There are times when you need only to consider private rooms as accommodation for your trip. Although rooms at hotels are considered private as well, the private rooms referred to in this article is a bit different. It is referred by the Cubans as Casa Particular, a Spanish term meaning private home. The term is widely recognized to be referred to the alternative hotels when you visit Cuba. Basically it is a private establishment operated mostly by families in which they let tourists or travelers pay a room for rent, mostly in short term basis. In other places this kind of accommodation is referred to vacation rentals or bed and breakfast, the ones you see in Europe. You will see a lot of houses and full apartments for this kind of accommodation including mini apartments, rooms that have separate entrances and even rooms inside the homes of other people.
It can also be considered a kind of boarding house that is operated by single families which they allow guests to be accommodated on a per night basis which may be equipped with private baths or not. It is often served with breakfast that is either full English or continental variety. This kind of business may be under the operation of the family as their primary source of income or secondary and even the staff oftentimes consist of the owners of the house and the members of the family who also live there.
Since most casas are small, there are rarely any type of room that is able to accommodate 5 to 6 guests. If you plan to stay at a casa particular it is best that you find one in advance and make booking preparations so that you will be ready to check into one by the time you get to your destination. This will save the time from looking for one and the hassle of waiting for the proper accommodation to stay.
What you can expect from the casa particular type of lodging, especially in Cuba is that you get to integrate with the local Cubans and create a good relationship with them, not to mention being able to learn about their local cultures and traditions. Before the guests even know it, they already become a part of the family who are operating the casa particular which makes it a very special experience. This is recommended if you prefer small spaces and people to easily interact with.