My wife and I stayed at the Parque Central on our honeymoon in March 2008. We travelled with First Choice and stayed here as part of a Twin Centre holiday for 3 nights. While we were there, by talking to local people and seeing the other hotels, it was clear that the Parque Central is one of the best (if not the best) hotel in Havana.

LOBBY/CHECK-IN/CHECK-OUT:
The check-in staff were friendly and helpful. We arrived early in the morning, so our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, but was ready after we’d had a quick drink at the lobby bar. The lobby itself is very well maintained, and every bit as good as we had expected.

FOOD AND DRINK:
The food at the hotel is really very good. The breakfast buffet has a very good choice, and all the food is cooked well with good quality ingredients. The lobby bar also has a good selection of food and drinks. Including some very nice cocktails. The pool bar is also very nice with some tasty bites to eat and friendly, attentive staff. We also had a meal from room service, which arrived very quickly and was very tasty.

POOL:
Without a pool the Parque Central would be a fantastic hotel, but with the pool it really is something special. And what a pool!! The pool itself is an ok size, with clean and clear water and well maintained surroundings. But the real treat is the view. It has to be the best view in the whole of Havana, and nothing can beat sitting in the rooftop Jacuzzi with a view out to the Capitolio just down the road.

ROOMS:
Our room was very well maintained, a good size and clean and fresh. There was also a nice big bathroom with separate (very good and powerful) shower and bath. The maid took good care of our room and left us chocolates on our pillows. As other people have said, a room on the seventh floor and above is best for the view, but you shouldn’t come to Havana and spend the whole time in your room, so don’t worry if you’re on one of the lower floors!

SERVICE:
Some people on TripAdvisor have complained that the only bad thing about the Parque Central is that the staff are miserable. Well, since these complaints the management must have implemented customer relations courses because during our stay all the staff were friendly and polite – not a grumpy face to be seen! The service was also very fast and efficient, whether at the front desk, the bars or room service.

OUT AND ABOUT IN HAVANA:
Where to start? Havana has to be the greatest city in the world. It is still virtually untouched by Western civilisation – which is a very good thing, although this means there are NO Western shops, so don’t come to Havana expecting to do some designer shopping; you should come to Havana for the culture, the architecture and The Tropicana!!! We started off with the intention of finding our own way around, but very quickly decided against it. There are so many sites all over the city that you’d never see them all just by walking. So we got a horse and cart ride around the city. It lasted just over two hours and we saw all the major sites, as well as some of the minor ones. Our guide was excellent, with great knowledge of the city. I would suggest that you talk to a few different tour guides before deciding who to go with, and try and gauge which have the best knowledge of the city, it can make a big difference, as friends of ours had a similar tour but with a different guide, but saw much less of the city than we did. You should also visit one of the many museums. They aren’t all open every day, but we managed to get into the Museum of the Revolution, which was excellent and taught us a lot about the history of Cuba. Finally, I have to advise people to go to The Tropicana if at all possible. It really is the best cabaret in the world. Nothing quite compares to sitting in the open arena while 20 barely clothed women dance in the trees!! My wife liked it too!! One tip, don’t pay the extra 10 pesos for a seat at the front. You’ll be too close to the stage and won’t be able to see everything going on at once. You’re better off sitting in the middle rows.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
We will definitely return to Havana, and hopefully become regular visitors. There are other hotels we want to stay at like the Ambos Mundos and Santa Isabella, but there’s no question that we will come back to the Parque Central. From reading TripAdvisor reviews it’s questionable as to whether a lot of 5* hotels in Cuba are actually 5*, but there’s no question with the Parque Central. It is a fantastic hotel. Feel free to send me a message and ask further questions.