Not an Irish joke but one of Havana's more impressive period hotels, the Hotel Palacio O'Farrill is a staggeringly beautiful colonial palace that once belonged to Don Ricardo O'Farrill, a Cuban sugar entrepreneur who was descended from an Irish noble family. Compared to the lavish communal areas, the bedrooms are plainer and more modest.
Taking the Emerald Isle as its theme, the hotel has plenty of greenery in its plant-filled 18th-century courtyard. The 2nd floor, added in the 19th century, provides grandiose neoclassical touches, while the 20th-century top floor merges seamlessly with the magnificent architecture below.
