This week I took a trip that changed the way I measure time, and I am not talking about hours or minutes, but about pauses, sighs, that breeze that hugs you without warning. That trip was to Varadero, and my base of operations, my little earthly paradise, was the Hotel Solymar.
I remember the exact moment I walked through its doors. While in many hotels you are greeted by air conditioning or the bustle of the reception desk, here the absolute protagonist was the greenery. I looked up and was left breathless; the Solymar lobby is not just a passageway, it is a dream vertical garden. From a ceiling that must be more than five stories high, dozens of potos cascaded down, those hanging plants with heart-shaped leaves that seem to whisper to the rhythm of the wind.
The vines came down boldly, almost brushing the heads of the guests, creating a natural curtain that filtered the Caribbean light. It was like being inside a secret grotto where the jungle and luxury shook hands. You did not need to go outside to feel like you were in the middle of nature; that green lobby was the hotel's lung, and I already knew it would be hard for me to leave.
But of course, the real magnet was just a few steps away. Access to the sea in Varadero is, in itself, a dreamlike postcard, but from the Solymar you experience it with a special intimacy. Going out through the hotel's back door and sinking your feet into that white, fine sand, which looks like flour, was a ritual I repeated endlessly. The sea was that enormous turquoise mass that changes color depending on the sun: sometimes emerald green, sometimes cobalt blue. Swimming there feels like being in a giant natural pool, without chlorine, only with that salt that heals the soul.
And speaking of pools, the hotel's pool is no slouch. That mix of curves and shiny tiles reminded me of 1950s movies, with a retro but impeccable touch. I spent entire afternoons floating, a cocktail in hand, watching the sky turn orange at sunset.
However, one of my favorite spots was its coffee shops. Here the word glamour is no exaggeration. Solymar has achieved that Cuban balance between casual and sophisticated. Sitting at one of its little tables, with the light filtered by the hanging plants peeking through the windows, was like being on a European terrace but with the rhythm of the Caribbean.
And the coffee... Oh, the coffee. I do not know if it was the saltiness in the air, the humidity, or the magic of the place, but every cup of Cuban coffee I ordered there had a body and a foam that transported me. It was that deep, dark, and sweet caffeine that awakens all five senses. I drank it slowly, watching people pass by, feeling part of something vibrant.
But if there is something that Solymar gave me that I would not trade for any presidential suite, it was the chance to breathe. You feel your lungs truly expand, that stress dissolves in every breath of iodine and wet sand.
I will come back. In the meantime, I am left with the echo of that breeze and the image of that lobby covered in potos, moving slowly as if the hotel itself were breathing to the rhythm of the Caribbean.
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