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HOTEL NACIONAL de CUBA, Havana. 05/14/2003
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
This is the flagship hotel of Cuba. The Nacional is very old, but recently rebuilt, and now a great treasure and a pleasure to visit and to live in.
Pay the extra for a room on the executive floor, the sixth floor. This avoids the crowds in the main lobby, as you check in on 6. You also eat breakfast there, and all your needs are taken care of by a staff assigned to the sixth floor. When I arrived I simply told the valet to send the bags to the sixth floor, and walked straight in and onto the lift. On our floor the check-in desk had our reservation, wished me a happy birthday, and gave us an electronic key.
Rooms are large and well appointed. All amenities are in place, and the air conditioning is perfect. Safe deposit boxes are provided, as are multi-channel TVs.
This is a great hotel with good service and helpful staff. The place reeks of history which has been well preserved and displayed.
The cigar cave under the hotel lobby features a roller who worked for Partagas, as well as a superb selection of Havana's finest cigars.
We ate dinner at an outdoor bar and grill names La Barraca, on the back lawn of the hotel. The BBQ'd and roasted food was great. This time we had a shaved coconut syrup with our cheese for dessert. This restaurant is named after the barracks which sat on this spot in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
During my recent stay there was a music festival at the Nacional. I went to smoke cigars with the band in the basement cigar cave. They served free mojitas and cigars rolled by a woman who worked for Partagas for 30 years, but now works for the Nacional Hotel. The concert had two separate artists, Compay Segundo and Polo Montanez. Segundo is famous in North America and Europe for his appearance in the movie Buena Vista Social Club. The concert cost $40 to get a metal outdoor seat. It was on the hotel lawn. We sat at the hotel terrace in the smoking area on cushioned outdoor sofas. We couldn't see the stage very clearly but we were definitely more comfortable where we were than the people who spent the money. The sound was perfect for us, not too loud to talk. We also got to see a group of dancers who were enjoying the free music behind the rope line.
The hotel maintains a good website which offers specials. Check out their rooms and offers, as well as their history pages. This is the finest and most historic hotel in Cuba, and worth at least a one night visit in a good room or suite.
SALON PARISIEN, Hotel Nacional de Cuba. If you cannot make it to the Tropicana, or cannot afford the exorbitant tickets, try the Salon Parisien in the Nacional Hotel in downtown Havana. I think this is a better show than the Tropicana's: the dancing and music is better and more intense, and the costumers are brighter and more attractive. The dancers are amongst the best stage dancers I have seen anywhere. Eat dinner first, then get in line to get a good table for the show. It is spectacular. All the costumes were brightly colored and very skimpy. Some dances were very sensual but all were truly something to see.
http://www.hotelnacionaldecuba.com/en/home.asp
($170-$220 double with breakfast)
02/2002
John Clearwater
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