location location location. that is the ONLY reason to stay at this hotel. but there are other options and i would definetly stay in a casa particular (private) next time. I was robbed in the streets of habana centro in broad daylight, my camera was litterally snatched from my hand. the hotel charged me 3 dollars (!) for a 5 minutes LOCAL call to the insurance company, the call was made from the desk in front of the staff. The staff tried to charge me twice for the same beverages taken from the minibar (2 dollars for a can of local soda that can be bought down the street for 50 centavos). rooms are dingy and depressing but there is cable tv. i specifically asked for a room with a window. The terrace upstairs is very nice and the breakfast buffet is not bad but again, it´s overpriced for this area of the world. The security guard suggested i could have guests (male or female) in my room if i wanted, this suggestion was made out of the blue in the elevator to my room! Safety? This says it all! I would NOT leave my passport or money in the safe in this hotel.

We stayed at this hotel last week, in room 505, three down from the famous Hemingway room. We picked the hotel based on the reviews on TripAdvisor.

Positives: lovely historic lobby; very central to the old town (walk everywhere); the Hemingway connection (don't stay here just for that though); fairly clean & neat, bathroom OK. Great views from the roof. Friendly efficient staff & seemed to be no need to tip them. The area felt pretty safe. We discovered a cake shop a few doors down on Obispo that sells pizza upstairs for about CUC6, good value. If you want the best coffee in the Americas, go to the Bacardi building 15 minutes away (fantastic building) & find the cafe on the mezzanine - Alberto, the manager does brilliant coffee & light meals, & is friendly & proud of his little cafe - he is a very positive representative for Cuba & an example of how good tourism could be in Cuba. Once we discovered him we went there every day!

Negatives: we were on the floor below the rooftop restaurant so there was constant noise till 11pm of tables & chairs being moved, as well as people talking & a band. There's also street noise from 7am till late. Take earplugs! Maids leave friendly notes after cleaning (ie they want tips!). If you're on the side next to the Hemingway room (511) you'll hear people walking past during the day. Seems to have lots of older Europeans on tours staying here. Breakfast venue (roof) is great, food (buffet) fairly poor.

Room had its own safe, though as with Cuban hotels, if you have a secure suitcase might be better to leave your valuables locked in it or carry them.

Also - this & several other hotels close to it are not on the street, so you have to carry/roll your bags to the taxis, though a porter will do this on a trolley for you when you leave.

BTW, the Hemingway room (it's a museum) is no big deal - a nice corner room with some artefacts & a bored attendant. Worth the CUC2 but it's a hotel room so only takes 5 minutes!

Would stay here again mainly because it's central. We'd stayed at the Hotel Riviera previously (see my posting) & this was a relief after that one.

This hotel was set in the main part of the tourist area of old Havana and is very much on the tourist map as the place where Ernest Hemingway lived for a while, as such, the lobby is very Hemingway orientated and large contingents of tourists appear periodically in the bar to go up to visit his room on the 5th floor via a ricketty classic old ironwork lift.

It has quite an attractive pink facade, and being in the pedestrian area, bags have to be manhandled across the nearby square from your coach or taxi.

Rooms are OK - if you get one facing the street with windows, but can be a bit noisy at night, everything is slightly damp (must be worse in the summer) and toilet paper seems to be at a premium. Breakfast is taken on the roof bar, which has good views over Havana, but food is luke warm (as it is for several of the restaurants we visited - we concluded you don't visit Cuba for the food - which could be described at best as 'OK').

Concierge is very good, and can arrange trips, guides, walking tours and hire of old 1950s type cars.

Staff are all very keen for tips in CUCs (as is everyone else) and the maids cleaning the bedrooms left more and more detailed 'have a nice day' notes as our stay progressed

pretty run down... if it were not for the Hemingway connection I doubt this hotel would get any business.
The front desk staff are very helpful and lovely and the hotel has a nice lobby. it is in a great location, too.
The rooms are disappointing. I stayed in a double room which was two single beds pushed together and sagging in the middle. This cost around 220CUC* per night including breakfast. The rooms are quite damp and there is a bit of a musty smell that is somewhat unavoidable due to the hotel design. basic amenities are included (shampoo, conditioner, soap) which is not that common in cuba.

The internet wasn't working and I hear it's very slow even when it is working. Best to go to the Plaza and use their internet.

Breakfast is not great but the view from the rooftop is sensational.

The hemingway room is totally over rated...!


*1CUC = 1USD