While it's quite a nice hotel, with reasonable rooms, it's not cheap, and needs a few things to make it more pleasant. The room service menu is very limited, and the quality ordinary. The only in-room internet access is via a remote keyboard which is tortuous to use, and uselessly slow. There are 3 other internet linked computers in the "business centre" - also appallingly slow. They desperately need some wi-fi access. The air-conditioning in the room was not effective, and overall it was a disappointing experience, especially compared with the Saratoga.

We stayed at the Parque Central for 2 nights, after 7 nights in Guardalavaca as part of a package deal booked with The Holiday Place.

The hotel is supposed to be 5*, but I would say it is more like a 4*.
The room was nice with good facilities, but the furnishings were getting a little tired (even the bath was cracked). We only ate lunch there - pizza's by the pool, and these were very good by Cuban standards.

The pool - this alone is worth staying there for. It's up on the roof
with views over Havana, it was amazing to lie up there and survey the view, sipping a cocktail.

The hotel is right in the middle of old Havana, you can walk to just about everything within 5-10 mins, including tourist hot spots like El Floridita. For food, I would recommend the Italian just across the
road from the hotel, they do fantastic food at very reasonable prices.

Veggies beware - after 7 days of limited options in Guardalavaca we went to a veggie restaurant on the edge of town, they ripped us off there and the toilets were undescribable - only the mens toilets were
open, but obviously didn't flush, and the taps didn't work....
Generally a lovely hotel. And again, our The Holiday Place rep was lovely and informative. The overall holiday was excellent value for money. Although I doubt I'll go back to Cuba, I'll definitely book with THP again.

Had a 3 night stay in the NH Parque before moving to an all-inclusive in Varadero, however with late arrivals and an early transfer we actually only had 2 full days to explore Havana. If you are intent on doing Havana PROPERLY, this is NO WHERE NEAR ENOUGH TIME. Even more disappointing was the fact we left Havana rushed and unfinished, only to spend 7 days in the most mind-numbingly boring resort I have ever stayed in. If we'd had the spare cash, we'd have been back here in a flash. Anyway, my loss might be your gain, so here's the rest of the review...

There can only be two contenders for best hotel in Havana – NH Parque Central & Hotel Nacional. If it's history & tradition you want, go for Nacional. If location is more important, choose NH.

NH Parque Central Hotel is on THE main square, within easy walking distance of the Capitolio, the main streets of O’Reilly & Obispo, & the rest of Habana Vieja. If you need to get further there's an assortment of taxis right outside ready to take your money, inc horse carriages, coco taxis, Ladas & bikes. As some people have mentioned on Tripadvisor, the few rooms that face the square have the best views (of the Hotel Inglaterra & Capitolio) from their small balconies, but it's more likely you will looking out from the back or side. Even on these elevations the higher rooms will still give you a decent enough view of Havana though. The rooms to definitely avoid are the ones that overlook a very uninspiring internal central atrium – give me the building site to the back any day. Any noise is blocked out well enough by the double-glazing anyway.

Rooms are top-drawer quality, with a styling you would expect in a 5 star back home. If you’ve forgotten them, the extras like full shave / toothbrush kits are a welcome addition to the bathroom - you certainly won't easily find them for sale in Havana.

As usual, don’t forget daily tips for the maid (2 CUC’s).

Upmarket bar is a welcome retreat after the hectic pace of Havana, with drinks well mixed and inexpensive considering. Only rip off was large bottles of water for 6 CUC’s – any local bar or shop will sell same for less than 1 CUC.

Unique Qualities: Rooftop pool is one of the best looking I’ve ever seen with fantastic views of city and main attractions.

Small bank next to reception gives a good exchange rate for UK Sterling (£1=1.7438 CUC’s), although even a small queue can mean a long wait.

Breakfast exploded the myth that Cuban food is terrible. This would give most 4 star hotels in the UK a run for their money – well presented and loads of choice including salads, omelettes, cereals, “champagne”, even desserts…

Concierge is always on hand for help in those hard to make restaurant reservations (although don't even try to get La Guarida less than 2 days in advance).

Apparently the rack rate is an expensive £155 a night for 2 (inc breakfast) but any package deal through an agent will work out much cheaper.

Superb hotel (& experience), and more than deserving of it's Tripadvisor Number 2 in Havana rating (April 2007).

We stayed here from April 6-April 13 2007.

Please keep in mind that my opinion is based on comparing Cuban hotels to other Cuban hotels, - the star rating system could not be used to compare a 5 star hotel in Havana with one in New York, for example.

We had a room on the fourth floor, overlooking the Park. The room was clean and comfortable. Air conditioning worked well. The bathroom was excellent , with both a bathtub and a separate shower. The water was hot, with good pressure at any time of the day.

The lobby bar area is terrific, with good service from Anatolia, Glinda and Lisabeth.

There are two restaurants, the Paseo and the Mediteraneo.
Breakfast is served at the Mediterraneo, and this is where we also ate dinner a couple of times. Breakfast is simply put, fantastic, with cooked to order eggs and omelettes, as well as lots of breads, pastries, fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, and cereals.
The staff were always extremely courteous, and perhaps tried too hard to be nice. For example, if two people are sitting at a table for four for dinner, there is an elaborate routine where the staff remove the other two settings, - using thongs to lift the napkins, - just seemed odd.

Food was generally good, - and adventure if you order exactly the same dish on different nights, - it will be different each time, depending on availability of ingredients, and who is doing the cooking I suppose.

Coffee service can be slow, but the coffee is worth the wait.

There is a very nice, well maintained pool on the roof, as well as another restaurant and coffee bar. The pool maintenance staff seem very proud of their pool! Service on the roof is extremely slow most of the time, non-existent some of the time. When I asked one of the waiters about this, he mentioned that he was alone serving on that day, and was doing his best, - although I did experience this at other times where there were a number of waiters.
The whirlpool on the roof was out of order when we were there.

Internet service was not working any time we checked it out, - not unusual though for Havana.

There is a small gym, - stationary bike didn't work, and some of the weight equipment needed cleaning or maintenance, - but overall its quite good.

We had stayed previously at the Telegrafo, - and this hotel is definitely better in most regards.