Rooftop bar - Hotel Ambos Mundos
- March 30, 2006
- Rated 2 of 5 by
fizzytom from Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Famous for the fact that one of its former guests was Ernest Hemingway (he kept a room here for when he was in town), this hotel with its pink facade attracts a lot of tourists who want to follow the Hemingway trail. You can even see the room in which he stayed (for a small fee). This is still a hotel but the rooftop bar can be visited by non-residents. You go through the smart and chic foyer to the lift past a stylish water feature but that's where the hotel's charms end. The rooftop bar is tatty and unwelcoming. My advice - buy the cheapest drink and catch the tremendous view then go. The toilets were under repair and unusable, so the female attendant said I could use the men's after she'd checked they were empty - I walked straight out - they were awful - what do these toilet attendants do all day except extract money for one piece of toilet paper from tourists? My mojito was rubbish - far too much lime - hardly any rum - loads of ice! The ashtrays weren't emptied despite the fact that it was very windy up there and so ash and cigarette ends were all over the tables and the floor. The waiter didn't come back with our change and looked annoyed when we went to the bar to ask for it. This place could be fantastic; like so many Cuban places, it lets itself down. It wouldn't take much - just for the staff to do what they're meant to!
From journal Havana, A Great Time!