Was what a Cuban friend promised me before we booked it and he wasn't wrong.

Perfectly situated on the edge of the old town - everything you will want to see is a short walk or cheap taxi ride away.

Western standards of service, room deco, food and a superb rooftop pool and bar with amazing views over the city. Ideal for freshening up and lunch in between seeing the sights. Superb common areas (lounges, bars etc)

To achieve these standards in Cuba is really something as you will find when you go - congratulations guys. Photo of the Capitol building from the rooftop pool bar.

For Havana - this place is all you need to know!

Our family just returned from a 5-day visit to Havana. We stayed at the Parque Central where we had an absolutely perfect stay. This was our 1st visit to Havana but our 2nd to Cuba (if you consider Veradaro to be Cuba).

We picked this hotel based on a number of criteria such as: 1) the many positive reviews, 2) the location, 3) the work of Maurits Looijenabd and his staff.

From the moment we arrived, we had excellent service from all of their staff (doorman, front desk, bellman, concierge). We had one of the best rooms (I think) in the hotel, with a huge balcony looking directly over Parque Central and The Capitolio. Everything with the room was perfect (the shower, the size, the cleaniness, etc).

The first thing we did was book our dinner reservations with the concierge (which is a must for some of the better restaurants in Havana) and it was done quickly and perfectly. La Guarita is a MUST visit. Even though El Patio is a very typical tourist restaurant, we enjoyed eating there twice and actually took 2 Cuban sandwiches with us on the plane ride home. As mentioned in many reviews, the food quality is good but not exceptional.

We had drinks, cigars, and food in the lobby each afternoon and we found no problem whatsoever with the service. After all, most people here are on holidays so I can't imagine what your hurry is, even if the service is not immediate. We were always served promptly and professionally.

The location is perfect for walking to Old Havana, the Malecon, and many historical sites. The horse carriage ride is highly recommended (we did it 3 times)as the guide usually speaks good english and is very informative. We did hire a 4-hour private car tour which we didn't enjoy. You can't appreciate Havana from inside a car. In fact, we only lasted 2 hours before we told the guide to take us back to the hotel.

We did visit a number of the area hotels and we were quite impressed with the lobby's of them all but I don't think their overall quality can match that of the Parque Central.

We have plans to re-vist Havana and will stay again at the Parque Central. Havana is quite a fabulous place and deserves another visit.

Well I think its all been said before so here is a brief summary from me:

Staff are friendly and helpful. Rooms are clean and well equiped. Location is central.

Facilities are fantastic. The rooftop pool is an oasis in a city like Havana. Views are amazing.

Breakfasts are delicious and full of variety.

Only gripe would be with the not-so-helpful tourist agency they have in their lobby area, but i suspect this is not down to the hotel but the chain that lease the space.

Will definitely use this hotel again on my next visit to Havana.

I stayed at this hotel January 15 - 16 - 17, 2006. Got a good deal from venere I would give
this hotel a 4 star and that's about as high as you will get in all of Cuba. Good location Old
Havana, food excellent, the breakfast was great buffet style ( I did not see one fly ) as well as all
the normal breakfast food one would expect in a 4 star hotel they also had items such as Atlantic
smoke salmon, thinly sliced aged Prosciutto Ham and the fresh baked rolls daily, best I’ve had
anywhere, I am impressed. The staff very friendly. - One big problem and a warning for all
travelers. The day before leaving I returned to my room to find that my room safety deposit box (
which is a key code entry ) had been opened and two $50 bills removed. My passport and the
rest of my cash was OK just 2 large bills missing.. When I returned to my room the clue to
check my cash was the fact that my cloths had been removed from the top of my safety deposit
box and the cover plate from the hotel’s mechanical pass key was removed. Made me wonder if
this was a “one off” or does it happen on a regular basis. My hotel door was a electronic card
entry and the hotel security was able to tell who had entered the room and what time, however,
on check out I had a good look at the door and found it too had a hotel mechanical pass key
entry. I spoke to the hotel management and they were very concerned, but they could not
compensate me for my missing cash. I wonder does this happen in other hotels as well, I would
be interested to know if other guests had similar experiences.