According to Joaquín E. Weiss, since the beginning of the 18th century there was a building on Baratillo Street, between Narciso López and Obispo Streets. However, it was not until October 15, 1784 that the construction of portals similar to those of the Palacio del Segundo Cabo and the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales was authorized, giving it its present appearance. During this period, the first bay and the arcaded portals were added.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Nicolás Martínez de Campos y González del Álamo, first Count of Santovenia, acquired the house. He was responsible for the internal modifications and the installation of extensive iron railings, marked with the initials CSV, in honor of his title, giving the building the name of Palacio de los Condes de Santovenia.

In October 1833, the palace hosted extravagant celebrations in honor of the Royal Jura of Princess Isabel Luisa de Borbón, who would later become Isabel II of Spain. These events included the second hot air balloon ascension in Cuba, highlighted in the press of the time. The façade was illuminated with “three thousand lighted glasses, of various and vivid colors”, while allegorical transparent paintings adorned its exterior.

After the death of the second Count of Santovenia, his widow, Elena Martín de Medina y Molina, married Domingo Dulce y Garay, who later became Captain General of the Island of Cuba. After disagreements, he resigned and returned to Spain, while the count’s children moved first to Spain and then to France.

In 1867, American Colonel Luis Lay rented the palace and transformed it into the Hotel Santa Isabel. Lay moved his operations to this location across from the Plaza de Armas due to a contract interrupted by the rains of July 1867.

In 1881, José Martínez de Campos y Martín Medina, third Count of Santovenia, sold the mansion to Pedro Victoriano Morales y Santa Cruz. Later, in 1888, the Lonja de Víveres de La Habana established itself in the building. In 1943, under the direction of José M. Bens and by indication of the Urban Planning Department of the Havana City Hall, the building was restored.

The Office of the Historian of Havana, with the objective of restoring the hotel network of the Historic Center, began the restoration of the Palace of the Counts of Santovenia in the mid-1990s. The restoration process respected the original typology of the building, highlighting its central courtyard surrounded by galleries, evoking the origins of Havana’s colonial houses.

In February 1997, the hotel reopened its doors as a luxury establishment, exhibiting most of the original architectural elements in a typical colonial mansion atmosphere.