Hostal Don Jose

Mariela and her husband are wonderful hosts. That warm and beautiful smile you see in the picture of her Homestay page is genuine! She received us with open arms. Our group of four adults rented the 3 rooms she has available on the upstairs floor of her home. This whole second floor is an addition which has three separate rooms, all modern, nicely decorated each with a bathroom, terrace and all impeccably clean. Two of the rooms have a small kitchen equipped with microwave, refrigerator, stove or cooking appliances. Two rooms have full size beds and one hasd a queen size. The beds were all comfortable. Breakfast, if chosen, is served in the terrace. Each room has its own table and chairs right outside the door. Service was excellent and the breakfast was substantial. Mariela and her husband were very helpful and gave us many tips of places to visit, Paladares and/or restaurants where to eat and where to see the best sunset. Mariela also assisted with arranging taxi services. I certainly give the highest recommendation to Mariela and her home. Cienfuegos is a beautiful city and the warm welcome made our visit even more special!

Mariela is a very nice and honest host. She is very professional too.

Due to a mistake she had made, she proposed us to move in an upstairs room (the room that we should have received) but as we only stayed 2 days and we were installed, we stay in the downstairs room.

Her house is very beautiful with a nice terrace for breakfast, lovely and clean rooms.
The location in Punta Gorda was for us the best: not too far from the city center and also near the malecon where you can appreciate a nice sunset at the end of the day.

We were so happy to have decided to stay in Punta Gorda which is a very pleasant walk along the sea front to the town, rather than choosing accommodation in Cienfuegos itself. Hostal Don Jose is in a quiet street parallel to the main road. Mariela and her husband, Jose, have a lovely villa, which is efficiently run, but homely at the same time, with 2 apartments on the first floor off a private terrace, and there is another double room on the ground floor. Our accommodation was very comfortable with an en-suite bathroom and a separate kitchenette which, although we didn’t use, would definitely be a plus for guests staying more than a couple of days. There was ample storage for our luggage and we were able to hang up our clothes. The room was attractively decorated, and was cleaned on a daily basis. Breakfast was served on the terrace and on request, Jose, who is a keen and competent cook, made us a scrumptious 3 course dinner which included a very tasty lobster. Hostal Don Jose deserves to do well.

Mariela is a gem. She went far beyond what we have ever experienced in other home stay situations; organizing transportation for us and our friends to Cienfuegos from Varadero airport and later on from Cienfuegos to Havana, even after we were no longer staying at her place, as well as providing vital information about banking and shopping in the town when we were outfitting our boat. She and her staff were friendly, the apartments were clean, comfortable and air conditioned. Breakfasts were large and delicious and dinners were superb. We felt truly welcomed by her and her family. I can't recommend Mariela highly enough. I will definitely stay there the next time I am in Cienfuegos.

Mariela runs a pretty business like operation. I stayed in a downstairs room with small kitchen, living room, lovely bathroom and separate entrance. There are nice roof terrace areas for breakfast. The upstairs rooms are nicer with direct access to the terrace, so book one of these if you have the choice. The location in Punta Gorda, Cienfuegos, is good. Not too far from the bustling main Street in the evening and also handy for the malecon, public WiFi shop etc. Clean, professional, nice breakfast.