Nice place to stay...
Not young, but clean!!!
The buffet was good!
Well located!!!

I travelled to Cuba as an American nurse with all the proper documentation required by my government.
I stayed at the Nacional for 7 days and I must say that I really didn't encounter any problems.
My room was on the 6th floor. This is the Executive floor for business travellers. Room 604 had a stunning view of the Malecon and El Morro. There was a slight musty smell which I've come to expect even in the "finer" hotels in Havana. My bathroom was all white tile. It looked new and the shower had great pressure!! The water took a few minutes to get hot but once it did, it was fantastic!! I watched satellite TV which included 3 channels from China, 1 from Germany, 1 from Venusuela, 1 from Italy, 3 CNN channels, Discovery and several sports channels and the Cuban channels. Once I ordered room service. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries with ice cream and fruit. It was all very good but the hamburger seemed to be a little different. I asked if it was 100% beef and they said yes. I'm sure that they use different parts of the cow than we do in America. Just the same the taste was very good, just the texture was a little different.
The breakfast buffet was plentiful. I'm sure that if there were leftovers from dinner the night before it probably showed up on the morning buffet. I always had a few pieces of papaya and grapefriut, scrambled eggs and rice with cafe con leche and sometimes yogurt. I'd always sit at the same table in the buffet area, gazing at the people on their way to work.
The staff made the trip for me. They were all very friendly, courteous and approachable. Service was efficient and timely. The staff was very knowledgable too. I really thought the staff was wonderful and I'd recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Havana.
I ate lunch at Havana Libre cafe, very safe to eat there since the head chef is from Spain. I ate most of my dinners at paladares and at houses of friends, which is the way to experience the best of the Cuban cuisine.

A wonderful old fashioned hotel, you can imagine Humphry bogart walking down the corridor. Very relaxing to sit on the terrace listening to the band and sipping a cocktail. A must do is the garden tour, they actually took us under the gardens in the old tunnels from the 60's missile crisis. Another must is the park that Castro dedicated to John Lenon, you can have your picture taken sitting on a bench with his statue. We only stayed 3 nights in Havana and it wasn't enough to visit everything. We then had 11 nights at Veradero which actually got a bit boring.

This is an amazing hotel - full of historic and old worldly charm. The foyer is stunning, full of black and white pictures of the Revolution. The outside Terrace bar is what you have dreamnt Havana to be - sitting in the setting sun, with a Mojito, cigar and the palms gently swaying - this is what its all about!

Food - buffet is fine for breakfast but i would give it a miss for dinner- you will find cheaper and nicer in the old quarter - O'Reillys do a great Lobster, rice and slaad for 12CUCs