Cocktails on a Rooftop Bar.

[rubyclaret]

...that's the name of a Cruise Excursion in Havana with Marella Cruises.

A visit to a Hotel for a few hours with Rooftop Swimming Pool and Cocktails.

Bit of a longshot...but which Hotel will it be, any ideas ?

As this will be our 1st visit to Havana and Cuba what can we expect of the City.

.....and what Cocktail & Cigar do you recommend.....not experts on either.

Any input very much appreciated, thank you.

[princeton123211]

On 10/17/2023 at 1:42 PM, rubyclaret said:

A visit to a Hotel for a few hours with Rooftop Swimming Pool and Cocktails.

Bit of a longshot...but which Hotel will it be, any ideas ?

Hotel Ambos Mundos and Hotel Inglaterra were the two rooftops we were brought to on our tour and seemed quite popular at the time with tours-- neither of them had a pool through so I would double check that. 

 

The newer Kempinski Gran Hotel Manzana does have a nice rooftop pool. We went for drinks there on our own but you had to be a guest of the actual hotel to swim-- it was rather small. 

 

On 10/17/2023 at 1:42 PM, rubyclaret said:

As this will be our 1st visit to Havana and Cuba what can we expect of the City.

.....and what Cocktail & Cigar do you recommend.....not experts on either.

It's a fun town-- not sure what changes, if any, have occured since American tourism was curbed again a few years back. The food is adequate-- you aren't going for Michelin star dining. We had a very good meal at La Guarida which is one of the more popular finer dining restaurants. Keeping things simple from a dining perspective usually yielded better results. 

 

Cocktails on the back veranda of the Hotel Nacional de Cuba is very atmospheric (as is the main public areas of the hotel), although I would not recommend staying there as we did. It was expensive and the rooms VERY basic. They have a trio of strolling musicians in the late afternoon/early evening which is worth going over for. 

 

The two above I mentioned-- Ambos Mundos and Inglaterra-- were both Hemingway hangouts and are very nice for drinks (did not eat anything). La Floridita I feel like is sort of a must for a daiquiri. Sort of a hidden gem in the basement of the old Havana Hilton (now called the Habana Libre) is a completely intact late 1950s Trader Vics (now called El Polinesio). The whole hotel is a mid century throwback thats pretty much frozen in time from 1959.  

[rubyclaret]

That's great Princeton 123211, thank you very much for that......we had gave up hope of any replies 😀 

From what we have been told our excursion is to a Hotel for Cocktails at a Rooftop Bar but does not include the Swimming Pool, as it is only open for Hotel Guests. It could well be the Kempinski that you mention.

We are in Havana overnight 11th & 12th Jan, really looking forward to it.

Really appreciate the reply, thanks again 👍