Airbnb Cuba: A review

A review of our Colonial Mansion Airbnb in Havana, Cuba

As you know, my love for Airbnb runs deep. I have had some really wonderful experiences and met some really wonderful people along the way. Our Airbnb in Cuba was no exception. I wanted to give justice to the review of Maria and Raul’s home. This review will consist of the following,

• Pre – arrival
• Arrival
• Duration of stay

Airbnb in Cuba: Pre-arrival

I am a huge fan of The Bucketlist Family. It was their vlog on Cuba that inspired me to finally ignore the fear that I had and go! We also decided to take the kids, and we wanted to stay in the same Airbnb in Cuba that The Bucketlist Family did.

Maria is the true embodiment of a “Superhost.” Prior to arrival, she helped us coordinate everything. From our donation to a local school, to the instructions of how to hail a taxi, Maria was there to guide us. Also, Maria reminded us to bring travel items not readily available in Cuba, such as headache medicine, stomach medicine, sunscreen and bug spray. The funniest pre-arrival message we got from Maria was when she told us the recent rain was bringing a “cold front,” so we should pack appropriately. Usually, temperatures for Cuba in February range from mid-to-high 80s F. The “cold front” made the temperature mid-to-high 70s and it was perfect. So if you have a cold front in Cuba, consider it a blessing. All this communication really helped us feel more comfortable about traveling to Cuba.

Airbnb in Cuba: Arrival

Upon arriving, we hailed a taxi from the airport and headed straight for our Airbnb in Cuba. We were awestruck by the home and the neighborhood. Specifically, the neighborhood was in the same area where all the embassies (except the U.S. embassy) are. Beautiful neo-colonial mansions with different country flags waving could be seen all around us. We had the taxi driver call Maria and she was there to greet us at the door. After getting our luggage in the house, she walked us around the home to show us the rooms and the entire neighborhood!

Introducing us to the surroundings, showing us different restaurants, and helping us coordinate breakfast and a taxi to take us to the beach. I’ve said it once and I will say it again, Cuban people are some of the nicest in the world. Though genuine hospitality is not hard to come by in Cuba, Maria and Raul helped us feel immediately at home.

Airbnb in Cuba: Duration of Stay

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Usually our Airbnb experiences lead us to meeting the host upon check in and that’s the only time we see them. Sometimes, we never see our host, and it’s just a lock box. However, we had the pleasure of seeing Maria and Raul every day. They would come by each morning to check on us, and make sure we didn’t need advice or arrangements. It was amazing. By the end of the trip, my children would get up and hug them every time they saw them. It was like being part of a little family.

Side note: You can’t tell that my children loved these people in these pictures because they were being brats and didn’t want to take pictures… *eye roll*

The other important person that we saw every morning was Dinora. She would bring the supplies and cook us a wonderful breakfast every morning. She would talk to us while we ate and pack up the leftover ham and cheese sandwiches for us to take with us. Again, our children are brats, and not used to eating anything more than cereal in the mornings, which they don’t have in Cuba. That didn’t deter Dinora though! She would bring something new every morning that she thought would entice the children to eat breakfast. She brought different juices, fruits, cakes, breads and finally had success in watching my son eat a boiled egg. I will never forget her hospitality, warm heart, and love for my children.

Raul is also an avid sports (especially baseball) lover, as are most people in Cuba. He and my husband would talk for long periods of time about all the Cuban baseball players in Major League Baseball currently. At the end of the trip, Raul gave my husband a genuine Cuban baseball.

So that’s it. If you’re traveling with multiple people or your family, I highly recommend this Airbnb in Cuba. May your experience be as great as ours was!