Hotetur Deauville Hotel

This is the hotel I stayed for my first night in Cuba, I arrived late at night, people were playing Salsa and other danced, which was great for first impressions. The reception / bar was decorated like a cheap cafetaria, Ladies at reception were not very helpful and seemed to be copmpletely overwhelmed with requests from different customers. Rooms were badly decorated as well, with broken tiles in the bathroom, generally run-down... The linen and towels smelled of wet dog. There was a storm during the last I stayed there and when I woke up my room was flooded from water coming through the frame of the window (which was closed). I would not recommend it. I would have preferred the hotel around the Capitolio, like the NH Parque Central or another I forgot the name of...

Spent 3 nights at the Deauville and after reading other reviews could understand most of the points. Our room was clean and everything worked. Evening meal menu looked ok but choices hardly materialised and desert always Creme Caramel. Breakfasts were ok but staff lacked a little motivation. Reception all seemed ok until we came to check out when they decided we owed 50 cents for a phone call which we had not made. (we had not used the phone at all) All resolved when receptionist screamed she would pay it and stomped off. A very minor issue but left a bad impression. I understand after we left it may have been flooded as a result of Hurricane. Three nights was enough for us anyway as we were already booked at Varedeo

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Deauville for 4 nights at the start of October after having stayed for 10 in Varadero and I have to say that I was quite disappointed with this place. The best bit about the hotel and our room was that we had a really good view of Old Havana and the ocean. Apart from that (and remember not all of the rooms face the sea) it was a major let down. The worst part of the hotel was probably the fact that our room was dirty. Whenever I walked across the floor with bare feet I could feel the grime and then when I got back into bed my sheets would be all dirty as I had walked on the floor for a minute! The rooms are very very basic and ours had bare wires coming from the ceiling as the light fitting was missing, oh and there are no actual plugs for you to use so ladies no hairdryers or curling/straightening tongs can be used, not to mention the fact you can't charge up your phone etc. The tv and lights have their own special sockets which will not work like a plug does. Speaking of the tv, that was quite good - there are a few good channels including hbo, weather channel, cnn and some film channels. The bathroom was okay, no bath but a sort of walk in shower which was good. However, the maid service is a bit basic in that they won't replace the loo roll even though it's nearly finished (good job we had brought our own one!) and they don't appear to do much cleaning whilst you are staying there or before for that matter. When we arrived, the soap had already been used by the previous person as it had a hair on it! There was also a hair on the other side of my pillow and it had dirty black marks on it which maybe means they just turn over the sheets rather than using clean ones!! Also, you may want to take your own bath towels as they only provide you with small towels which will not fit around you. The service in the restuarant was very very slow and not the best. For example when we were going to eat dinner one night we sat down and after 10 minutes we still hadn't been offered a menu or a drink! There was no excuse as there were only about 6 tables and 3 waiters, just none of them actually serving customers! I'd say though that the food we did have for dinner in the restaurant once was quite nice and not too expensive. However, the breakfast and the snack bar by the pool are another thing altogether! For breakfast they offer you bread to toast yourself which was quite nice but this was all I could eat with a few hard boiled eggs. There is a choice of hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs with peas and peppers in it?, cold pasta which looked like left overs, pastries which were nice, grapefruit or oranges, weird apple juice which is white?, and very weak watery coffee if you go after 9am. The snack bar isn't much better, especially as you are paying for it! We had a pizza which appeared to have scrambled egg instead of cheese on it and some sort of brown sauce I'm assuming was meant to be tomato but tasted a bit of sick? Myself and my partner are not fussy eaters at all but this really did go beyond a joke. We also had club sandwiches which were very grissly and not very tasty at all, oh and when he said it came with fries I thought we'd get more than 10 each, and no I'm not kidding. There is a pool on the 6th floor which is quite small and appeared to be used by some Cubans so there were lots of kids jumping in but it's alright and is open air again with great views of Havana. However, there are a restricted number of chairs and no sun loungers so if you want to lie out, it's got to be on the concrete floor! I wouldn't say that this is the worst hotel in the world but it's definitely not the best or anywhere near it. The location is alright as it is on the Malecon which is nice to look out on but whenever we wanted to go to Old Havana or eat anywhere it meant we had to walk for about 10 to 15 minutes through the less frequented parts of Havana which meant we got hassled a bit more as there are not rerally any police in these parts (Cubans are not meant to speak to tourists so there are police on every corner in the more touristy areas). They weren't offensive of threatening but it just gets a bit tiring having to say no thanks, I don't want any cigars about 10 times before you can get to the place you want to! If we went again we would definitely not stay here as we saw plenty of other hotels in Havana which looked very very nice and of a much higher standard than this place. The biggest tragedy of all is that this hotel could be so much better as the views are breath-taking and the location not too bad so it lets itself down big time.

This Art Deco Hotel located next to the Malecon was once a very nice four star hotel: it is not anymore. My partner and I stayed there for two weeks and were bitterly disapointed. Initially things didnt seem that bad. The rooms are reasonably clean, with air conditioning and T.V, its the rest of the hotel that is appalling. Firstly the breakfast is disgusting, uncooked eggs and unidentifiable slices of meat- stick to the bread rolls. Fly's are everywere covering the breafast tables and bar area, which when mixed in with the stench of raw sewage that wafts through the reception area certainly makes for a particular kind of ambience. My main gripe lies with the hotel staff, a truly unfriendly and devious bunch, they will keep you waiting endlessly and rip you off at every opportunity. Do not change money at the rececption, there is only one man there who will give you the correct exchange, be very careful when returning the safety deposit box, they will try and short change you out of your deposit. This does not happen at other hotels. Jinertera's are quite welcome at the hotel, which if you enjoy seeing white western men exploite the women of Cuba is fine I supose. But it is rightfully illegal-except at the Deauville. Ah but its cheap...please do yourself a favour and pay a bit extra and stay someone better- a nicer hotel or a casa. Havana is a wonderful city, make sure you dont let place of stay ruin it.

I stayed in the magnificent Deauville Hotel, July'05. Travelling from Portugal, Lisbon, with my great friend Pedro. I adored. I could speak about the rooms, the bathroom, the breakfast, criticize. Don’t' ask me that. Our Deauville is bigger than this. Huge, it is inspired and bathed by the Malécon. By the way, Deauville is much more than a full of stars Hotel: he's the magical guard of La Habana enchantment, protecting the most fantastic moments, emotions, the simplicity of a smile... therefore... when we leave... the Deauville goes with us ... remembering that we will never forget Havana.

Hotel Deauville looks and feels like a 1950s era, American built, Miami style hotel. Art Deco everywhere. I very much enjoyed my stay at Deauville and would return there. The hotel is very modestly priced, in this price range you cannot expect the same level of service as you can at a major American or European hotel chain. It is true that the Hotel is ageing, and that the renovations were modest maintenence events and not a complete overhaul of the property, but this is what people come to Havana for--its classic feel, its intrigue. You can walk into this hotel and feel the 1950s, you can feel the revolution, you can feel the cold war. My room was clean, clean, clean. The breakfast was nicer than anything you can find at a Florida hotel in this price range. The view of Havana and the Malecon was worth the price alone. The top floor Swimming pool/bar is a must visit, to go for a swim while sipping a mojito and while enjoying a view of old Havana is priceless. The location of the Hotel is excellent for visiting all of Havana's sights. The hotel staff was friendly and helpful (It helps if you can speak Spanish). I ranked this hotel as above average, you get what you pay for and compared to Florida hotels in this price range you get much, much more!

We stayed at the Deauville for 2 nights in March 2005. The Deauville has a marvelous location. Right on the Malecon (Havana's sea promenade) it is a perfect location as you are in a walking distance of Old Havana. From our room we had a marvelous view of the promenade and the sea. Of course, the Deauville has it's defects. The shower head acted funny (the water jet was actually horizontal) and when we took a shower the whole room's floor would get wet, the water getting out of the shower, and out of the bathroom in the room. The beds were way too soft, I was actually sinking in them. Cleaning service is ok. Be prepared, breakfast is discusting. The Deauville is a great hotel in Havana. It's perfect location compenses the fact the accomodations are somehow problematic. Since we had the flexi fly and drive program, we paid 1000$ (CAN) for a week with a car rental included. This made the Hotel Deauville a great deal in Havana.

I booked it in 3 months in advance, when came, was informed that there is no place. After small scandal they put me in a massage cabinet (see photo). Next day gave me a normal single. The whole experience is positive. Actual price is 43$ including breakfast.

We stayed six nights in the Deaville, and had hot water at least three times. As soon as we arrived, the showerhead had to be replaced. The room was large but very bleak, with a view from the small eleventh-floor window over the Malecon towards the lighthouse. On the good side, it was clean, the twin beds were comfortable, and the large closet had a light and a safe. If all you want is to walk the seawall, the location is okay. But, to get to where there's a bit more grace, you must take a long walk or a taxi ride through dirty, narrow, potholed streets lined with very delapidated buildings. We ate once in the Deauville restaurant in the ugly lobby, but not twice. On the other hand, we had good light meals at the pleasant snack bar on the sixth floor beside the pool. The staff was friendly, but quite unperturbed by our lack of hot water, so I assume similar Cuban deficiencies are normal. If you want to see the real Cuba, I suspect the Deauville is a good place to start, and an interesting neighbourhood to walk around. After a first night at a five-star hotel in Varadero, we certainly came down to earth with a thud at the Deauville. Would I go back to Havana? Possibly. Would I stay at the Deauville? No way.

We had 11 nights reservation over the Easter 2005 at this hotel. Because of fog on Charles DeGaulle Airport in France our Air France flight from Heathrow was delayed in Paris for one night. We sent the Horizontes company in Spain as well as their offices in Cuba email where we explained our situation in detail. We even managed to call the reservation of the hotel and explain to them that we were stranded in Paris for the night but would arrive the next day. We were told not to worry, our room would be waiting for us the next day. When we came the next day they however told us everything was fully booked and they couldnt do anything for us. If you dont want to be standing on some street in Havana in the middle of the night like us when every hotel in Havana is fully booked, stay a long way from this discusting hotel and its Horizontes chain.