We stayed at the Parque Central for 4 nights after 10 days in Varadero.
We were very pleased with everything about the hotel, the location was great and the rooftop swimming pool was lovely with a great view of Havana
The lobby and bar area was also very nice. There is not really anything I can think of to fault this hotel.

I am also of East Indian background and did find the security guards looking at me each time I walked in, but Cuba can be a dangerous place and so it showed that they were doing their job!

We had dinner in the meditarranean restaurant one evening, good food and service.

We did a half day tour of cuba (air conditioned coach) - you go to all the popular sites as well as visit a rum factory - it cost about $19cuc each and was worth doing.

A little tip for the ladies - make sure you carry some loo paper with you - they do not seem to stock any in the toilets in many bars and restaurants.

We stayed at this hotel for 3 nights in the 3rd week of April 2007.
The room was wonderful and the shower was great. I love the huge bed,
big enough to get lost in :) The room was always clean, our maid was very polite, she should get a raise, our room was 640.

The roof top pool was amazing, great view, the breakfast was very good, great location. I love the lobby area, the bar, the grand stairs surrounded by all green plants.

In the city, you can alway hear music and car horns, I don't think I
could drive in Cuba.

The only thing that I didn't like was the security people, they were
very aware of everyone going in and out of the hotel, which is good,
makes you feel very safe, but, I am a female of East Indian background, I was born in South Africa but I am Canadian and I could pass for a Cuban female, I didn't know this until I landed in Cuba.
Each time I walked into this hotel, I could feel the security guards
watching me very carefully, Cuban people are not allowed in hotels. My husband who is also Canadian, noticed this as it was very plain to see. None of these guards ever asked me any questions or anything like that. I also found this in Veradero, so it was not just this hotel.

I would love to have Maurits Looijen respond and I'm sure he will as he is very good about checking this site often and writing a review in response.

Overall, we had a very enjoyable stay in Cuba, the people are very
friendly, the hotel, very clean, wonderful location and the ocean warm.

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.