Went back to visit my 'hometown' after 50 years. Shocked to see how deteriorated the place was. A $10 US tip to the desk clerk got me a top floor executive level room overlooking the ocean. That was after regecting her first two offers of rooms on other lower floors. Do not accept a room below the 20th floor. I heard lots of complaints from guests about lower rooms. Even then, the rooms on upper floors are worn down. Cracked tiles, cracked furniture, broken mirrors, old furniture that has been somewhat repaired, the all brass elevator interiors have not been polished in years, the swimming pool has not been available in years. Tip: Walk to the street to get a cab, not the ones on the hotel driveway, or negotiate on the fare before you board the cab. All cab drivers will try to get as much out of you as they can. Fares should be between $3 and $6 CUC, do not pay more. Lots of street hustlers walking near the hotel: asking if you want a 'girl', 'man', go to a nightclub, cigars, weed, you name it and they will sell it to you. Carpets are dirty, luckily, my room had a tile floor, cracked in places but clean. Tip the maids and you will have a clean room. A $1 CUC tip goes a long way there. Breakfast buffet at executive level was good. Tip the waiters and they will be very nice to you and get you a window table. The internet use at the business center is expensive and slow connections. I found the nearby restaurants to be more expensive and not great food. You can do better in Old Habana restaurants, make sure that there are locals eating there; that's how you know they are good and inexpensive. It was great to go back but don't expect US or European standards. The country is broke and it shows it at all levels.

The hotel is aesthetically pleasing. However, it ends there. My first encounter, right off the bat was a roach in the shower. I encountered two more roaches during my stay. The air conditioning did not work and after 8 attempts to get someone to come and fix it no one showed up. I gave up and kept the sliding glass door open and the room door slightly open, creating an airflow. I did this during the day. The breakfasts menu is great, but the first day you get there, you are pretty much on your own trying to figure things out. It took me 20 minutes to finally get a plate -- breakfast is a buffet. There is internet access, which you have to purchase at a cost of $10 Cuban CUCs (the equivalent of about $11.50 US) for an hour of time. Access is only available between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm. This is a Melia Brand hotel and I've stayed at other Melia Brand hotels overseas as well as in Orlando, FL. I am usually very pleased with Melia Brands. This one was Motel 6 quality in terms of service. I will not go back to that hotel. I stayed in other places while in Cuba that were much better quality at equivalent prices.

Habana Libre hotel is in a great location in Havana. The view from the room is excellent. Rooms are of a reasonable standard (by Cuban standards). The hotel itself is not as grand as the National De Cuba hotel, but the bedrooms are slightly more modern. It's a close call between the two, although I'd give the edge to the National. I think it is fair to say though, that hotels in Havana, in General could do with modernisation. Therefore to a degree, exception has to be made when comparing with hotels elsewhere in the world. The Havana Libre's alright though.