looby,

we stayed at the tejadillo about a year ago after we couldn't get into the hotel ambos mundo. it's a small three story hotel that i believe used to be the residence of a government official in the pre-Castro days, and was extensively renovated in the 1990s. it is quite charming, especially the courtyard areas, and seemed to be well run by a wonderful staff. the rooms are nothing fancy by european standards, but clean and well maintained. if you stay there, be sure to request a courtyard room (more specifically, one where the doors and windows face the courtyard rather than the street). these rooms are much larger and the street noise can't be heard. our first night was spent in a non-courtyard room and for hours before dawn we could hear what sounded like empty beer kegs being rolled down the cobblestone streets. they did have a fridge in the rooms as well. as for location, we were quite happy with where we were. we were able to walk most places, and taxi rides were short. do remember to bring a map with the hotel's location marked on it, as it seemed to be less well known than other habana vieja hotels, even to those taxi drivers who weren't being paid according to time/distance meters. overall, we were quite taken with the hotel and would recommend it to friends. and, it will definitely satisfy your requirement that the hotel be quaint. the only thing that bothered me a bit was the bed linens had a slight musty smell that was attributable to the humid climate, but we've encountered that in most carribean hotels. have a great time and don't forget to visit la guarida for dinner!