We stayed at Hotel Libertad in Santiago de Cuba and enjoyed he "experience". It was a doddle to find. We came in on the motorway and kept going straight and that led us into the Plaza de Marte here the hotel is located, without the need to enter the one way system. You can park your car directly in front of the hotel on the Square.

I would preface any of the things I have to say about Cuban hotels that one has to remember that they are "Cuban" hotels staffed by Cubans, and you have to think of them in that light. Frommers say of the Libertad. "Fronting the busy Plaza de Marte...Only half of the rooms here have windows, and you will definitely want a room with a window. No. 214 is the hotel's largest and best room. All have simple furnishings, and small, but functional bathrooms "

Well we were in the said room 214 and that is certainly the room you want. It has a window overlooking La Plaza de Marte, and is great for people watching from your window. On the downside the room is noisy at night from traffic- Cubans tend to use their car horns a lot, and in addition the old engines do make a great deal of din. You would not call room 214 "luxurious" by European standards, but by Cuban standards it was. The hotel foyer had bags of character and had been well restored.

Hotel Libertad is on the edge of the town centre, about 800 meters from the main square, but is conveniently place for most things, and you will not have to walk too far to cover all that the centre of Santiago has to offer

The only problem we had was in the restaurant, where with only one other table and a waiting staff of 4, they managed to avoid coming near us for 15 minutes, and in the end we just left and ate in town. Breakfast was really "standard" Cuban, unmemorable, neither good nor bad.