With so much of Old Havana having sadly fallen into disrepair due to the pointless american blockade, Hotel Florida allows a glimpse into the past to see how stunning Havana was 50 years ago and how beautiful it hopefully will be again once the current regeneration project gains momentum.

The central ground floor 'patio' area is gorgeous, cool and relaxing; a calm and welcome retreat from the heat and bustle of the streets outside.
We had a room on the 1st floor and it was huge, well furnished and had a large bathroom and dressing area attached, the shower was powerful and the temperature was easy to control. The air-conditioner was essential and worked well. The room also included a safe, TV, radio and a balcony.

Staff were pleasant and helpful.
The hotel has two bars - one is part of the restaurant and stays open till 10pm, the other is open for later drinking and seems popular with locals. it is very reasonably priced with 2 cocktails (mojito or cuba libre) for 5 cuc. This bar is open till 2am but, thankfully, even though it is great for music and dancing, the noise is not audible in any of the rooms, so your sleep won't be affected by it.

We took a look at some of the other local hotels that we had seen on TripAdvisor, to compare, and Hotel Florida seemed to have a far nicer atmosphere and more 'authentically Old Cuban' styling than the others we were considering (Hotel Racquel, Hotel Inglaterra, Hotel Parque Central).

A great hotel in a fantastic central location.
One other tip - if you stay here, make sure you visit Bar Monseratte (near the Parque Central area) for drinks at great prices and a live 'Son' band every night.

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!!