Hotel Nacional de Cuba

On the Grid : Hotel Nacional

"You really shouldn’t come to Havana and not take a stroll around the veranda of the Hotel Nacional, and have a drink overlooking the Malecon. It's also worth staying here for a couple nights, if you want to do a hotel stay. Rooms are nothing special, but the grounds are beautiful, and the cost is reasonable during low season. Plus it's the only hotel that gives you a 24 wifi card, and they have the fastet connection in the city. The hotel is steeped in history—built by the mafia before the revolution, and then nationalized and renovated. Don’t miss the bar with the wall of fame with all the incredibly diverse figures who have visited the hotel, from Paris Hilton to Hugo Chavez. The mojitos are pricey ($6) but one of the best in the city." - Noah Friedman-Rudovsky

Women Who Travel Podcast: What We Learn About Ourselves When We Travel Solo

"And had cocktails too at the Hotel National overlooking the Malecon. It was the perfect first trip."

"Hotel Nacional, Vedado. You really shouldn’t come to Havana and not take a stroll around the veranda of the Hotel Nacional, and have a drink overlooking the Malecon. It's also worth staying here for a couple nights, if you want to do a hotel stay. Rooms are nothing special, but the grounds are beautiful, and the cost is reasonable during low season. Plus it's the only hotel that gives you a 24 wifi card, and they have the fastet connection in the city. The hotel is steeped in history—built by the mafia before the revolution, and then nationalized and renovated. Don’t miss the bar with the wall of fame with all the incredibly diverse figures who have visited the hotel, from Paris Hilton to Hugo Chavez. The mojitos are pricey ($6) but one of the best in the city."

7 Classic Cocktails Invented in Hotels—And How to Make Them at Home

"Perhaps the most delicious hotel cocktail on this list, this twist on the daiquiri, which sometimes goes by the name Hotel Nacional instead, combines the sweetness of apricot brandy, rum, pineapple, and lime. The invention of the drink is credited to Wil P. Taylor, one of the barmen during the glamorous Havana hotel’s 1930s heyday (Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, and Marlon Brando were guests)."

Yes, You Can Still Visit Cuba Legally—and It's Safe

"The landmark Hotel Nacional, one of the properties specifically listed by the State Department as one to avoid, was largely business as usual, with foreign guests smoking cigars at the Galería Bar and sipping rum drinks on the lawn."