Like many others we turned up (having paid in advance and even confirmed in person a few days previously) but on the night itself they had 'problems' with our rooms so moved us into a hotel in Vedado. They said we could stay our second night but when we phoned through the next morning the problems had only got worse so we never got to stay. They did provide a car to take us to Vedado and gave us a complimentary dinner for 2 in Vieja the next night but overbooking or not honouring bookings does seem to be a real issue at this hotel - so book at your own risk (I did and half expected this to happen).

In Havana, I had every solo traveller's nightmare. I fell victim to a misplaced cobblestone and sprained an ankle on one leg and fully traumatized the knee on the other leg. The staff at this hotel helped me in every way -- helped me up and down stairs, kept my spirits up by bringing bottomless mojitas, brought me ice in the middle of the night, forwarded frantic family and travel insurance phone calls, and arranged for a wheelchair at the airport. All this kindness was expressed with very little Spanish on my part and very little English on theirs. I am very, very grateful to Felix, Dario, Melina, Dianaya, and all the other caring Cuban angels at Beltran de Santa Cruz.

We like our 3 nights at Beltran, first of all we were close to everything and could easily walk around in the nieghbourhood. The rooms are ample with all the things you need, we even ended up buying the bottles of rom and coffee they had exhibited in the rooms - the last souvenirs :) Breakfast was nice, it is nice when they ask you how you want your eggs, and the parrot kept us company. The patio was a great place to hang out and enjoy a quiet moment. Service level was good. only thing - you have to pay to use the safety box!

Nice to be greeted by the parrot shouting "hola". Great location just off the Plaza Vieja, and an interesting building, but don't expect 5 star western standards in this state-run hotel. The rooms can be gloomy when the shutters are closed, there's mould in at least one room, and the bathrooms don't appear to have been upgraded or repaired since the 1950s. I can put up with that for a night or two just to soak up the atmosphere in Havana, but the hotel lets itself down badly with its service. My daughter, who speaks really fluent Spanish, was furious when one of the staff lied about a WC flush being repaired and denied all knowledge of a further night being booked (we should have gone elsewhere but it was too much trouble to find another hotel for one night). Breakfast arrives in dribs and drabs, with no choices being offered. The staff kept my son and daughter awake until the early hours with noisy conversation in the atrium (which is surrounded by all the rooms). I made the mistake of eating in the attached restaurant (very dull pizzas) and the waiter never returned with the change on the bill. I probably would have left him the extra couple of pesos as a tip anyway but would have been nice to have the choice to do so. If you want an older style hotel then try it for a night, but I believe there may be better ones (the Florida on Obispo?).