I had a good three-night stay at El Centro in February 2009. The place is certainly not high end, so those in need of various amenities should probably look elsewhere. But for 130q (the equivalent of $16 when I was there), you get a clean private room with hot water and 1/2 hour daily access to the internet. The place is a mix of private and dorm rooms, two or three blocks from the central square. Staff keep the rooms and hallways spotless. If possible, I recommend getting room 16, a corner space slightly larger than the other private rooms that has views overlooking the city from two different directions.

For me, there are two drawbacks: first, rooms have no safe and staff did not want to hold personal items such as my passport. Second, while the shower's water gets hot, you have to let it run for about five minutes before the mirrors begin to steam. The hotel offers breakfast, but I usually just grabbed a cafe con leche on the street, so I never inquired about it. I may be... more