Varadero's most intimate lodging is in the grand former residence of US chemical-entrepreneur Irenée Du Pont, where eight fairly simple art deco–era rooms tempt guests. Rates include breakfast, three-course dinner and unlimited green fees at the adjacent golf course. The house was being gradually renovated at last visit but remained open.
The first large-scale building on the peninsula's eastern end and an outstanding jewel in a bland architectural desert, Mansión Xanadú still displays the millions of dollars' worth of Cuban marble and furnishings commissioned by Du Pont in the 1930s.