My visit was during the recent 'Hurricane Dennis' and I came out of my stay with a very good impression of the hotel. A letter was left in my room on the day stating what I should do to stay safe. Following the advice I stayed in the room while windows were battered (and stayed safe) from the hurricane. While Havana was plunged into darkness very quickly the hotel's back-up generator kicked into action and I couldf carry on 'as normal'. The room was very tidy and well laid-out with a very well designed bathroom. I don't know what the other rooms are like but mine was a good size and had a lovely view of Havana Bay. It is well situated and the air conditioning offers a welcome relief from the heat of the city. Breakfast is basic but then so is most food in Havana. Having eaten a few times in more expensive hotels here I think this punches above its located weight. I recommend it especially considering its price bracket and excellent location.

Let''s face it, nothing in Havana is perfect, so this hotel could use freshening up and a new coat of paint, but otherwise, it is incredibly convenient, not expensive, and friendly. It's less than a block to the Prado and stores and many restaurants, both Cuban and tourist, a few blocks to the Capitolio/Parque Central area for theater, sidewalk cafes and Centro, and a walkable 10 minutes to the heart of Viejo and all the sights. So you don't need public transportation for most of your activities. My room had two small balconies, a bathtub, and great air conditioning. The chambermaids are friendly and charming - talk to them to learn lots of local stuff and tip well - they are honest and helpful. The included breakfast buffet has lightly fried eggs, sometimes also scrambled too, several potato types, bread, butter, rolls, etc plus fresh papaya, pina, and oranges. Juices and coffee/tea. The windows are open and you will see a fly or two, but they're ubiquitous everywhere in Havana and this 7th floor restaurant is clean. Dinners are great and cheap compared to other places ($5 dinner vs. $20 in a paladar), Tourist woman in the lobby Patricia couldn't speak better English and she is a great help for hiring drivers (get Raphael Hernandez, the nicest man in Havana)and for info on what to do. I made an international call and had clothes cleaned and pressed and this place made it all so simple. After a day of hot humid Havana and grinding poverty and jinteros, this place was home.

This is without a doubt one of the worst hotels I have ever stayed in. I've stayed in worse places, but only hostels and only when desperate.

The location really is excellent, really close to everything you want in Havana, but that's about the best thing I can say for it. I was told before I even left the UK that this hotel had a reputation of over booking and that I might get there to find that I didn't have a room. Luckily this wasn't the case, but the couch group that turned up at the same time as us weren't so lucky..... Check in took about 45 minutes even though there were about 5 people behind the front desk, 4 of whom had no interest in anything other than smoking and chatting to each other.

When we eventually got to the room we discovered that it was filthy, it had virtually no natural light (our window looked into a shaft in the middle of the hotel), we were right next to the main air conditioning unit for the hotel (which was loud enough to wake us up at nice regular intervals during the night) and the fittings in the bathroom were all held together with electrical tape! In fact you had to hold the shower head at an angle to actually get wet as the electrical tape holding that on had perished. When I complained about the room I was told that there were no other rooms available, was offered no apology and no form of compensation.

To make matters worse the breakfast in the morning was pretty dire too. Most of the fruit had bugs crawling all over it, and the bread was always stale. The only thing that was vaguely appetising were the fresh eggs.

All in all not a great place to stay, and its only saving grace was the location and the spectacular time we had in Havana itself. To be perfectly hones though, if we had had a better room things wouldn't have seemed so bad, but the filth and constant noise (you had to raise your voice to be heard when the AC kicked in) ruined it.

We stayed here as part of a two centre holiday. On arrival it was welcoming and friendly. The rooms are small but clean and comfortable with great air conditioning. The hotel is nothing special, fairly basic but on a short stay its just what you need- a bed and shower. The restaurant on the top floor has fantastic views and offers a good breakfast - we did not eat during the evening so I can not comment. However just up the road we found a local eatery which was good value for money. When in Havana we found you do get approached all the time by locals- I would advise DONT change any money with them, or enter into any sort of tradiing for goods. The market is worth a look and a good way to explore is on foot.