Rancho San Vicente - Vinales, Cuba 

We stayed here for 4 nights in Feb. We were fortunate to stay in the nicer of the huts (so we were told) and I thought they were great. I mean, come on, you get what you pay for. At least it's got a TV (for when it rains and you want to watch live English sports), AC and running hot water. The food in Cuba is terrible all round so don't expect anything exciting here either, unless you like fried cucumber and fried left-over sliced tomato's in the morning! The food in the evening is ok I thought, but everyone else was complaining. The staff are not very friendly,but that's all around really. Expect to find a goat, chicken or a dog on your door step in the mornings..... In all, I thought the setting for this hotel was beautiful. Not as good as the views at the Los Jasminez hotel up the road, but by the sounds of it, better standard. I fell in love with a dog that I named Limpy. Small black puppy with dodgy leg and bad right eye, which I bathed every day for him. If anyone should see her wondering around - show her some love from me. For a taxi ride to Vinales Central expect to pay about 5 CUCs and head off in the evening for some real Cuban dancing and Mojitos at the Cultural Centre Polo Montanez. Its an open air club with great bands and professional dancers. Make sure you go horse riding - Pedro at the desk will sort it all out for you and speaks great English/French and German. Puts us all to shame really. If you have never done horse riding, don't expect any tutoring beforehand - as it's straight on and yeeeeeeeehhaaaaaaaah! We had such a great laugh and it lasts for 4 hours (for 20 CUCs each). Make sure to pay the guide a tip too. Don't bother with a trip to Pinar Del Rio town. We were not impressed!

Stayed four nights in Rancho San Vicente in Vinales. The hotel is located in amazingly beautiful surroundings. Staying in a little cabin in the middle of the forest surrounded by animals makes you feel you're staying in a zoo. Well, almost. The cabins are in relatively good shape and are clean. Service at this hotel could be better. The "PR" man in the reception was very friendly, but otherwise the service was neutral or non-existent. Also the food in hotel restaurant could be better. The hotel is located about 7 km from Vinales center, so you'll need a car to get to center. There is a shuttle bus (2 CUC/person or 5 CUC/person/day) to center, but it only runs during daytime.