I have done a ton of research and have an itinerary in place. It is a mixture of Casa Particulars and hotels. The bookings are completed. We are renting a car for the entire trip. It is the most expensive item.
Trip is planned for 1/26-/17-2/11/17. 3 nights in old Havana, then on to Varadero for 2 nights in a casa particular along Varadero beach. On down the coast with stays in several hotels, Cayo Santa Maria , Cayo San Guellermo, Santa Lucia. Then off to Camaguay, Playa Ancon, Giron, Vinales, then back to the Havana area for the last night.
I used Air B&B to book the Casa Particulars and this sight for hotels.
http://cubamapa.org/transport.php.
You can look up the hotels and do the booking from the same site.
The car rental is controlled by the gov so no competition, pick one and go. We will use Rex or Via.
This has been a wonderful learning experience for me. I speak little to no Spanish so I am working very hard to get words and phrases learned. Several apps have been helpful and there is a Kindle free book of phrases that will be useful as there is no internet connections most places and the kindle still works.