This hotel is great with a fab position in the centre of the Old Town and with many restaraunts and places of interest within walking distance. The roof pool is really good as is the pool bar and terrace, both with ample seating. The room we had was spacious and comfortable and service on the whole was very good. It is such a pity this class of hotel is let down by a simple thing of not having enough irons and ironing boards to meet guests needs. I remembered noting a previous reviewer's comments about having to wait some time for an iron/board but assumed it may have been a one-off, not so unfortunately.
I requested one at 18.30 as I wanted to prepare to dine in the hotel's best restaurant. I was told that reception would request one from house-keeping. At 20.00 I was on the phone again to be told 'we don't have any available'.. At 22.00 I rang and said I was coming down to see the duty manager. On arrival at the desk I was told an iron/board was on its way to my room so I returned in anticipation. However, at 22.25 I was back at reception asking where it was! Eventually, at 22.35 it turned up. As it was, the board that turned up was in poor condition anyway. This is simply not good enough for this standard of hotel and the management should invest in a bulk buy of irons and boards.

We stayed in Parque Central for four nights in the hotel. Staff are very helpful and friendly. The pool on top of the hotel was great , especially since it was so hot during the day. It was lovely to chill out by the pool. The view was superb. The lobby is very spacious and great for a cup of coffee or a drink. It would be have been great to have a band or some live music in the evening as it would have added some extra atmosphere. Our room was at the back near the building works but we didn't hear it because the double glazing was good. Breakfast was great.

We went on a half day tour around the Havana which was good for getting to know your bearings. The shop in the fort was very good value for rum and cigars. In the evenings we went bar hopping to watch all the live bands, that was fantastic. The entertainment was superb. Just what we came to Havana for. We went to see the Cuban Allstars and a member of the Beuna Vista Club in the National Hotel. The performance was absolutely superb, we also had a meal which gave us front seats for the performance, great! The hotel was superb, with beautiful grounds. It cost about 5 convertable pesos to get there.

Lots of people stopped us in the street trying to sell us cigars, just say non gracias if you don't want them and they will go away eventually, just be firm! On the whole found Havana is a very friendly and safe place, the police keep the main touts away from people.

The money was a bit confusing at first. One convertable Peso is worth approx 25 cuban pesos, making a convertable Peso quite a lot of money to Cuban People. It is strange having tourists prices, it would be unacceptable in the UK to charge more for visitors!

We continued our travels onward to Varadero for 10 nights.

Booked this hotel independantly during a 2-week package deal to Varadero. We decided to treat ourselves to a mini city break to Havana but didn't want to join in with any of the standard tours run from the hotel.

Staff were all very pleasant and helpful even when the crazy Cuban monetary system caused confusion at check out - watch out for the massive hike in price for paying in cash, and an even bigger sur charge for using a credit card! The advertised rate is not what you will eventually pay!!!

This hotel is worth the money though - very plush and great location. Also nearby is the very grand International hotel - a peek at Havana in its heyday? A stark contrast to some of the living conditions only a couple of streets away, but excellently located for exploring all the main sites of the old town by foot. The roof top pool is a great feature and provides panoramic views of the city. Enjoyed our days wandering around taking it all in, and our evenings enjoying the local bars and restaurants - make sure you check out the live music found in many of the nearby bars.

Overall - Brilliant and would strongly recommend for a treat or romantic break!

We spent a week at the Parque Central in mid december. We arrived to a very clean room, having asked for a high floor at the front of the hotel. We got this-the view of the park was fantastic and the double glazing meant no disturbed sleep, despite the constant noise outside. The room is of an international standard-you could have been anywhere in the world, but I don't man this as a bad thing-the room was enormous, with a nice seating area and great bathroom with separate shower-which was fab!

It really is a brilliant location-walking distance of everything, except Mirarmar and Vedado, unless you are very energetic! We didn't have much probelm with hustlers outside the hotel and no beggars at all, which was nice. In short-you have one of the cigar factories-highly recommended-within 5 minutes, The Capitolio within 3, Floridita within 3, which is at the top of Obisbo-the nicest street in central Havana. Expect to pay 25 CUC for a taxi from the airport.

The staff are excellent here, from the reception, to the consierge, to the maid service-you have to remember what little money these people eran and are still so friendly and happy to help-please tip generously.

The pool is beautiful, if not freezing when we were there! The towels are clean and plentiful. Most of time there seemed to be enough loungers, alhtough they did fill uip quickly some days.

Food-this seemed to be such a contentious issue with everythign we read before we left! we weren't expecting much. The breakfast was fantastic-there wasn't much you could wish for-fresh eggs, cooked as you waited, cava and juice for bucks fizz, fruit, cereal, pancakes, cheese, meat, bread-the list is endless, but needless to say we ate very well at breakfast!
Lunch-we only ate by the pool-baguetes, chips etc. It was fine. this is the only part of the service which was slow, but it seems that food service in havana is always slow, wherever you are. the poolbar does ok cocktails, but they are expensive in comparison to the bars, which i what you would expect.

Dinner-we ate out every night. we didn't have any terrible experiences. The best being a middle eastern place called Al Medina-you can sit inside or ina lovely couryard which they light up at night-we shared mezze and had several drinks for about £12-really good.
Street food is interesting-EVERYTHING is deep fried. you will need moneda nacional for this, but it is soooo cheap, it is worth trying once! it might put you off a little when you go down some of the backstreets and see meat being sold on people's windowsills, just sitting in the heat.
Pizza and pasta are easy to come by and safer if you have a delicate stomach.
Paladars are very varied and there aren't very many in central Havana-this was probably the only downside of the location.

Havana is a great place and this is a wonderful hotel if you want a bit of luxury during your stay.