Stayed three nights (- Room VII was charming -) in May. The cool courtyard with hanging vines is the perfect place to enjoy a beer after sightseeing. This hotel would be best described as quirky rather than luxurious but is most definitely the better for it.

The layout was interesting and the rooms, although a little quirky in their layout were clean and spacious.

Close to the centre of the old town this location is excellent. The continental breakfast was excellent too.

Live music there most evenings.

We ended up in Commendador rather than Valencia as it appears a lot of people do. However, I had purposefully checked with my specialist travel agent before I went if this was ok. He said that the Commendador is more expensive that Valencia and there is really nothing to worry about if you end up in one rather than the other.

I admit, when walking past some of the other rooms they did look slightly bigger than ours however, rather than the hotel, I think this is down to the floor you are on. The first floor has much lower ceilings than the second floor. Our room was nice, really quaint, plently big enough with a gorgeous roll top bath. Everything worked, just about! Bearing in mind it is such an old building I truly had nothing to complain about.

We did however get woken up every morning by the locals on their way to work, shouting and beeping horns etc, but when you're staying in a City I don't really think you can expect anything else. The staff we really nice and friendly and the porter advised us to try the small restaurant in the commendador, which we did for lunch one day. This was definitely something I would recommend for lunch or dinner. It cost abour £3.50 each for a bowl of delicous soup made with black beans and ham hock, followed by chicken or pork with rice and beans and salad, then a desert. It was amazing value for money and the courtyard where we ate was silent and very relaxing.

I really don't see that there would be anything to complain about with this hotel. I hated the breakfast, but if thats the way they do it then who am I to say otherwise??? We're not in Britain or Europe even and things are just different there. Embrace it! The cost of the hotel wasn't exactly cheap but compared with others out there it was reasonable and I would definitely recommend it.

We stayed here for 4 nights at the end of October 2008, and thought the hotel was charming. It is an old colonial building, and has been restored and decorated so as to really capture that character.

I think we were lucky - unlike other reviewers, no-one tried to bump us into another hotel! Our room was Jijona, on the first floor overlooking the courtyard. The room itself was big and airy, with a very high ceiling. The toilet and shower however were each wedged into a corner, behind wild west style saloon doors, so if you are expecting total privacy, you won't get it. The wash basin is in the bedroom - which would not have been a problem, had it not been for the incessantly dripping tap! The only other minor gripe was that during a heavy downpour overnight, the balcony doors did a pretty ineffective job of preventing the rainwater from coming into the room! Nothing a few towels from the maid next morning couldn't sort out though.

The location is superb, being right in the heart of Old Havana. Most of the squares are within 5 minutes walking distance, and the Capitolio is about 15 minutes by foot. It proved a really good base for our explorations. The only disappointment of the visit, aside from some inclement weather, was missing out on a tour of the cigar factory because our guidebook gave us duff information - definitely worth checking when the tours run with the hotel.

We had been prepared for the food in Havana not to be the best, and that certainly turned out to be the case! Whilst the food was generally cheap, it was not of great quality. In fact, the Al Medina restaurant (a couple of minutes up the road from the hotel) served up what was easily the worst meal I have ever had! That said, we did eat at the bar in the NH Parque Central and the food was very good. One shared starter, two main course salads, 2 Mojitos, 2 glasses of wine and 2 beers set us back 45CUC. Definitely recommend Cristal beer, it is very good!

Breakfast at the hotel was a buffet affair. There was a big spread of breads, pastries, cakes, fruit, eggs and cold meats, along with an often random selection of what were probably last nights leftovers (spaghetti bolognese etc)! But generally pretty good, although worth getting down earlier rather later when the selection is best.

Would definitely recommend this hotel for its characterful feel and tranquil courtyard. Sure, there were a couple of minor issues with leaking taps etc, but nothing that would dissuade me from returning. We paid EUR233 (inc booking fee) for 4 nights - if you stayed at NH Parque Central you probably wouldn't get much change out of that for one night!