I stayed at the Hotel Florida for three nights before travelling around Cuba. Location is perfect for exploring, in the middle of old Havana and just a quick walk to central Havana. The first room we were shown was perfectly fine, but we particularly wanted a room with views and a balcony, so chose to upgrade to a suite. This was huge, with high ceilings, 3 balconies, separate living room area and roomy bathroom. Rooms are placed round an airy central covered courtyard.

The staff were helpful, confirming restaurant reservations for us and helping us make contact with a tour operator for later in our trip. There is an on-site travel agency which is handy if you want to book one day tours. The hotel is also on the same street as money changing facilities and Etecsa for internet access. There’s also a small shop across the street for buying water. The barman makes a mean Mojito.

We didn’t eat at the hotel at night, but breakfast was more than adequate. Coffee was good, there were scrambled eggs and pancakes, a selection of meats, cheeses, fresh fruit and fruit juices and cereal. All you could want or need. The only downside if I was being picky was the absence of a chef to make fresh omelettes or eggs, which a number of hotels elsewhere in Cuba did offer. I have to say that my experience of the food in Cuba was no-where near as bad as I had feared from reading guidebooks and various reviews on this site. I had many lovely meals while there.

We booked into Hotel Florida using Venere for 1 night in April. When we arrived we were told that they didn't have any rooms available and they had moved us to another hotel a few blocks away. The Florida looked great - but we didn't get to experience it. My mistake was that I didn't ask for my money back there and then. When I contacted Venere they said
"Nevertheless, mistakes in reservation management can happen and in these cases an alternative solution has to be found. If the hotel had the same standard (number of stars) and the price was not higher, the hotel did the right thing even if you are not happy with this. The hotel knows that each overbooking means one customer less in the future."
Says it all really
John S
Worcs UK

Our travel agent recommend us Florida saying this is the most convenient hotel for sightseeing, and I think he was right. Everything you want to see in Havana Vieja was in a walking distance and there were many options of restaurants, cafes and bars. Upon arrival we remarked an used ashtray in our room, the porter threw it to a garbage can (in our room) and put it back to the place where it were without even wiping it off. OK, that must have been a Cuban way, but we asked him to bring a new one. Solved. The room itself was more spacious than I expected and the bed comfortable and wide enough. I have no comments on amenities, I was glad to bring everything I needed. The view from the window was lively Cuba - old men selling candies, small kids running around, women hanging the washing on the line. . .we were very happy to see them.

One day my friend and I were exhausted after walking for hours and were sitting on a sofa by the entrance, then a doorman came and told us he want to show us something. We both knew what he was intending to do but followed this guy since we couldn't resist to our curiosity. . . What we saw was, yes of course, cigars for sale! We didn't buy one but it was quite an experience.

Take a shower at a right time, or you have only cold water during or after 'busy hours'!

We booked this hotel for the last night of our trip and thought it was lovely. The only negative was that we couldn't turn the air conditioning off so it was on the chilly side.

The building is gorgeous, centered around a relaxing (covered) courtyard. It's in a great location in Havana Vieja with the main squares all within walking distance. The room itself was good with a large elegant bathroom. The staff were all friendly and helpful and the bar had live music and salsa dancing. There was low noise from the bar but not from the street (or cockerels or traffic that we'd had elsewhere)

Breakfast was OK - standard Cuban fare. The plus was cold milk to go with the cereal!