stayed at Raquel on 4 separate occasions. its in old havana and so if you dont mind the dog fouling, stray dogs and being hassled on the streets, its an ok 4 star hotel. ask to stay on the 3rd floor. the rooms are a little dark but the roof top terrace is a very nice place to spend time. the hotel is centrally located and so a great place to explore old havana.to change currency there are two Casas de Cambio (CADECA) very close by. the staff are very helpful. airconditiong is not very efficent. the gym is very basic (there is no pool). there are plenty of restaurants close by which serve good food - if you get achance eat at La Bodeguita del Medio near Plaza de la Cathedral. the breakfast in the hotel is not very exciting. dont expect the standards as in europe.

we arrived in HAVANA on the 28th Oct. late afternoon...On arrival at the hotel we were told to sit in the lobby and wait for the receptionist by the door man, after 25 mins I approached the receptionist to enquire about our reservation, since the staff kept overlooking us. We were then told that there was no reservation ( Hotelopia.co.uk) After considerable conversation and our accommodation voucher produced, we were then told by the receptionist that she had spoken to her manager who had told her that our resevation had been cancelled the day prior to our arrival. After expressing our concern about the lack of professionalism we were told to contact hotelopia at our expense. When we requested to speak to the manager on duty, we were told that " the manager was off duty and would not be back until Monday morning" We were then told to purchase another night accommodation ( cash transactions only) which we felt obliged to do since this process lasted over 1 hour. After being told that we has purchased a nights accommodation at Hotel Raquel, we were then later told that the night would be spent elsewhere.
The next morning after using our personal mobile to call hotelopia, to find that our booking was valid, we returned to the substitite hotel to receive a phone call from Hotel Raquel informing us that they had found our booking and that we could return.
On returning to the hotel we recieved no apology or explanations for our nightmare experience.

Despite the negative first impression we recieved we found the rest of our stay satisfactory and enjoyable.
Finally just be wary of your final bill on checkout. We found minibar charges and phone calls that we had not consumed or made.
CONS:
If thinking about visiting the Jesus statue, beware of the man passing himself off as security and staff. He insists that he must take the photos, although he's entertaining, he's misleading ( staff printed on the back of his shirt) he is actually a con artist demanding very large tips from everyone in your party, he becomes aggressive if he does not receive the tip that he wants, ( CUC 20 per person)

I spend five nights at the Raquel. It was a nice, clean hotel right in the heart of Old Havana. It´s a great place to stay if you plan to walk and get to know how cubans live. The hotel has good service, and it has a lovely view from the top. Brekfast was ok; they offer two kind of juices, some fruit, bread, eggs, jam or bacon, hot cakes...

It was not perfect, though. The first night the air conditioner was broken down, so next morning I was moved to another room. When I came back on the afternoon my bathroom was wet as there was a leak on the roof. I asked them to clean and solve it, but when I came back at midnight they told me it wasn´t solved and ask to move me yet again. I was terribly tired so I asked not to be moved, but allowed to use the bathroom of another room. They refused (saying it was impossible "because of the system"), so I had to deal with all the dripping in the bathroom. Next day it was fixed by noon, and they gave me a free dinner as a compensation.

The final negative experience was on my checkout (in which they tried to charge me a drink I didn´t had). I forgot the key and come back to the room, and I heard the maid cursing me because she thought I hadn´t leave any money nor presents (they were "hidden" in the closet).

We stayed at the Hotel Raquel for two nights on 4th-5th August 2007 and it was great! The rooms are large and roomy, with tv's and fridges. Air conditioning not hugely effective but adequate. Hotel staff were wonderfully friendly and efficient. Remember to visit the large roof terrace which has a turrety room where you can drink mojitos. The breeze and view are wonderful. The hotel is a suprise, and wonderfully positioned in the heart of Havana Vieja, few minutes walk and you have all the sights. A 15 minute walk will take you to the Malencon. The hotel serves jewish food, the breakfasts were great. My son had a birthday whlist he was there and the hotel completely unexpectedly produced a great birthday cake and bottle of champagne. Our hotel booking was made via the tourist agency San Cristobal Uk who I would recommend unreservedly.