This hotel was booked as part of an overnight excursion from Varadero to Havana. We were staying in a 4* hotel in the resort, so we were really exicted to hear that we were staying in a 5* in Havana.. Our hotel in Varadero was great, so we expected this to be REALLY great!
Unfortunately it definitely didn't compare to our hotel in Varadero. The rooms are nice and big but a little tatty upon closer inspection.
The staff weren't particularly friendly and the food at the evening and breakfast buffet wasn't great either. None of the bars or buffet had any diet coke, which also annoyed me!!
We didn't spend a great deal of time in the hotel as we were being guided round Havana in the day, at the Tropican show at night (which was great) and then up early the next day, which was long enough!
On the plus side, the views from our room (18th floor) were amazing, and just about worth putting up with the all the bad points.
I think, that if I hadn't expected so much from this hotel, I woul;dn't have been disappointed. It is adequate, with great views, but not the 5* luxury I was expecting!

Filthy, Smelly, Musty, stains on carpets in fact on all fabric. I am in the Hotel industry and have been to a range of hotels, for a 5 star in Cuba I expected a possible 3 other guests said to me when I asked them `baths toilets lights etc were broken but they fixed them quite quickly'. I would like to have seen their homes if they found this acceptable they must be living in kips
The Havana Libre ruined our holiday the final straw (pardon the pun!) was a chewed straw put in my drink, bar staff were rude and reception staff were as bad. they changed our room to one less smelly but thought we were the ones with the problem. please take my advice do not stay here there are lovely hotels in Havana

The best asset of the Habana Libre is its location right on La Rampa in Vedado district. It’s just across the road from the gorgeous open-air Copellia ice cream parlour and is surrounded by other interesting shops.

The small artesanía handcraft market a little further down La Rampa is better value for souvenirs than its larger cousin near the cathedral in Old Havana. There are also often activities taking place at the pabellon which is also on La Rampa. It’s also only a $3 or $4 taxi ride or a longish walk to get to the attractions of Centro Habana and Habana Vieja.

The hotel itself has a beautiful lobby with fountains and is well-serviced by various bars and restaurants, including a 24 hr café which is also open to the public. The rooms are clean, large and comfortable, although it’s true that the furnishings are sometimes a little faded. The view from the balcony is amazing. The Habana Libre was the tallest building in Latin America when it was completed in 1958 and the view over Havana and the sea is breathtaking.

The pool was fine – cleaned every morning, served by an outside bar and quite popular with swimmers. The children enjoyed it very much. One small gripe was the opening hours are only 10am-6pm and it might have been nice to have a swim a bit later after returning from a sweaty day of sightseeing!

The food was excellent – a tremendous range at the enormous buffet. There really was something for everyone, including freshly cooked omelettes and many varieties of delicious fresh tropical fruit such as mango, guava, melon and pineapple. We found the staff friendly, helpful and efficient.

I would definitely return to the Habana Libre – it’s ideally situated, has great views and a breakfast that is enough to fill you up all day!

Highly recommended.

Having been to Havana many times I thought a change of hotel was the answer,liked the National Hotel but had money stolen from the safe so checked this site for the Habana Libre, I read the reviews and thought it cant be as bad as that so I booked for 14 days, boy was I wrong. When we arrived the air conditoning had packed up two days beforehand and they did not know when it was going to be sorted, this was the whole hotel and not just the rooms and at 34 degrees it was hot.The room was large and on the 18th floor, unfortuately previous reports were correct, painted baths which were peeling off,facings round the doors had gone about 8in from the floor with rot and left the nails sticking out, chrome worn off all fitments and turning green, balcony had large crackes in the concrete and did not look safe to walk on, then we come to the resturant,finding a plate was a nightmare and if you did you held on to it for some fruit, the should be hot food was cold and there was only one salt and pepper in the whole resturant AND THE FLIES, it was a fight to see who could eat the most.Staff were very highly gestapo trained and the only one to speak to us was the bellboy who delivered the cases to our room saying "You give me shirt". Ambulances there every day taking away heat stroke victims. Only lasted three day there but have spent the last 14 days in the toilet and still running.Those blasted flies.Dont be like me, listen to the reports on this site.