Lovely building in a superb location. It is not as luxurious as the more expensive Hotel Nacionale, Havana (which we visited) but its in a much better location. Its right in the middle of old Havana, near the bar that Hemingway used to frequent. On arriving in Cuba we were given a huge room, with shutters - unfortunately right over the Hotels nightclub so we had to put up with thudding all night. We went back just prior to leaving Cuba and were given a street front room which was better - smaller but less noise. Breakfasts were fine, you don't go to Cuba for the food. The bar was a good place to chill out.

I had been to Cuba four times before, but never spent any time in Havana (other than day trips from my resort). For this trip I invited my mom to come with me, and we both agreed we wanted to spent a week in Havana and stay in Old Havana. As there isn't many reviews for Hotel Florida, I thought I'd add mine. If you want to experience the real Old Havana, stay here. It is a renovated mansion from the 1800's with only 25 guest rooms. We were lucky to stay on the second floor - request that if you can. (No pool if that's important to you). We only had breakfast at the hotel - perfectly adequate with fresh fruit, pastries, omelettes and wonderful Cuban coffee. There is a safe in the room we we kept our tickets, passports, money, etc. there. The street the Hotel is situated on (Obispo) has a constant parade of tourists and Cubans. It is noisy (as in almost all night!) but bring a pair of ear plugs and you will sleep fine. If you like to shop, the street has many stores for tourists and Cubans alike. There is a money exchange (as well as Western Union) place just a few steps across from the hotel and as well as a charming place right across the street to get cold drinks and ice cream. If you enjoy live music, every restaurant, cafe and bar always has musicians and they are phenomenal. We found Havana very safe. As two women (ages 39 and 65) we did a lot of walking around and exploring on our own (but not at night - we are both early birds). Yes, we were approached for money, but with a polite but firm "no" we were no longer bothered. Generally, the Cubans we encountered were inquisitive (not a lot of Canadians in Havana - they first asked if we were from Britain), friendly and proud of their city. I highly recommend seeing Havana before Castro passes away and the changes happen.

The Hotel Florida is in the perfect position to explore Old Havanna and the surrounding areas. The Hotel itself is stunningly beautiful and as others advised it is wise to ask for a room on the second floor as the high ceilings give your room a more spacious feel,unlike the low ceilings of the first floor rooms. The bed was pretty uncomfortable, but the Bathroom was beautifully decorated and there was a good hot shower and deep bath tub.
The staff were friendly and professional and although the hotel is situated on a busy street in Old Havanna we did not find it particulary noisy and slept well both nights we stayed (although we were assisted by a few mojhito's!!). The only real disappointment was the truely terrible quality of the food. Our scrambled eggs for breakfast were full of egg shells and the butter for the very dry bread had dead flies in it. We ate in the hotel restaurant once and although the meal was very cheap, we both felt lucky to have not become very ill afterwards! In our short experience though, Cuba is not somewhere to go if you are looking for a good meal and the poor quality of the food was a small price to pay to stay in a hotel that was full of character and served as a perfect base camp for exploring the sounds, sights and sometimes interesting smells of Old Havanna. I would definately recommend this Hotel for anyone looking to explore the old city, just bring some snack food with you so you don't get too hungry!!

My Partner and I stayed at this Glorious Hotel in May '05. It was booked as a bithday present for my Partner who had always wished to visit Havana, so this had to be right.

It's spotlessly clean, in an incredible location, with staff who cannot do enough for you. I contacted the Hotel pre arrival and in pidgeon language sort of ordered a cake and Rum for our arrival (Birthday suprise right), I didnt as you can imagine hold out any hope that this would materialize - I was totally gobsmaked to find that this had indeed been arranged the most beautiful cake and the top rate Rum !!! and all for £10 !!!

No it dosent have a pool or a gym - if you want that go somewhere else this is Old Havana with traditional offerings in a traditional setting .

Now for all of those negative reviews - Lets put it in Perspective - Cuba isnt an affluent Country, local people live under regulatory food rationing - so please dont complain about the food !! Its not all re-fried beans and rice We found it to be of an amazing standard and for very little money, with excellent service.

The people at the Hotel were so helpful especially the Waiter at the Hotel Restaurant who accomodated our stomaches with the most amazing menu on arrival late at night minutes before the kitchen was closing !

We as you can tell were in awe of this beautiful City its amazing little property and its staff.