My husband and I stayed for three nights in this hotel mid June on a package incorporating Havana and a beach resort.

It overlooks the National Aquarium, and since nearly all of the rooms and balconies overlook this, it can be noisy when there is a show taking place. So saying, we were delighted to see performing seals almost opposite our balcony and across the road but would not want to stay for too long there.

The room was pleasant enough. There is a fridge which is locked, and you have to pay a deposit at reception for a key. You can then use it for your own drinks if you want, as well as what there is on offer to buy inside. Beware of the safety deposit box which is free in the room. Ours was quite difficult sometimes to open and one day we took all the belongings out of it, shut it to test it and it never opened again!!!

The other thing to beware of is the self-closing balcony from the outside. My husband joined me on the balcony and shut the door to keep it cool and we found ourselves locked out. I won't go into how we got back in again but it took some time!

There were no plugs in the bathroom for either the sink or the bath but if you ask at reception they will supply one which fits both.

The food was very average. For breakfast you could have cooked egg of your choice like omelette or fried egg but the rest was pretty boring. We also ate there for two of the evenings, simply because it was so hot and we could not be bothered to wander the streets trying to find something. The first night was fine as we were able to choose from a menu, but the second time they had a conference on at the hotel and had a buffet and it was very average and I ended up hungry for not finding something to my liking, and I am not fussy! The staff also speak hardly any English and we had the same problem at breakfast with them not understanding tea or hot water. They brought a cup to the table so you could not do it for yourself.

We went to the supermarket. We took a rucksack with us which was duly taken from us and held outside at a sort of left luggage office, where we were given a ticket to retrieve it. Also after paying for our goods, when we went to go to the exit we were stopped and we had to produce the receipt and they checked this against all our goods, such as they were. We were not amused at this and felt rather intimidated. However, we did go back a second time and it seemed to be the norm when we looked around so did not mind so much the next time.

If you are doing the same trip as us with a two-centre holiday, it is worth going to the supermarket to get some presents to take home like the rum, coffee and "foreign" biscuits etc as there was absolutely nothing at the beach resort and we were glad we had shopped in this way. With hindsight we would have preferred to go straight to the beach resort and done either a day trip or an overnight to Havana.

We took a taxi to Havana once. It is 10CUC one way which is roughly £5. We only went the once, as that was enough. We did not use the free shuttle service as the timing was not convenient either in the morning or evening.

We would not choose to stay in this hotel again if we came back to Havana as it was too far out of the main old city.

Have just returned from Cuba - stayed for four nights in the Chateau Miramar in Havana. Hotel is fine - big rooms with balconies and clean. Only had breakfast so couldn't comment on the food, but what we had was OK.

To the hotel's credit we asked to move rooms to get a bit of a sea view and they moved us with no problem.

The hotel is a 10 CUC taxi ride from the centre and previous reviewers comments about the shuttle bus are right - too early at 09:10 am.

There are places to eat in this area tho - try the Paladar Vistamar - a private eating place about ten mins walk away overlooking the sea fantastic fish, fried plantains, taro etc.. The supermarket is fine - if you need snacks - prices in convertible pasos - mostly frequented by foreigners.

we spent 2 nights at this hotel in january.
the rooms were spacious and very clean, they look as though they have recently been refurbished. we had a large balcony but the view wasnt great, other people on our tour had ocean views, but i wasnt there to admire the view!
the staff werent as friendly as the staff we had at the other 2 hotels we stayed in.
there is a free shuttle bus into havana twice a day, but the timings arent brilliant, you either have to rush back, get a cab back, or stay out a really long time!
the 2 meals we had were very nice, but staffs understanding was limited, we asked for tea but we were served coffee, hardly the end of the world.
i was travelling with my mother (74) she had a nasty fall in the hotel, tripped on one of the very small hard to see steps on the floor, one of the hotel managers was standing around at the time, he picked her up, gave her a very worried look, and vanished, he didnt ask if she was ok or offer any more help!
if i returned to havana i would choose to stay elsewhere, having said that, its not the worst hotel you could choose

4* claimed; hardly. Refurbished pool is good, but too shallow for those who like to dive. Functional rooms, adequate and repetitious buffet breakfast. Some Reception and Concierge staff are fine. The location is excellent for the diplomatic area of HAV. For those needing Old HAV, not only is it 20 mins away, but also the shuttle bus runs unreliably to its infrequent schedule. A 10CUC one way taxi journey is readily available. The hi-tech interactive TV with Internet connection is not yet running. Back in the small 'business centre' costs a pre-paid 6CUC for one hour of access.