A friend and I stayed in Varadero for a week and wanted to see Havana, and prior to our visit to Cuba we researched Hotels around the Old Havana area and decided to select this hotel, and very glad we did. Also note that we chose one of the 2 or 3 suites of the approximately 10 rooms in the hotel, which was around $50 more a night, but I'm sure was worth it.

First, about the hotel...very clean , kept well, in the center of Old Havana. Obviously not a typical hotel, as it is an old mansion, so there is no elevators or escalators, and is 2 stories in height. After our drive from Varadero to Havana, getting lost in the maze of dead end/ barely functional streets of Havana we finally arrived, and were greeted by the bellhop, who was great. Wish we got his name but we didnt, as after we checked into our room, we wanted some drinks, and rather than telling us where to go, he took us. Obviously very different from North American hotels, he just left the hotel and took us to a place that had the best priced liquor and snacks. And we gave a $10 tip, which to many cubans is very generous.

The room was great. Spotless, 20 ft high ceilings, beautiful bathroom....however no toilet seat, which we eventually discovered thats the norm in Havana. Not sure why, but the toilets were rectangular shaped anyway. The beds were twins, and average, nothing special, but comfortable enough to sleep on.

Second - The area around the hotel. The difference between a few blocks is incredible. The hotel is in the Old Havana district, which is well kept and very clean, however a few blocks west, it looks like a bomb went off. We decided to stick to the river (east) which is well kept, alot of nice restaurants, but at night not much is going on, but we never came close to a problem with any locals.

Third - Nightlife- get a taxi and go to Vedado or Miramar. Great experience. Vedado and Miramar is around a 10 - 15 minute drive and is where the new resorts are, but all around the area has great clubs and bars. At times we felt nervous but only because people were too friendly. We just assumed we were going to be hussled, but it never happened.

Overall, the people of Havana, and Cuba for that matter, were the nicest people ive ever met. There were numerous times we could have been taken advantage of, but slowly as we experienced the city hour by hour, we got more comfortable. Very different from other countries in the same economic scale that I wouldnt think of leaving the lobby after dark. And arriving at 5am after a great night...didnt have any incidents, no begging, and overall just a great time.

One thing to mention is that Cuba does not accept ATM cards, they only accept credit cards. and when we had to get money at midnight from our credit cards, the only two machines available in the entire city....were at the airport. But at the same time, our taxi driver to the airport became good friends, and it was an interesting trip. Actually one thing i would recommend is get a taxi and just drive allover, its an interesting city. But, I would recommend to take your money out before you go out for the night.

Fourth - Driving - If you don't have to, don't
The highway from Varadero to Havana is great...Beer stops every 30km, which generally is an open bar on the side of the highway, with their local beers and snacks. The highway is well paved, however the problem is when you get near Havana. There are NO SIGNS. We had a map, assumed there would be a turn off, but nothing. Leaving Varadero, the highway becomes a local street when entering Matanzas, which we assumed if we turned right, we would get to the highway, and thankfully after many "rights" it worked, and the highway also becomes a local street when you enter Havana. Ive never seen pot holes this size, or the absolute dis-organization of a street grid, which many streets, are barely passable, a broken down car, a road that hasn't been paved in 50 years, or a wooden structure in front of you in the middle of the road that you have no idea why its there. Our most memorable was three cannons imbedded in the road. which means you reverse and try another street. and the dogs, they're everywhere. Best advice...take the bus or a taxi, in the long run it will be the same price anyway and much less stressful.

A restored 19th century merchant's house, full of history. You walk out of the double doors into the centre of Old Havana; but the hotel is remarkably quiet despite all that.

The Conde is a small hotel, with only nine rooms.

The rooms give on to an airy courtyard, full of tropical plants and a wandering peacock, who will take food from your hand.

The rooms were large, with huge panelled doors. But two of our three rooms lacked a window. This makes the room very dark. The hotel needs to rectify this, perhaps by putting glass panels in the top of the huge doors.

The shower hook was broken, so I had to hold the shower head to wash; and the lavatory seat was missing. Plus the sofas in reception were dirty.

But you have to accept that this is a developing country, and staying at this hotel was a real experience of old Havana.

The security man tried to lead us to a 'nearby' restaurant on the first night. We rebelled after 15 minutes of walking further and further into unknown teritory.

The check in took 45 minutes, which after a nine hour flight felt terrible,

Bear in mind that a small hotel like this won't have the staff and facilities that a major international hotel will, so it's horses for courses.

Liked: Atmosphere, courtyard, location
Disliked: No windows in the room.

I stayed in Conde de Villanueva three nights in January 2007. The room was good but with one big drawback: It did not have any window. I mean not any real window. I don't count the big door to the courtyard as a window, because the corridor is just outside, meaning you can't walk around in the pants with it open. I asked in the reception to change rooms, but got the answer that all ordinary rooms have no window. If I wanted a window, I had to pay for a suite. Why didn't the booking site tell about this? I chose this hotel instead of Los Frailes because I knew Los Frailes rooms have no windows, so this was a big disappointment. The bed was good, bathroom clean, but no bathtub as I had expected. The hotel has a cigar shop and cigar names on the rooms. Nice, but I lost a little confidence for this when staff in the reception offered me cigars for half the shop price (probably fakes). This is not what you expect in a hotel that bases much of its reputation on cigars. When checking out I was told I had to pay 28 cuc for phone calls etc. I said I wanted a receipt and went out to change money. When I came back to pay, the price was suddenly 34 cuc, with the explenation that it now also included the minibar. The receipt was handwritten, not specifying how many minutes I had called but because I hadn't counted the time myself I didn't protest.
I am sorry to say, but all together this hotel is not the perfect choice as I had hoped for. OK, the location is good, rooms are good if you don't mind absence of window, the atmosphere is peaceful, staff is friendly. But still, I had expected a little better. Sorry.

We enjoyed discovering old Havana from the very central location of this nice hotel. We agree with the previous posters in everything. The hotel is situated centrally, but not in a noisy street as e.g. the Florida, where we stayed last time. We had an upgrade to a suite and nearly got lost in it. It was just great. The staff has been very helpful, an exception in Cuba. The Velta Abajo restaurant in our opinion is the best in Havana.