Havana, Novatel Miramar

I have stayed in those old colonial hotels and whilst they are charming they lack modern conveniences.

The Novatel Miramar is one of Havana's best kept secrets as it is usually sold to customers in France and Canada. This large hotel is set in its own grounds in Miramar (an upmarket area close to all the foreign consulates).

You enter the hotel into a very large and bright foyer with lots of small tables and chairs (enough for about 150 people); this is laid out as a large square with avenues that run on each side. The left avenue leads to a small selection of shops, a gym, a special bar, and comes back to the reception via internet and phone cubicles. The right avenue leads to the tourist services such a car hire and the restaurants. Passing the large reception on the left there are the lifts and access to the pool area, this is very sensibly laid out so that you can come and go directly from your room.

The rooms in the hotel are very large, single rooms have double beds and a sofa bed, double rooms have two double beds and a sofa bed. All rooms have their own luxury marble bathroom that looks as good as the day it was installed. There is also satellite TV with a wide selection of channels (about 4 per language).

The hotel has a massive pool area that is split into four joined pools. There is a large kids paddling area which has a slide down into a smaller kids area. There is also a 25m adult pool with a waterfall into a 15m pool. The whole pool area is about 2500 sqare metres with a bar in the centre from which you can order food. The pool is surround with sun loungers and there are several shaded areas for those that want to be outdoors but not in direct sunlight.

The service is generally very good; the breakfast is the usual choices of cold meats, cereal, exotic fruits, hot food (changed daily) and an omelette facility.

The hotel has an upmarket restaurant which is very good albeit a little expensive.

The hotel does not have a large police presence like the hotels in "old Havana" but has plenty of security guards.

The hotel is well located for access to the best parts of Havana, it is also very close to the shop where you can hire a mobile phone sim card and to a cash machine facility.

All the usual Cuban tourist amenities are present within the hotel (Car hire, helicopter tours, coach tours etc).

There is usually live music in the foyer in the evenings with 2 or 3 different entertainers, some of whom are very good.

Overall the main reason I keep going back to this hotel is the level of service, the quality of the rooms, the location and the pool.

My only criticism of this hotel is that they do not segregate smokers (except in the dining area). There is an ideal area for this to the rear left of the hotel.

If you book this hotel in Europe you pay per person, if you book it in Cuba you pay per room. So think about this when you budget, either way it is excellent value.