We stayed at the Saratoga for 4 nights in Feb / March and would strongly recommend it as a base for a stay in Havana.

It is in the old town - right opposite the cigar factory and the capital building. The coast / fort is only a 15 minute walk away.

The rooms are a good size and the bathrooms nice. We went fotra 'saratoga room' ( junior suite) and this seemed to garentee you a view of the city, rather than one over the atrium.

The food is good, service can be a little slow.

The pool is really the best bit - it is on the roof over looking the city, so good for sun bathing and taking photos of the city. food up on the roof is also more casual (pizzas and pastas), wheras the inside resturants can be expensive unless you have something basic. The Tapas bar is also good for lunch.

There is a tour operator on the ground floor to book tours and Club Tropicana! The counceige also called us on our first day to see if he could help us with anything...

Only small problem we had was that the exchange rate on cash was worse than at the airport and the other hotel we stayed at which seemed to be consistent.

Oh and that the toilet seats don't fit any of the toilets.....but we can cope with that when everything else was so good....

Hotel Saratoga, is clearly the best Havana has to offer in terms of appealing gringo décor. The photography is cool, the restoration is wonderful and the bathrooms have exotic tiling, big bathtubs and large rain showers.

However, when you compare the price tag of $400, versus other hotels all priced between $160-$200, it isn’t 2 or 3 times better, for the equivalent price increase.

We travel a lot, and expect a hotel demanding $400 a night, ( which puts it in the Four Seasons, Fairmont, Marriott, bracket of pricing) should have certain standards and amenities; luxurious bedding, large soft towels, and nice shower gels and shampoos and conditioners for starters.

The buffet in the morning was disappointing, fried food, little or no fresh fruit, missing cutlery and indifferent staff. However the Moorish décor is very attractive, and the upstairs internal mezzanine is a lovely, sunny place to sit.

The unheated pool upstairs has a wonderful view over the city where you can watch the sun go down, and drink cocktails. If you are staying for more than 3 days, a pool is a definite plus.

The concierge is to be avoided. He sent us on a 15 or 20 minute cab journey out of the city to what amounted to an elderly woman’garage restaurant. ( Probably his mother-in-laws.)

The food was overpriced, we could only order the “special,” read most expensive item, and the meal took over 2 and half hours to be served.

We found the cafes within the old city squares to be charming, with plants parakeets and musicians. There was no need to venture further afield.

For my money, Saratoga would be great value at $200- $250 a night.

In hindsight the best location would be closer to Old Havana i.e. Hotel Florida’s location.

Enjoy the architecture, the cars and the history, but don’t expect value for money unless you’re coming with British sterling.

A group of us that had booked the Parque Centrale through the holiday place discovered upon arriving at Havana airport that there had been a mistake in the booking and there was no available space...great...however we were told that we had been booked into the Saratoga instead.

I always use trip advisor to get an idea of where to stay and requested the Parque Centrale specifically becaused it was rated so highly on this. I was, therefore, quite unhappy that we did not get to go to the Parque Centrale. Upon arriving at the hotel my mood changed. The Saratoga has been recently refurbished to an exceptional standard, the rooms are large, the bathrooms enormous, and the decor is done in a tasteful, modern style. The breakfast was amazing, lots to choose from and the best buffet out of all of the hotels we stayed in during our trip around Cuba.

On the second night in Havana we were told we could stay in the Parque Centrale if we wanted so we decided to change out of curiosity to see what it was like. The holiday place did not provide any transport back to the Parque despite their mistake so we had to take a taxi.

Basically the Parque was a nice hotel but was dated and nothing in comparison to the Saratoga - basically it was nice but really nothing amazing. The pool was nice, had fantastic views of Havana and was a bit larger than the Saratoga's but the rooms were slightly dull and lifeless even though they were still good quality. I cannot say enough though that if you are choosing between the Parque and the Saratoga choose the Saratoga.

I would also like to mention that the holiday place did not book another group into their requested and confirmed hotels when we arrived at Guradalavaca for another stage of our trip. Therefore anyone booking through this company should be aware that they might not actually get the hotel that they thought that they had booked.

Hotel Saratoga is an amazing hotel. It has all the amenities and services one would expect of a 5 star hotel. The concierge, Raul, was fantastic. He was extremely friendly and helpful. Every restaurant recommendation and his suggestions for things to see and do in Havana were perfect. I would definitely go back to the Hotel Saratoga again.