The apartment

Light, airy and newly-refurbished on the second floor of a neoclassical mansion with 17-ft (5m) ceilings, each room has aircon, free WiFi, new superking mattresses, ceiling fans and marble en-suite bathrooms. Los Escalones is a stone’s throw from the Alameda de Paula, a colonial-era promenade along the waters of the harbor. Right in the heart of Old Havana, close to the tourist zone but far enough to still feel like the real Habana Vieja and a 25-minute taxi ride to white-sand beaches.

The bedrooms

You enter via a private second-floor lobby, which leads through to a light and airy shared reception room with a couch, armchairs and a desk. Two sets of full-height French windows open onto a long balcony overlooking the street.

The bedrooms are accessed through the private lobby. Both have tall French windows, Superking beds with new mattresses, blackout curtains and blinds, marble en-suites with showers, aircon and ceiling fans.