Hotel del Rijo

The quaint Plazuela Honorato del Castillo, very close to sights like the Parroquial Mayor and the Puente Yayabo.

Lovingly renovated at the turn of the century, Hotel del Rijo’s accommodations preserve the spirit of the colonial mansion they are housed in, with beautiful nail-studded doors, sturdy beamed ceilings and wrought iron chandeliers among the characteristic features of this elegantly earthy environment. Original features like these are complemented by modern standards of comfort and luxury.

Breakfast at the Hotel del Rijo, served in the delightful atrium-style courtyard with its stunning Mughal-style fountain, is a beautiful experience, while just across the street at the Mesón de la Plaza you’ll enjoy excellent Iberian dishes, such as garbanzo with bacon and sausage, in a traditional atmosphere which recalls an authentic Spanish bodega.

Sancti Spiritus is among the oldest European settlements in all of Cuba, with its founding stretching back to 1514, and there are as many historical attractions as you would expect from an area with such a rich past. The eye-catching, green-towered Parroquial Mayor, dating from the early 16th century, is Cuba’s oldest church; the Museo de Arte Colonial houses centuries-old relics of Cuba’s colonial past in one of the country’s finest original mansions; and the Puente Yayabo, standing since the early 1800s, is one of Cuba’s oldest bridges.