There are lots of lovely hotels to stay in Havana, some like the Florida may be considered more romantic than the Parque Central, the Ambos Mundos may have more atmosphere with the "play it again Sam" pianists playing the piano in the bar throughout the day, the Seville is steeped in history and the Saratoga is a sparkling boutique hotel which is possibly considered, for the moment, more fashionable than the Parque Central. But you only have to read the reviews of all these other hotels on Trip Advisor and then read the reviews of the Parque Central and it becomes obvious why this hotel, and none of the others consistantly hold the No1 spot for the Best place to Stay in Havana.
I took my husband to Havana for a week for his birthday and thoroughly researched and agonised over where to stay before booking this hotel. I booked the holiday through Virgin holidays but contacted the hotel after to ask for descriptions of the five types of rooms they have as I wanted to upgrade from the standard room. Ana in reservations was very helpful asking if I had any special requirements etc and describing each room type to me.

ROOMS & SUITES
I chose one of the suites (601) which is really beautiful . It consisted of a very large bedroom, dressing room, fabulous bathroom, lounge with dining area, small library/office, kitchen and another separate toilet. A balcony went from our bedroom around the suite and it over looked the Capitol and Parque Central. If you were anywhere else the world this room would have cost, much much more money a night instead of what was probably the equivalent cost of a standard room in a five star London/New York hotel and I would say to anyone going for a special occassion, if budget allows contact the hotel and consider an upgrade.
I did see inside one of the standard rooms and they were also spacious with big beds and very comfortable furnishings so whatever type of room you choose you can be guaranteed of a very comfortable, airconditioned and extremely clean room at this hotel with excellent facilities, such as big fluffy bathrobes and towels, toilettries which included toothbrushes, toothpaste and shoehorns (although the toilettries in the photographs in the hotel brochure looked more luxurious than the ones in the bathroom - have NH hotel changed suppliers?), satellite TV with channels in numerous languages and impeccable room service. I called housekeeping one day and ordered two pillows from the Pillow Menu and they arrived in five minutes.

RESTAURANTS & FOOD.
Breakfast, as already stated by other reviewers is excellent. Lots to choose from and something for everyone. The hotel was busy but the food was always plentiful. My husband said the only thing he could complain about was topping up the coffee. He felt they were very slow at this (I drink tea which you can help yourself to) but we found if you sit near the coffee machine at the top end of the dining room you catch the staff as they are filling up the pots.
We had dinner in the Al la Carte restaurant one night with the pianist playing and the food and service were excellent. We ate here our first day after a hard days sightseeing. It was lovely to go back to the hotel around 6pm have a swim in the rooftop pool, a drink and rest in the room and then come down
around 9pm and have dinner in this lovely tranquil restaurant.

We also had lunch a couple of times at the rooftop restaurant. The food here is much more casual but again excellent as were the Mohitas. Again the staff really look after you and cannot do enough for you. This restaurant is very pretty with fabulous views over the city and out to sea. We never ate up there at night but I think on warm nights you can.

LOBBY BAR
A great place to sit and people watch. The Parque Central is a very cosmopolitan hotel with all sorts of different people from all over the world staying there. I never experienced bad or slow service and we had drinks all times of the day and night. It is very clean and the cocktails are fabulous. The atmosphere is great too. Sometimes they have musicians playing or a pianist and although the bar is in the large but lushly planted lobby it still has a very intimate feel about it.
We had a drink in the Saratoga one day and the hotel is dominated by Russians who shouted loudly into their mobiles phones or at each other. At one point a fight almost broke out and this was most unnerving - it was a bit like a scene from a Guy Ritchie film. Another thing I didn't like about the Saratoga was is a bit clinical for my taste and lacking in atmosphere and Mohitas, for some reason they didn't have any so I had a Ron Collins instead but both I and my husband agreed we were pleased we were staying at the Parque Central.

SWIMMING POOL AND SURROUNDINGS
This is situated on top of the hotel with fabulous views over the city. One tip if you are disabled or a little immobile is to take the far right lift only as this is the only one that goes up to pool level, the other two only go up to the 8 floor and there are a couple of steps to get to pool level. The pool is very clean and surrounded by sunbeds. Renee the pool attendant is an absolute gem. He is there all day looking after the guests. Again the towels provided are big and fluffy and normally plentiful. I say this as the only day Renee wasn't on duty and another member of staff was I went up to the pool around 15.30 for a swim and there were no towels until 16.20. However I think the attendant had been busy getting them together because when they arrived they were warm from the tumble dryer. The pool was very busy on that day too so I was not too bothered about this but I think at busy times it would help to have two pool attendants on duty rather then just one.

LOCATION OF HOTEL & FACILITIES
Absolutely fantastic - just over the road from the Parque Central, and walking distance to everywhere. It is also very safe area but then Havana is a very safe city. You can get a taxi anytime of the day or night and it's only a short drive to the airport. The hotel has a money exchange, travel agent for booking tours around Havana and Cuba (although both of these are not managed by the hotel but it is useful they are there). There is a full business suite for fax/internet facilities. One thing that could be useful would be a small shop. I needed something that only ladies need during our stay and had a hell of a job finding any. Eventually the girls on reception sent me to the Sevillle hotel drug store (they even went to the trouble of phoning it first for me) AAgain I think this was not managed by the hotel but it did sell lipstick, nailvarnish and those impossible to find items I wanted as well as typical things you find in hotel shops so it would be useful to have something like this as the Parque Central (if it is possible but perhaps not with the government?)

STAFF & TIPPING
The staff are what really make this hotel special and why it holds its No 1 position on Trip Advisor. The most luxurious hotels in the world can be let down by bad service, arrogant managment and rude staff but the Park Central is not one of these. The staff here genuinely want to make your stay with them special. We were constantly asked if everything was satisfactory, every member of staff was friendly and smiled, looked smart and acted professionally and above all wanted to please their guests.
It is very difficult to single out individuals as all the Concierge were excellent and brilliant at booking restaurants and advising where to go but Daniel really was terribly helpful on our last day when the taxi Virgin had ordered for us was an hour late. He was also extremely helpful at all times throughout our stay.
I never got to meet our maid but on the last day she left us a note in the middle of a heart she had shaped out of a towel. The note was handwritten in beautiful handwriting and read
"Thank you for your present, I hope you have spent a good time in our hotel. Good luck and the best wishes in 2007" - Yulenma
This is typical of the Cuban people - they are like no other race in the world. Most speak at least one other language fluently, to work in tourism many jobs require they speak two, everyone we met had university degrees yet the average wage is £10/$20 or 20CUC A MONTH! So please if you go to Cuba remember this, if you can afford to go there then you can afford to tip the staff. The staff in the hotel never expect it but they deserve it. We tipped our maid and left her some small tokens of items that are considered luxuries in Cuba. We also tipped other members of staff but one of the tour guides told us if you work in tourism the govermnent take of percentage of your wages to allow for tips so sometimes if people don't tip the staff can loose money. I don't know if this is correct but we did see several tourists get up from tables in restaurants and not leave a tip, or refuse to give a band of musicians a tip after they had played for them and the worst case, an old Sana Ria lady dressed in white with a giant Cuban cigar photographed by a professional photographer, who was getting her to pose while he snapped away with his very expensive camera and then refused to give her One CUC (50p). She was an old lady, she showed no anger on her face only an expression that looked as if he had humiliated her and taken away her soul.
Finally a very big thank you (not only from me but I am sure from others who have left reviews of this hotel) has to go to Maurits Looijen, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Parque Central who keeps a constant watch on this website. It is true to say that without your staff the hotel would not be as good as it is but clearly your commitment to the excellence of the hotel is shown on this website. You really don't miss anything and I experienced this in the bar when we had a drink with you and you very discreetly asked the waiter to clear up two peanuts that were under a bar stool in a corner of the bar. I
I wanted our stay in Havana to be really very special and it certainly was. The city itself is magical and the people are fabulous but it could have been ruined by choosing the wrong hotel. Having visited most of the hotels on this website I am so pleased I chose the Parque Central - it is everything a hotel should be but much much more too and for that I have to thank Mauritis and his staff. Many thanks to you all - I hope to be back to Havana soon.

WHERE TO GO & WHAT TO DO IN HAVANA
See trip advisor Forums - I will posting what we did and recommendations to other travellers shortly.