is definitely not a hostel, and in my opinion (I’ve travelled a lot worldwide) it is probably more akin to a 4 star hotel, certainly for Havana. Marthas is absolutely ideal for couples wishing to visit Havana without being hassled by groups of rum fuelled youths that you sometimes find in the downtown hotels or hostels.

Go to Marthas and you will find a beautiful apartment waiting for you, owned and run by a beautiful lady...

Overall

5

Location

4

Cleanliness

5

Value

5

Facilities

5

Service

5

jim.mchugh stayed here in Mar '11

This is a Trusted Review. Why?

Nice room. Very clean. Good breakfasts. Good location in Havana. Excellent English spoken.
Takes a few days to get used to high rise if not used to it.

Overall

4

Location

4

Cleanliness

5

Value

4

Facilities

4

Service

4

seamusandm stayed here in Jan '11

This is a Trusted Review. Why?

Martha's is awesome! Havana is okay (beautiful but I think everyone has a cigar factor in their basement to sell tourists). Keep your money and buy good ones only!

Overall

5

Location

4

Cleanliness

5

Value

4

Facilities

5

Service

4

robclaver stayed here in Dec '10

This is a Trusted Review. Why?

Martha was amazing, really friendly and welcoming. She was really helpful giving us advice about Havana, what to do and what to see. Her apartment is lovely and has an amzing view, really clean and well kept. For an extra 5 pesos Martha cooked us a delicious breakfast. We are returning to stay again.

Overall

5

Location

4

Cleanliness

5

Value

5

Facilities

5

Service

5

alix_marsh stayed here in Apr '10

This is a Trusted Review. Why?

ok

Overall

3

Location

2

Cleanliness

4

Value

3

Facilities

2

Service

2

isvinter stayed here in Feb '10