The location and reasons to visit:
Havana in Cuba. Many television programmes focus on the wonderful architecture and
old American cars - and Havana is exactly like that. Many of the buildings have been
carefully restored, whilst others are more worn and crumbling. Havana is a very safe
city, day and night. The only drawback is the constant requests for money from people.
Some people are genuinely friendly and want to talk, but others will talk but then
ask for money. It was difficult to judge if they were really poor or whether they
were getting a lot or money from tourists.
Review of the Parque Central Hotel:
A suite in the Parque Central hotel is old fashioned in terms of decoration, but
okay. The food and service were pretty good and better than I had expected. Service
round the pool area was a bit slow, but tipping well on the first day resulted in
better service the following days.
An important thing in Cuba is to always leave a tip for good service in cash and
not just add something to the bill. I got the impression that money added to the
bill did not end up with the waiters/bar staff. They seemed genuinely pleased with
a cash tip.
Service in the bar area for food at lunchtime was good but service at the bar for
drinks in the evening was variable, with an inadequate number of bar staff when a
lot of guests were present. Room service was very good, being delicious and delivered
promptly.
