The Hotel Habana Libre in Havana was perhaps when it was built as the Hilton was a 5 or 6 star establishment but since the name change the hotel has slight gone down and is now perhaps a 2 or 3 star although the reception area still had its splendour, and the lady that booked us in was so slow that at stages you would not have been surprised if she had stopped breathing, firstly she needed to copy our booking confirmation which she took to the photocopier machine which was right next to her desk but took her nearly 30 mins to switch on, and take the copies, then she insisted you fill out the normal forms such as names, passports etc, overall it was nearly an hour before we were given our room key, and once upstairs you could see the water stains on the corridor floors, although the room we had on the 5th you could not complain about, the bed was comfy, and the room was clean, being bed + breakfast the food was typical eggs, bacon, cereals, toasts etc , and you just helped yourself although they would cook omelettes for you whilst you waited.
AT this hotel, and via the travel company we booked a day + night package which consisted of a 4 personal tour with an English speaking guide in a taxi around Havana, and although we had already done our own tour it was really good to dive into the places that you surely had missed and told things that the guidebooks did not want to tell you, so this was really worth it. The evening part of the trip consisted of a night at the Tropicana nightlife which is a place you must surely go to, where you are given a single flower for the ladies, a cigar for the men, followed by a half bottle of local rum and 2 cans of coke per couple this whole experience cost 99 tourist pesos each

I stayed here for 1 night in December for my 3rd visit. It isn't my prefered choice of hotel in Havana, but as we have always gone on an arranged trip we haven't had a choice of hotel. I would prefer to stay in Old Havana, however, it is interesting to go a little further out to see more of the City.

The hotel has a large Reception area and is very impressive on first viewing. There is a lobby bar. The staff are welcoming and accommodating. The hotel rooms are large, but shabby. The carpets could do with a clean. My main problem was all the hair in the bathroom.

Each time we have stayed we have been given a high floor. If you don't like heights ask for a lower floor. At breakfast time it can be a bit of a wait for a lift, although there are 6.

The food is buffet style in the main restaurant and is ok.

Overall this hotel is ok for a 1 night stay.

Upon arrival at check in we got an upgraded room on the 23rd floor ovelooking the sea/malecon
check in staff friendly/spoke well english/have a mas gold card which was registered but points not yet on account

room was very spacious, with good working airconditioning
bathroom could use an update however enough clean big towels/enough showergel/etc
the breakfast was actually very good/good selection and fresh juices
consider this hotel a 3/4 star hotel and is well located in vedado
eleveators are not slow but overcrowded during morning rush hours, when all groups leave the hotel/visit the breakfast buffet.that is till 9am(in most hotels...)
they do have frequently special offers.will return
rate was like eur 79,- midweek

We based ourselves at this hotel for a 2 night stay before going to Varadero. Having been to Havana old town several times before, we wanted to look round Vedado, and the Havana Libre is ideally placed for that.

The room we had (on the 9th floor) was large, bright and adequately furnished but the bathroom needed updating. The maid did a good job of cleaning it.

Breakfast each morning (the only meal we had in the hotel) was good (however, the coffee was terrible) but an early start was necessary if you wanted a seat with a cushion on it - otherwise, sit on the slats! The piano player at breakfast was an unusual touch. Other meals were taken at El Monguito, El Mandarin and Gringo Viejo. These will be the subject of separate reviews.

What other reviewers have said regarding the corridors to the rooms is true - they smell damp and the carpets are badly stained but as we were not sleeping in a corridor we didn't mind too much.

We had no problems with the front desk staff; they were very busy, but tried to help if needed.

As stated at the start of this review, we used the hotel as a base to explore Vedado - just to sleep, shower and change clothes. For this, it was perfectly adequate and all we wanted. For anything more than that, we are not sure.