I had read the reviews about the hotel before going away and as always felt slightly apprehensive. My husband and I have travelled the world over the years so we are used to many different kinds of holidays and accomodation ( the good, the bad and the ugly! ). We chose to stay at the Nacional for the full fortnight and we booked with The Holiday Place, our first package in years due to it being better value for money. We experienced no problems with this company.

We are not resort kind of people, we enjoy seeing a country and it's culture not being stuck miles out on a compound so we just booked a trip to Varradeo for a long day which is a 2hr journey from Havana on a air conditioned bus booked from the Nacional lobby. Although the Varredo resort was modern, nice with a good beach , 5 star and all inclusive it had no charm like the Nacional . We were glad we didn't pick that kind of holiday for our Cuban experience as we found it nice for a day but any longer, well just boring. Which brings me to my point, if you do enjoy that kind of holiday you will probably not enjoy Havana or the Nacional for very long, each to their own!

Now onto the Nacional, it certainly is the best hotel in Havana as far as we are concerned. We went into Habana Libra, Parque Central and Ambos Mundos ( we did our research, or maybe just nosey! ) They are more modern like any hotel anywhere and perfectly fine though I didn't like the Habana Libra personally. The big difference is that two are in the center (not H.L.) and they have no grounds. I found it nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the centre after a day there and have a easy walk around the Nacional with it's great views and swim in the one of the two pools. Then to watch the sunset with a mojito from one of the bars. It is worth going to eat at the top of Ambos Mundos though for the view.

We had a good room fortunately. It was a huge one at the end with two sides of views, both a sea and garden one. If you like your hotel's sleek with plasma tv's it won't be your taste but we loved the furniture and the king sized bed. Huge walk-in closet. The bathroom was fine, white and clean. The bath enamel was slightly chipped but who cares? It's too hot for a bath anyway. The
maid was lovely and couldn't have been more helpful.

The hotel's history is amazing it's great to stay where all the old stars have and if anyone thinks well yes it might've been better in their day Kate Moss, Naomi Campell, Kevin Costner are just some of the more modern known names who have stayed there recently. The history tour is fantastic once you find it, interesting to go through the trenches in the grounds where Che and Fidel once were. Can't believe someone complained about the lifts, they are beautiful. The original ones, very big and quick too.

Downsides are that Cuban/Nacional food is not great but it's satisfactory, we tried all the hotel's restaurants as well as the ones in the center. The Nacional is better when it's quieter (such as when the people leave to go to the resorts and there are no conferences). The breakfast is fine at first but I guess you do get bored of it towards the end of your stay but like any buffet breakfast if you get down there the earlier the better. Also as non smokers we found there to be too much smoke around restaurants and in the hotel for us personally.

Taxi's cost between 3 - 5 CUC to the center so not an issue as so cheap. But if you go in a 1950's car it will cost more, 5 - 10 CUC but worth doing at some point. Alternatively you could walk down the Malecon but it is a bit too hot to do so. We did some amazing tours saw some great sights etc but think I have gone on enough. Sometimes I think some people just want somewhere with lots of Starbucks and Mcdonalds everywhere and Havana is so much more special than that, go before it gets ruined by the big companies in years to come. The people are poor but usually friendly and interested in tourists as they don't travel themselves. It is a very busy place but we felt safe at all times when walking around the center even past midnight and we did have some funny experiences with people!! There is a higher police presence on the streets than back home. Also your tipping is always appreciated here rather than expected like in the U.K and U.S!! We would love to go back to the Nacional and Havana.

we stayed overnight in this hotel whilst visiting havana.
the lobby and reception are quite impressive displaying
original decor. the restaurant offers a menu to suit all.
unfortunately our room was not of the same sandard.
it smelt and felt damp. the air conditioning unit was leaking
and the carpet was stained.
I would not recommend this hotel.

Here is my opinion about this hotel.
I've stayed 3 days in Hotel National de Cuba and 4 days in Cayo Largo.
Havana is a wonderful city, very different from i've seen in my life. It is a very poor city, so dont expect anything else. Although, it is a very safe city and with a very different culture and great architecture buildings!
The city, the people, the buildings, the culture, the cars, all unique!

First advice: Don't take USD to CUBA! Dont make the same mistake as i did.
All manuals and guides i've saw told me the main currency in CUBA was USD. This is wrong! USD is banned from CUBA, as all other american things! They apply a 20% penalty for changing USD into their currency, called "Peso convertible". This is the only currency you will use in CUBA. I advise you to take EUR0 and then change it into their local currency.

About the hotel itself.
This hotel probably has been one of the best of the caribean in the beginning of the earlier century. The architecture from outside is amazing and the location is great. Its a GREAT monument! But that's it. Should be a 3-star hotel, NEVER a 5-star.

NEGATIVE Stuff:

1) Took 1 hour to make the check-in. We were tired and this is not acceptable.
2) The staff is not friendly, nothing really!
3) ordered a security box, and they took 24 hours to activate it
4) on the third night, i saw a cockroach (barata, cucaracha) in the bathroom!!!! It was about 10cm lenght !!!!! IT IS NoT ACCEPTABLE! Need to kill it myself!
5) second night i was without toilet paper in the bathroom. Called to reception and nobody answers. Went down to reception, she was sleeping in the chair! Asked her for toilet paper. She replied: "just use the public bathroom, i can't help you!" - WHAT IS THIS ?????
6) The rooms are old fashioned. The hotel has 70 ears old.

You will find a much better hotel in havana, just search it. "Hotel sevilla", "Hotel ambos mundos" or "Hotel Florida" are great choices!


ADVICES:

Besides taking EUR0 instead of USD, dont forget to visit "EL FL0RIDITA", the bar where hemmingway used to go, and drink their "daiquiri". It's the best daiquiri in the country! Don't forget also to use the "Coco-TAXI", very popular moto-taxi in the city. Never forget to discuss prices before going on the taxi, and try to use government taxis to avoid getting cheated.
Go to RUM Factory called "botoy" (Fabrica de RUM Botoy).
Be careful when giving you the change when you pay in "Convertible Pesos". There is another currency in CUBA called just "Pesos". It doesn't worth nothing to us.


Have a nice holliday! :D

My understanding from Cubans I met is that they see this hotel as Havana's flagship hotel.

The architecture is outstanding. It is like stepping into the past. Many of the hotel's original features, such as the mechanical floor indicators on the lifts have remained unchanged, which is so unusual in a hotel of this age.

Unfortunately much of the rest of the hotel is unremarkable. The rooms are large and we had a pleasant view of the sea, but compared to luxury hotels in Europe, North America and elsewhere, they are little above average.

We ate dinner and breakfast in the buffet restaurant and although there was plenty of choice and fruit and fruit juices were excellent, the food generally was of an average to poor standard. It must be borne in mind that this is in the context of sanction ravaged Cuba and probably this is as good as it gets in Cuban hotels, but for the sake of fairness, this assessment is again given in a worldwide context.

In the evening we visited the Parisien caberet in the hotel. I understand that the format is similar to the Tropicana, but is only one third of the cost. The performance is professional, but is a throwback to forms of entertainment which were popular 40 or more years ago in Europe and one hour was enough for us.

Location of the hotel is reasonable, being about a 3 cuc taxi ride from Old Havan and the gardens are very pleasant with views over the sea.

I also discovered an excellent Presidente cocktail in the scruffy basement bar. White rum with white vermouth. Similar to a dry martini, a must for people who like their drinks bone dry.

In summary I think in the context of Cuba this hotel is probably very good, but by worldwide standards it is going to disappoint anyone expecting a top class place to stay.