We stayed at the Saratoga for 5 nights and 4 days. I would definitely go back and advise it to anyone who loves style and character as well as comfort.

The NH Parque Central is far more "annonymous", it could be anywhere in the world (we popped in to compare).

Hotel Saratoga has various categories of rooms and suites, we had one which was above average but not the most expensive ones. Beautiful colonial building, lovely detail, it has an interesting history too.

Our room had tiled floors, very clean, beautiful tall french windows, great bathroom with both shower and bath, lovely view onto Havana city. There are also some more basic, modern rooms on the first two floors.

The Saratoga is perfectly located between old and modern Havana, which is why it is often listed as being in both areas. Very easy to walk to and from.

Staff where very friendly and helpful. Pool on rooftop which is great. As in all of Cuba, the food is not the best, however breakfast was perfect. All amenities are on offer, internet, TV, etc.

As in all Cuban hotels, this one is aimed at foreign tourists, this may be changing however as Cubans are now allowed to stay in hotels if they can afford it (since end of march 2008).

Not so much a Cuban hotel more a hotel designed for visitors to Cuba. A standard issue up-market hotel of the kind found in any city, which is probably a good thing.

The rooms are good, and from my room at the front of the hotel the view was nice, although the traffic was noisy from early morning.

The roof-top pool area and bar at the Saratoga is the place to relax with a mojito and take in the beautiful dilapidation that is Havana. Excellent for a mental hygiene break before setting out for an evening of debauchery in Havana.

Breakfast at the hotel is a bit disapointing. Be warned the food in Cuba is mostly awful. Some of the pretty places with outside seating amongst the colonial architecture of the Old Town are just about acceptable for lunch, but a good evening meal needs a bit of research. The Huron Azul in Vedado came recommended so we booked it for our first evening. A sort of bohemian place serving large portions of basic food, with brandy and cigars for desert. On our last day we discovered that Miramar, the embassy area, is where we should have been eating. The private paladares there are a step up from the kind that we had experienced. The pizza I had at BOM Appetit was excellent and the service was good.

On the down side there seems to be a kind of apartheid in operation in Cuba with burly security men at all the hotel doors for keeping Cubans out. The usual rules of boy meets girl holiday romance don't apply here. There's no chance of taking your girl back to the hotel for a drink unless you're willing to involve the security guy, pay him off and then let him design your evening.

A good hotel and a great place to visit. Beware of the security men!

Overall a satisfactory experience. The hotel was clean and well run, with the front desk staff being particularly helpful. One of our number had a medical problem and the concierge sorted it out with the minimum of fuss. Also, she was very helpful with restaurant recommendations, which in Cuba is crucial information.

The junior suite I took was on the 3rd floor and was big and airy - the a/c worked perfectly when I needed it and all the facilities were fine.

The breakfasts were truly vile but I found this a problem throughout Cuba. Apart from the coffee I hated everything: the sawdust bread, the dodgy meats, the tasteless fruit, the leathery eggs, the horrible jam, the deeply dubious deep-fried stuff etc. Next time I'll bring my own cereal, crackers and peanut butter.

The other negative is the ominous and ever present security men. This is a feature of all the tourist hotels. Their main function seems to be to keep Cuban women out of the hotels - unless of course they have pimped them themselves. In which case it's fine.

The rooftop pool was a major amenity. Chill out with a Bucanero (the excellent local beer) and look out across the bomb site that is downtown Havana.

We stayed at the Saratoga a couple of weeks ago when we had 4 nights in Havana. All the staff are lovely, the room was great, really clean, great decoration etc but it had a bit of a damp problem. Also if you want a good nights sleep maybe better to stay at the HN cos they have double glazing, wow Cuba is a noisy place ( I realise cities are noisy but heck this was something else!!).
Breakfast was hit and miss, the first morning looking at the selection we thought we'd be ok with bread, jam and eggs but the eggs and butter were off. The next 3 days they were ok though, so bread and jam was the staple. Champers is a nice touch but get the basics right before moving onto champers I say.
The pool is great and a really nice relief after walking around the city, we had pizza up there on the first night (as i think all newcomers were doing), hmmm even that wasn't great.
I mean I know about the country and its not a gastro holiday but when you are paying international prices you feel rather cheated when the basics are wrong. So just be warned. Great location though and the lady in the tourist office is an absolute gem. Get all thoughts of 5 star out of your head 'cos i'm afraid you maybe disappointed!