We went on our first ever trip to Cuba this July for two weeks and stayed at the NH Parque Central. We honestly thought we'd arrived at the wrong hotel at first as the pictures in the brochure do not do it justice !! Its great !!

The service, food, rooms, the pool - you name it - really wonderful and very good value for money. Even if you don't want to explore Havanna and just stay in the hotel, the two restaurants in there are fantastic and we've never known such polite and helpful staff anywhere !!

We can't wait to go back. (Tip - remember to take lots of $1 dollar bills with you for tipping !!)

This hotel is in a good location; in fact probably the best location for a hotel in Havana. It is, however, fairly soulless and "international". Service at the main bar is sullen and slow and the restaurant is always understaffed at breakfast. The rooftop pool and bar are good and the service is better up there, plus there is a great view.

Be aware that they don't have "no smoking" rooms and that, therefore, you room is likely to smell of cigar or cigarette smoke. This isn't unusual in Cuba though.

If you want something with more character and history and a lovely garden and ocean view, go for the Nacional; it's only a $3 cab ride away from the centre and it's cheaper.

As far as Havan itself is concerned, it is one of the safest cities I have ever visited with a policeman on every other corner. Yes, you will get hassled a bit but in my experience, never threateningly or persistently. I feel more relaxed there walking around late at night than in home town of London.

Myself and my boyfriend stayed in the NH Parque Central for three nights recently. We picked this hotel because of other friends who had recommended it and because of the reviews on Trip Advisor. In no way were we disappointed. This hotel is amazing. The bedrooms and bathrooms are huge. The lobby is beautiful and the lobby bar is great. The breakfast is great and you can basically eat as much as you like. The swimming pool on the roof is breathtaking and the views from it are outstanding. The staff are all very helpful. Our digital camera ran out of battery and our American plug did not fit into their sockets so they charged our batteries at the reception for us. We kept a ‘do not disturb’ sign on our bedroom door while we were in the room and the day before we were due to check out, the housemaid wrote and left a note under our door telling us to have a great flight home – I’ve never had that in any country or hotel before. We left her a large box of chocolates as chocolate is hard to come by over there. One tip, when you’re in the lobby in the evenings, you’ll get serenaded by a group of musicians who at the end will ask you to buy their CD – we ended up buying two because there was a different group each night and the CD’s are crap, it’s a home made job and it’s not something you’ll listen to but then again, it was only $12 to us which isn’t much but that’s a month’s salary to one person there.

Basically, if you go to Havana, then you must stay in the Parque Central without a doubt.

Checked into this hotel after the fright of the giant cockroaches at the Commodoro Bungalows! Fantastic location, friendly staff, great lobby area with relaxed bar/lounge. Breakfast was really good (what’s with vegetables for breakfast over there!!) much better than at our resort in Guardalavaca. Evening meal menu really expensive so went to the Plaza for Italian. Rooms very comfortable, clean and cool. Great views from the roof terrace and pool area. Only downside is that when you are in this hotel you could be in any city in the world as it is just a standard chain hotel.