The location of this hotel is its major selling point – it really is slap-bang in the middle of Old Havana; meaning one must walk for no more than five minutes before reaching any of the capital’s major attractions (the Capitolio’s in one direction, the Museo d’Reveloucion in the other and the Obispo shopping street in another. All our group’s rooms seemed well furnished and maintained, with great views in all directions from the rooms’ balconies/windows. The architecture of the hotel is also of significance – after a 24 hour travel from North Yorkshire the massive colonial lobby didn’t fail to impress! Downsides: The staff in the ground/first floor restaurant weren’t particularly proficient: especially on the first evening where there was an a’la Carte menu (we were the only ones in the restaurant and yet had to wait about and hour before ordering and the first of our tables getting their starters, after which it took an other 45 mins for the other tables to get their starters (all of which were mere salads). That said, given they didn’t have to do a great deal during the buffet on the other two nights, we only had to communicate with the cold restaurant staff once.
There was also a problem with some of our rooms’ toilets – I don’t know whether it was overuse but the somewhat "unique" flushing system seemed to have left some rooms’ bathroom floors swimming in a layer of dubious water… We also had to ask 3 times at reception for assistance, but when it eventually helped the cleaner was more than happy to be of assistance
Room Number:
809 and 712
Room Block:
Floors 8 & 7
Arrival:
Our school’s group arrived on Tuesday 12th May after a 24 hour journey from North Yorkshire, England. We stayed for two nights in Havana at the start of our 9 day Cuba tour before spending out last night in the Sevilla prior to our departure via San Jose Airport
Rooms:
Personally I stayed in two rooms; one on the 8th and one on the 7th floor. All rooms that I saw seemed quite similar in terms of size, being well-maintained and their furnishings, but there seemed significantly more noise to the front of the hotel than at the back, which looks onto the pool, I suppose this was to be expected…
Restaurants and Bars: As mentioned in the main review, the restaurant staff on the first night weren’t majorly helpful or proficient, but the food (when it arrived) was on the whole of high quality (even if the a’la Carte desserts were a bit of a dissappointment) The buffet-style evening meals on the two other nights we stayed, along with the buffet-style breakfasts, were quite impressive – there was a large range of foods to suit all tastes.
The lobby bar seemed a bit over-priced compared to the offerings of the surrounding bars, but it was nonetheless enjoyable to enjoy a drink in the lobby/terrace compared to the 30 C+ heat of the streets.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The pool was used every night – no complaints here. Apparently there was a gym but we didn’t get a chance to search this out…
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