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Hostel Casa de Ania is a well-established backpacker hostel on the border of the Central Havana and Vedado districts. It is more of a backpackers’ hangout than a hostel in a family apartment than most of the other hostels in Havana are. It's well organized and they're used to answering most of the questions budget travelers who have just arrived in Cuba may ask.
The Location
Casa De Ania is located on a quiet street about a twenty-minute walk to El Capitolio and the central area and around five minutes to El Malecon along the waterfront. The hostel is well signed and accessed through a locked gate and up the stairway to the right to the first floor.
Rooms and Bathrooms
Casa De Ania has two dorms (one has six beds and one has seven) and two private rooms. The six-bed dorm has all bunks and the seven-bed dorm has a set of bunk beds and five singles. The mattresses are ok and the linen is clean. The seven-bed dorm we occupied is quite spacious and has lockers for each bed. Backpackers must provide their own padlock. Towels are provided, and there are a number of fans in the room, though unfortunately not all the fans work, as there aren’t enough power points for all of them!
There is air conditioning in the seven-bed dorm, but the temperature is calibrated way too low, so it was freezing during the night and we were told by other guests that some had become sick because of this. The unit has all the knobs knocked off, so it is necessary to ask the reception to find a tool that could adjust the temperature, which they did, although it doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference!
There are two bathrooms to share between all the guests and these are clean with a toilet, hand basin, and shower in each, with twenty-four-hour hot water.
Common Spaces
There is a comfortable little sitting room with cushioned seats, and the walls have been decorated with graffiti and drawings from previous guests, which give the place some character. There is fridge with cold drinks for sale and another fridge for guests’ food and drink tucked behind the reception door. Breakfast is provided in the bed price and consists of coffee; juice; and a plate of eggs, salad and toast. Casa de Ania has its own Wi-Fi, for which guests can pay to access, but they have a "free hour" between 8 and 9 a.m. when the Wi-Fi is complimentary. There is a tiny kitchen, but it only has a small gas stove and a microwave with virtually no pots, pans, crockery, or utensils. Food can be provided by the staff if ordered in advance, but there are plenty of local eateries in the surrounding area less than ten minutes’ walk away.
Summary
Casa de Ania is a fairly efficiently run hostel and guests are given a free map of Havana when they arrive, which is very useful to help with orientation. The extras like towels, the free hour of Wi-Fi, and air conditioning are also very welcome, but not having enough power points for all the fans is a bit lazy. It’s quite a popular place, so expect a backpacker vibe here, more so than most of the smaller family places in Havana. There is a Wi-Fi hot spot in a small public park just two minutes’ walk away and there is a kiosk selling internet cards nearby also. Entry to the hostel is via a locked gate to which guests are given a key, then up the stairs to the first floor. The hostel has a twenty-four-hour reception.
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LondonroadMa
Hostelz.com Staff Reviewer
Published on Dec 1, 2018
Location and Contact
Location
The only way to get from the airport to the city is by car or taxi, there are no buses. We collect almost all of our clients personally from the airport, for 20 CUC. Just email us after booking and we'll arrange the airport transfer for you! If you prefer to take a taxi, give the taxi-driver our address. If you're coming from another part of Cuba, again it's easiest to take a taxi from the bus terminal to the house.