We stayed at Parque Central on 30th and 31 October 2004, at the start of our brief holiday in Cuba.

The facilities are excellent, the staff are friendly and welcoming, the food in the restaurants was actually pretty good! At breakfasts, they will cook your omelettes for you there and then. OK, so service at the rooftop bistro is a bit slow, but the food is still good there too.

As far as location is concerned, you couldn't ask for any better in Havana. Loads of good bars and restaurants, near museums and other tourist attractions, but still close enough to the buzz on the streets.

This is certainly one of the best hotels in Cuba. Excellent rooms, service, food etc. The breakfast buffet is incredible. Lobby restaurant service is fantastic and hotel services such as massages, gym etc are great.

I would have given this hotel an "excellent" rating but their only shortfall was the non-availability of irons in the rooms. We had to wait over 1 hour to get one delivered to the room.

Despite the iron fiasco, I would certainly stay here again.

Booked a combined trip to Havanna and Varadero early February this year, read quite a lot of books, checked Trip Advisor on a weekly basis .... and off we were on October 23 ... Arrived in Havanna around 2PM after an amusing drive from Varadero airport (the "national" highway with animals in the middle of the road, boys jumping on the street trying to sell bananas, ...) and our first reaction upon entering the NH Parque Central was a well-meant WOW..... Real luxe, nice plants in the lobby/bar area, a nice, large room: very clean & comfortable. Breakfast in the morning offers quite a lot of variety .... even feeling a little bit ashame when you know that outside doors the world for the Cubans is quite different from ours: how to survive with an income of around 15 USD .... ?! The first days were a real culture schock for both my husband and I ... next time back home and complaining about one or another silly thing we, for sure, will remember those poor people of Havanna ...
The only negative experience we had in Havanna was the fact that walking along the Malecon my necklace was stolen by a young boy just passing by... indeed a lot of policemen on almost each corner but just then when you need them, they just are not there ...
So spent a few hours in the policestation on our first evening in Havanna with no result, of course, just a declaration to sign and then simply dropped at the hotel 3 hours later .... hungry, thursty so up we went to one of the NH Parque Central's restaurants and we simply loved it ....
The evening after, still remembering our bad experience at the MALECON we went to the Italian restaurant in the hotel; again nice food, nice service !

After having spent already so many nights in different hotels in Europe and US, simply have to say for me the NH Parque Central Hotel is the best, cleanest, nicest place ever ....
Heaven on earth !

After 4 nights we left for Varadero for another 2/3 days .... We stayed at Melia Varadero. Completely different and not to compare with Havanna but it was nice to go out for lunch, dinner whereever and whenever you wanted ...
No confrontation with the hard Cuban every day life here !

Being almost 51 during this stay in Cube we learnt a lot about other cultures and the fact that we never have been confronted that much with poverty as at the time we were in Havanna.
Let's enjoy the small simple things of every day !

We stayed at the NH Parque Central for 2 nights on 13th and 14th October. This hotel is typical of a top class international hotel in any city. The location is exceptionally convenient. The rooms, bathroom and air conditioning are excellent. The large glass-roofed lobby area is air conditioned and tastefully appointed. The roof-top pool is great. Breakfast food is very good and varied.

BUT and a BIG BUT, we foud the service in the lobby bar absolutely dreadful and breakfasts inadequately staffed. We felt we could die waiting for someone to take our orders in the lobby bar area. We waited ages for them arrive and waited another age for the waiters to bring a bill. The waiters, who are mostly men, appeared sullen and frankly, didn't give a damn. Much of the time, we felt as if we were invisible. My wife informs me their attitude is even worse if you are a woman. This appalling service continued regardless of sensible tips left with every bill.

Apparently, we were not the only guests who thought this. A number of other English guests remarked to us upon similar experiences and concluded the same without prompting. In the end, we became angry and felt the hotel was cheating us by charging 5 star prices but delivering 2 star service.

We had chosen this hotel because, at the end of our holiday, we wanted to have available a comfortable refuge from sightseeing.

Consequently, the hotel's problem is a major drawback if the only alternative is to venture out, once again, onto the hot, dusty, polution choked streets of Havana at times when you may not feel like it. Nervetheless, we found the service in the lobby bar was so awful that we did precisely that, rather than endure the agony of trying to get a snack and a drink in the hotel lobby and suffering the indifferent and disdainful service of these waiters.

I would add that before coming to Havana, we stayed in the 5 star Paradisus Rio de Oro in Holguin. By contrast, the service we received in this resort was absolutely outstanding. The smiling waiters and waitresses were polite, obviously friendly and eager to look after you. The resort was genuinely 5 star and a credit to both the staff and its owners.

We booked the NH Parque Central because we wanted a five star refuge after tiring sightseeing trips. Our stay was spoiled by the shoddy service from staff with an obvious attitude problem.

I've given this hotel 3 'blobs' because of the location and quality of facilities but if you can find another good Havana hotel on Trip Advisor, I'd vote with my wallet and choose the alternative instead. They don't deserve your business. I hope their management read this review and arrange to sample their own service.