Cuba, a fast-growing destination in the Caribbean region, offers a huge potential to develop the tourism industry, due to its many attractions for both national and foreign vacationers.

Cuba's tourist options are based on unique elements, including excellent beaches of fine white sand and crystal-clear water, culture and traditions.

There are large hotels all over the country, where guests are close to the island's natural, historic and cultural attractions.

As a complement, a broad network of small hotels reaches every corner of Cuba, especially those in Havana's historic heart.

One of the most interesting options is the Raquel Hotel, which offers 25 luxury air-conditioned double rooms distributed on three beautifully decorated floors.

Its attractive terrace-lookout, which has a magnificent dome, has galleries and spaces carefully decorated, creating an ideal ambiance for leisure.

Another establishment is the Hotel El Comendador, which is housed in the former mansion of Don Pedro Regalado Pedroso y Pedroso, former prefect of the Carlos III Order in Cuba. The hotel offers 14 comfortable rooms (suites, and single and double rooms).

Among the hotel's singularities is the Hall of Archeology, which exhibits artifacts found by experts from the Office of the City Historians during excavations to learn about the life of the Pedroso family.

Another hotel is Los Frailes, which is located in an 18th-century mansion that belonged to Marquis Pedro Claudio Duquesne, who was the fourth holder of that title and captain of the French Navy.

Designed as a medieval monastery, Los Frailes treasures the suggestive charm of 22 air-conditioned rooms (including four mini-suites), and a small bar-cafeteria that reminds an old Spanish tavern.

At the entrance, a metallic monk – a beautiful copper sculpture – welcomes clients with his face hidden under the hood, thus opening the way to an environment that includes altarpieces with religious figures, color-stained glasses and walls that have been treated with ageing techniques to preserve the colonial atmosphere.

Palacio de San Miguel is another attractive option for those looking for culture and intimacy. The hotel is housed in a building bought in 1916 by Antonio San Miguel y Segalá, an illustrious personage from the early 20th century who excelled in journalism and literature and who turned the edifice into a center for intellectual meetings.

The establishment, which has iron-wrought staircases and balconies, offers ten rooms distributed on three floors overlooking the Bay of Havana.

More than 30,000 buildings with those characteristics, including Spanish fortresses, churches, museums, tourist facilities and even schools, medical centers and hotels, can be found in an area of 240 hectares.