Had a fantastic 3 night stay at this hotel from 14th May 2008.
- Excellent location - in Havana and only 30 minute trasfer from the airport.

- Very comfortable hotel with superb roof-top pool and great views of "Habana Vieja" including the Gran Theatro and Capitolio.

- Room comfortable with fantastic large bathroom. (Euorpean style 2 pin sockets in the room). Maid kept it very clean and when we left her a tip she wrote a Thank you note in excellent English which she left with some heart-shaped towel art and chocolates.

- Staff very friendly and helpful.

- Breakfast - very tasty - especially the parties, cakes and freshly cooked eggs, but if there are large tour parties get there before them before they raid everything.

Havana is a phenomenal city - what a place! - come and see it before it possibly changes. Too many things to tell you about, but the best places to see (and usual touristy things) are -
- Capitolio
- Gran Theatro
- Partegas Cigar Factory - behind Capitolio (go between about 10-11 in the morning when the staff are working whilst the news is being read and broadcast over loudspeaker to them)
- Parque Central i.e. the park itself, including the locals debating baseball (known as "Esquina caliente" - literally "hot corner")
- The Obispo (main street down Old Havana)
- Museo de la Revolucion
- City tour by horse and carriage - if you find Ozwaldo go with him. He speaks great English and gives you a great history tour of Havana - showed us things not included in any guidebook and told us quirky history stories. Also useful to find out Cuban opinion of the state (Communism and Castro) (he parks at the Parque Central opposite side to the NH Parque Central Hotel)
- Fantastic monuments everywhere
- The various Plazas in old Havana
- The Bacardi building (even if you are not an architecture fan/ Art Deco fan)
- Also the decrepit buildings - some of which are falling down and some even have trees growing out of the walls!
- Various bars - all with their own local nband - excellent free gigs everywhere you go (great Mojiotos as Havana Club Museum and La Bodeguita del Medio whiuch was Hemingway's favourite)
- Great meal at "La Domenica" on Calle O'Reilly - great pizza and pasta
- Authentic Cuban meal (only locals dine here) at "Los Nardos" on Raseo de Marti (careful you may miss it as you walk by as the entrance is up a set of stairs - so look carefully for it's doorway opposite the Capitolio)
- Of course the 1950s cars

Beware -
- People selling cigars on the street
- People trying to get you to buy milk or nappies for their baby - they are usually in cahoots with shop keepers and one item may be sold numerous times over to different tourists "for the baby". They are then known to spilt the profits of the sale with the shop keeper.
- Locals promising to show you great bars/ restaurants. A couple we met at the hotel told us they had a fantastic evening with some locals but when the bill came the prices were a substantial amount higher than those advertised and they were expected to pay for everyone's meals and drinks!! (We were approached a few times and I was very wary of them - although they do seem so friendly and speak great English. Cubans are poor, but the guidebooks do warn of some people taking advantage of the tourists as per this example.
- Familiarise yourself with the 2 different currencies. Our rep explained them and advised us not to get caught out and end up paying too much if the price is in the locals' pesos and not CUCs
- Only use governent endorsed service e.g. taxis - look out for the blue numberplates (we were advised by our Rep that the Coco taxis are okay but steer clear of the bicycle taxis)
- The Parisien show at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba - quite tacky apart from the acrobats, cost 35 CUCs each (approx £25 Sterling). No drinks included and those that we were served were awful - over sweetened mojitos - yuk! And about 6 people are squeezed around each small table with. This show and the hotel appears to be living off the glory of past days e.g. when Sinatra used to sing to the Mafia in the same hall as the show.

A really useful guidebook we used was "Time Out - Havana & the best of Cuba" - useful for orienting regarding history and culture (though very brief synopsis) but also about places to visit, eat, drink and tips before you travel and when there (travel, visas, transfers, airport, currency, language, harrassment, health, banks etc...)

WOULD I COME BACK? Most definitely! After Havana we went to Varadero for a lazy beach break. There is so much more to see and do in Havana and 3 days is not enough. There is so much more to see in Cuba that a few more visits will be necessary.
If you're contemplating a holiday in Cuba don't hesitate (Captivating Cuba in the UK were particularly helpful, flexible and accommodating with our booking)
If you're going to Cuba - happy holiday :-)