Silken Gran Hotel Havana, Barcelona

Advantages: An excellent introduction to Havana's charms
Disadvantages: None to note (despite the 'socks')

...modern a sauna, steam room and gym. There's also a shop selling, rum, rum and a bit more rum and the usual touristy T-shirts depicting Che Guevara and an art gallery located under the Grand Lobby however you'd be much better off saving your pennies and spending them at the Feria del Tacon craft market located near the the Cathederal in Havana Vieja. General / Location... Located in Vedado the Centre of Havana it's 8km from Old Havana where you will probably find you spend the majority of your days - however this is only a 40 minute stroll down the Malceon or hop in a little yellow Coco Taxi a ride which is sure to blow away any rum induced cobwebs for 5CUC. Standard taxi's are always available outside the hotel and are plentiful in town for your return journey. The hotel is owned by the government run venture Gran Caribe Group and has 457... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Atmosphere, Not too touristy yet, Completely different place, Safe
Disadvantages: Hustlers.

...Cuba must be one of the last unspoilt countries for tourism. Havana, the capital is a bustling capital city where the sun shines, the salsa sings out and the cars are vintage. Havana has it all. The average national wage is a mere $15 a month so tourists are seen as a opertunity to make a quick buck. "Where you from my friend?", "You want cigar?", "You want room?", "you want woman?", are all to familiar sounds. If you can ignore the irritation of the hustlers Havana is a place to be treasured. Havana (and all of Cuba) has a dual economy. One for the tourists - the dollar economy and pone for the local - Peso's. The exchange rate being 20 Peso's for 1 dollar. The locals can purchase most items for Peso's but as a Tourist the is very few places that accept anything but dollars. Hotels can be expensive to stay in but most Tourists find... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Hotels in the city centre allow you more time to 'see' rather than 'travel'
Disadvantages: Unless you pay more, most of the hotels in the centre don't have a swimming pool

...Whatever you do, decide what you want from your hotel before you sign up for any holiday. Check where it is in relation to what you want to do.The package we chose came recommended from two work colleagues. The hotel we were being put into was some 30km outside of Havanna (no probs, said my friends - taxi's are dirt cheap and it only takes half an hour to get into Havanna). Don't you believe it. As it happens, our tour company called the day before we were due to fly out to say that the hotel pool was being serviced and we'd be taken by mini-bus to the nearest beach. I checked the map. The beach was 25km in the other direction so any chance of a dip in some cool water was going to have to be a planned excursion. In any case, I didn't intend to spend precious time in Cuba sitting in a bus. We changed hotels to the "Old Man and the Sea... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful