I was at Parque Central (old tower) for 7 nights in early February, 2012.

The flight to Varadero was a redeye, and I arrived at Parque Central around 9 AM. I asked for a room with a view of the Capitolio and the only thing that was available was a room on the 2nd floor. I can’t sleep on planes, so I was VERY happy to have a room available.

The next morning I asked for a room higher up with a view of the Capitolio or Prado. One with a view of Prado was going to be available – we were told it would be ready around 2 or 2:30 in the afternoon. I came back at this time and the room was ready. It had a balcony and a great view of Prado, and Havana. I was very happy with this. This room was noisier than the 2nd floor room. Bring ear plugs if you're a light sleeper. The beds were super hard and this was great for my back.

For food, we ate at both rooftop restaurants, having pizzas both times. These were good and priced reasonably - $7 for a margarita. The daily breakfast buffet was good. One dinner at the Mediterranean restaurant – it was OK, but I would have preferred to eat elsewhere.

Drinks were expensive but presented nicely. One night we bought a bottle of rum and some tukolas from the store on Agramonte (walk south east out the main door across the street), and drank them on the roof top bar. You can get water from this store for $1.50 for a liter. I think its open 24 hours. Its just a small window that you line up at.

Pools were nice and there was no problem finding loungers. It was a little cold getting in, but once in it was awesome.

Rooms were nice. All outlets are 220v with the euro sockets. There was an iphone docking station we used to charge our phones.

Service at the hotel was great.

First wifi card had no problems, second didn’t work after about 10 minutes. I didn’t have time to complain.

Nelson gives a great massage for $25. This was my first massage, but a couple of the girls I was with are veterans and they said he was great.

Best location for a first time visit to Havana.

I’ve written quite a few reviews for Tripadvisor now and rarely had to write a bad one but I can’t honestly say that we enjoyed our stay at the Parque Central. Reading some of the glowing reviews this place gets I wonder if we stayed at the same hotel.

We stayed there twice during our 3 weeks in Cuba; the first night and three nights at the end. In each case we stayed in the older part of the hotel (although Virgin booked us into the new part). The first night our sheets were damp, but as we were leaving at 3.45am to catch an early flight the next morning, didn’t say anything.

Our stay for the last 3 nights was in a fair-sized room with ok but dark, characterless furniture and a blackout curtain that looked as though Fidel & his revolutionaries had used it for machine gun target practice. We also had a coffee-making machine but no coffee, no filters, no water and no information on how to get them.

The bathroom was basically clean, though a tissue on the floor under the sink on our arrival remained there till the end of our stay and one of the bathrobes matched the blackout curtain – I wondered if the last wearer had survived the machine gun fire.

But the worst thing was breakfast. Whether you went when it was busy or nearly empty the tablecloths were stained, spilt-on and filthy, not changed until the very end of breakfast service when they were preparing for lunch. One morning, the bag I put by my chair disturbed a cockroach, which then ran up the wall as we beat a hasty retreat. The food was just ok, not a patch on other hotels we’ve stayed in in Cuba; items ran out and weren’t replaced for ages, if at all. And how can you habitually get 10 slices of bacon to stick together as if glued? And nothing more than a spoon to separate them? Most of us gave up. Never saw cooked tomatoes, mushrooms or baked beans. Getting coffee (supposedly waiter service only – there was no urn) was a haphazard affair at best, even when we asked nicely, our waiter made a point of serving several other tables first. And this on day 1, before he even knew we weren’t going to tip him. Many times we saw three waiters standing by the coffee station having a chat with their backs to the guests while we and others waited for a table to be set/coffee to be served/plates to be cleared. Not good when you’ve got an excursion booked for that morning.

However, it was not all bad. Location is good if you want to explore the old town and the rooftop restaurant/swimming pool is lovely with spectacular views over Havana by day or night. The receptionists were helpful and the concierge staff even more so.

It’s not the only hotel we’ve stayed in in Cuba but standards here were noticeably lower in everything from cleanliness to food quality.

How much does it cost to launder a tablecloth in Cuba? How much to provide a bottle of drinking water in the room? Is this meanness, negligence or bad management? For what you get (and don’t get) how can they justify the room rates?
We also found the atmosphere (excluding the roof terrace) bland. The hotel cannot compete as an international 5* so why not emphasize it’s Cuban heritage? - add some local colour. Would it cost a fortune to have a local band once in a while to provide what Cuba’s so good at – music? At least we’d know we’re in Havana then, and having some fun. Certainly for the 4 days we were there we heard no live music. I liked the nicely painted, if geographically challenged, Mediterranean mural in the restaurant but why the Mediterranean? I would have much preferred to look at a beautiful Cuban landscape (and there are so many) during breakfast. It’s almost as though the hotel feels it has to deny its Cuban roots. And this in the very heart of Havana.

It’s not our first trip to Cuba and we accept that things are not the same as elsewhere, but we have stayed at hotels that are reasonable value and welcoming – here we felt, sadly, little but disappointment and frustration.

Next time in Havana? To be sure, not the Parque Central. Probably the Nacional. We’re prepared for rooms and breakfasts that are not the best. But it has got style, a sense of place, atmosphere in abundance and great live music. My happiest times in Havana were the evenings when we sat on the huge seats on the terrace of the Nacional, drinking Cuba Bella cocktails and listening to superb live music. It was just a shame we had to take a taxi to go back to the colourless Parque Centrale.

We visited in Jan 2012 and absolutely loved this hotel. The location couldn't be more perfect for exploring Havana. We had a room in the old part and it was very large, immaculate and comfortable. The bed was probably the biggest I've ever slept in and SO comfortable. The slippers were a nice touch. There is a safe and an expensive mini bar (buy water across the street to the right for a fraction of the price). The hairdryer was rubbish so bring your own (220V 2 round pins).
The breakfast buffet was plentiful and tasty and the pizza we had by the pool was very nice. Try the Coconut Daquiri - it's out of this world!
The view from the rooftop pool is wonderful - particularly at night. My boyfriend actually said WOW!
Definitely recommend you search for St Pats pub crawl on the Havana forum posted by Martian 24 (Terry). We did it and it was great! Bar Monseratte and La Lluvia de Oro were favourites. We also loved the bar at the Havana Club rum factory which had some great live music and delicious pina coladas.
We ate at Castillo de Farnes (good paella) and Los Nardos (decent wine! and huge portions) and took a bottle of Santiago dark rum to the Mallecon in the evening to mix with the locals. It was great!
We did the sights in old Havana on foot as they're all easy walking distance from the hotel. (Unfortunately the Partegas cigar factory is closed for refurbishment). And then we took a classic car ride from right outside the hotel to Revolution Square (beware the Marti museum is all in Spanish with no English translation).
All in all we had a wonderful time at the Parque Central!

I thought that staying in the #1 rated hotel in Havana would be an experience to remember however it is probably one best forgotten. First impressions of the foyer promised much however the room (third floor old/classic side) was tired and a little musty. Surely most important in a hotel is the comfort of the bed and cleanliness of the bathroom. My bed was worn, sagged to one side and, as I discovered, had springs poking through! After a poor nights sleep I requested a change however its replacement was barely any better. Another trip to the front desk, phone call and a wait and a precut piece of foam rubber was placed on top of the mattress to cushion the springs. It begs the question if they have the pre-cut foam available surely they know of the issue - why is the foam not fitted as standard? why have the mattresses not been replaced? A grubby shower cubicle, cracked floor tiles, missing grout and the cheapest of toiletries added to the feeling that this room was certainly "standard" and past its best. Other reviews point to the breakfast buffet chaos so I'll not expand here. The steak restaurant and pool bar are great with excellent service and the vibrant atmosphere in the lobby is really enjoyable. It is a pity that they've not got the basics (in some of the rooms at least) right.