Cape to Milan

It’s time to depart momentarily from our usual programming and do something we’ve never done on Cape to Milan: I’m going to a whole post to gushing over a hotel. After all, most of our traffic is random people from all over the world googling the places we’ve been, presumably often in search of travel advice, and it would be folly to stay anywhere in Jacmel besides this place.

Well, it’s time to proclaim a superlative, in our travels to 30-odd countries to date: the Hotel Florita in Jacmel is the coolest place we’ve ever stayed. We’ve stayed in some pretty cool places before (and the Hotel Oloffson in PaP is up there, too), but this one takes the cake.

The building is a 19th-century mansion smack in the center of the historic district.

The various buildings making up the old estate have been sparingly modified into rooms, set around a breathtaking courtyard filled with hanging flowers.

The barely-touched interior, dotted liberally with traditional and contemporary Haitian art.

Every inch of the hotel is picturesque and full of character.

Flowers everywhere!

Caroline out on one of the balconies.

The hotel bar, filled with industrial artifacts that found their way to Jacmel at one time or another.

If you go to Jacmel, and want to stay downtown instead at of one of the beaches east of town, then you simply must stay here. Sure, it lacks air conditioning–the ductwork and ventilation needed to install it would be a major alteration–but that’s just part of the experience. If definitely enhanced our time in Jacmel and Haiti.