Casa particular

"Casa particular" (Spanish for "private house"; plural "casas particulares") is a phrase meaning private accommodation or private homestays in Cuba, very similar to bed and breakfast although it can also take the form of vacation rental. When the meaning is clear the term is often shortened to simply "casa".

Varieties

A casa particular is basically a private family establishment that provides paid lodging, usually on a short-term basis. In general under this term you can find full apartment and houses, rooms inside people homes, mini-apartments or rooms with separate entrance (studio or efficiency type rooms).

It is also considered a type of boarding house typically operated out of a single family residence where guests can be accommodated at night in private bedrooms (which may or may not be equipped with private baths) and where breakfast, sometimes continental and sometimes the full English variety, is served in the morning. The business may be operated either as a primary occupation or as a secondary source of income, and the staff often consists of the house's owner(s) and members of their family who live there.

Because they are usually small, rarely with room for more than about 5-6 guests, it is advisable for anyone wanting to stay at a particular casa particular during high season to make advance reservations. However, outside the season there is no need because there are often many such casas, causing competition and opening opportunities to strike a deal. Prices can then drop to 15 euro or even less for longer stays. During high season they can rise to over 30 euro. Many belong to associations, have a web presence, and are described in various books and travel guides.

Casas particulares can be recognised by a small sign on the door, with two blue triangles ('roofs') against a white background, which the owners obtain after paying a fixed per-room annual tax.

In some Cuban cities and tourist resorts, like Varadero, Playa Santa Lucia and Guardalavaca, the local municipal assemblies local authorities determined that casas particulares would represent a threat to the hotel industry, and passed some legislation placing regulations and limits on the industry forbidding the operation of these establishments.

Origins of the term

“Casa particular” literally means "private house" but it started to be used to mean “private accommodation” in 1997, when the Cuban government allowed Cubans to rent out rooms in their houses or apartments to tourists, providing Cuban families with new sources of income. As any other type of accommodation in Cuba such as hotels, camping and motels were owned by the government, the term “casa particular” stated that this kind of paid lodging was privately operated.

Services and facilities

Rooms are generally clean and upgraded to tourist standards. It ranges from basic accommodation of a room with a bed, a closet, a small table to full furnished independent apartments upgraded to western standards. Other features found may be a telephone, an alarm clock, and a TV. Food and drink may be supplied by a mini-bar (which often includes a small refrigerator) containing snacks and drinks (to be paid for on departure).

In keeping with the similarity to B&B's, breakfast is usually included in the price, although one should ask first. Dinner is often also served, but not included in the price. However, if it becomes clear that one plans to generally eat out, the price may go up because this is an important second source of income.

Casas particulares have several advantages over other types of lodgings:
* The guest can quickly develop genuine Cuban relationships and become deeply involved in the culture of the country. Before he/she knows it, the guest will be part of the family. In a big resort one may only meet hotel workers and other tourists.
* The guest will, probably, enjoy the usually free and easy atmosphere, feel at home in the casa particular and will be able to invite friends over. The current regulations for state-run hotels don’t allow to have Cuban guests invited to hotel rooms.
* It is almost always cheaper to stay in a private room than in a hotel.
* "Guests" are not usually allowed into the hotels. Usually one can take one local "guest" into his rented casa-particular.
* By renting a casa particular, the guest will be directly contributing to a person or family's standard of living. This is often obvious through the fact that casas particulares are freshly painted. This has been heavily criticised in Cuba as it is evidence of the reemergence of class divisions, since the early nineties special period (where tourism was used to compensate the drop in trade due to the collapse of the socialist bloc), that the Cuban revolution did away with.

Classification

The cost and quality of casas particulares are usually indicative of the accommodation type and type of services available. Most of the casas particulares are rented for short term to travellers. Long term accommodation is also provided by some casas, especially for foreign students. In Havana, the casas particulares are usually family apartments and a smaller number of them are houses. In other cities, private accommodation is provided mainly in family houses.

Types of Casas Particulares rentals:
* Private Room: a room is rented out most of the times with private bathroom and a key to the apartment/house is usually given to the guest.
* Private Room with independent entrance. Sometimes the house/apartment is split in order to allow this.
* Apartment: the guest can enjoy the privacy and independence of a full furnished apartment for his/her vacations. Sometimes this apartment is part of house being split by a wall usually with a connecting door.
* Studio-type or mini-apartment: it is not an apartment with several rooms but just the bedroom, a kitchen-living-dining room and a bathroom.

External links

* [http://www.cubaparticulares.altervista.org/indexen.html The best house in Havana city]
* [http://tripatlas.com/articles/386/Ditch_the_Resorts_in_Cuba,_Discover_Cuba_by_Backpack Ditch the Resorts: Discover Cuba by Backpack] - including What You Need to Know about staying at Casa Particulares, on [http://tripatlas.com TripAtlas.com]
* [http://www.casaparticular.info Non commercial mini portal with links to over 700 website that offer Casa Particular in Cuba - recommended by Frommers and Lonely Planet editors]
* [http://www.joy.it/cuba The Non commercial Guide to search a Casa particular in Cuba with hundreds solutions]
* [http://www.hospedajecubano.com/ Directory of Private Houses in Cuba. Rent Rooms and Lodging in Cuba]