The Most Incredible Experience - unforgettable Stay
I've just come back from 2 weeks staying with Amanda and am already looking at when I can go back as I had such a wonderful time. My mama and I were made to feel incredibly welcome and the twin room we shared was spacious, bright, clean and well air-conditioned. The casa itself is decorated beautifully - very in keeping with its rustic surroundings but with modern amenities such as rain showers, fairy lights and the most amazing breakfast table.
The location is great too as its a short 5-10 minute walk to Parque Central (centre of town) You can easily reach the various districts on foot but Amanda also knows a lovely man called Dixon who arranged Bici taxis (sort of like a cross between a bicycle and a rickshaw) to get us around town if we wanted to.
The casa is a 5 minute walk down to the Malecon (seafront) which makes it an ideal place to be if (mad like me!) you've packed your running gear and fancy an early morning jog!
Breakfast every morning was a veritable feast with fresh fruit, fresh juices, hot (very strong!) coffee, tea, mango jam and honey, huge locally-sourced bread rolls, avocado, cheese, and our choice of eggs. The rooms were cleaned regularly and the beds were super comfy.
You can't drink the tap water in Cuba but there is a large supply of bottled water to purchase from the casa if you need to. We were next to the little kitchenette so just put bottles in our room's mini-fridge when we ran out and kept a tally to settle up when we left. There were also small bottles of water and refrescos (coke, lemonade etc) to buy if we wanted them.
Amanda was the Cuban co-ordinator of a group holiday jointly run by Que Rico Cuba and Salsa Julia. This meant that she was at the very heart of all of our organised activities and made sure our trip ran as smoothly as possible. She also seemed to know everyone there and was a fountain of information when it came to deciding where to go for dinner, what to do in our free time, and where the best parties would be at night!
As we were staying with her we got to see just how much work she put in to ensuring we had the right transport at the right time, and adapting the itinerary when things inevitably shifted (that's just how Cuba is - expect the unexpected!) More often than not she was up later than us and again before we woke to triple check and confirm all of our experiences and we're so grateful for all the hard work she put in to make sure we fell in love with the place.
When I've saved enough money to go back to Cuba, Amanda will be the first person I get in contact with and The Boutique Casa is the only place I want to stay <3
— Dani (London), 12 Nov 2018