When booking the hotel, we were surprised to find that most places we liked were booked already so by the time we found the Ambos Mundos which was in the area of Havana that we wanted we took it worried that we might end up not finding a place at all. We thought that perhaps there was some festival or event in town that was causing most placed to be sold out. It was also possible that there just are not a lot of hotels set up for internet booking and we might have been able to find a local place, B&B, or other options upon arrival. Either way, we booked the hotel because were booking months in advance and it was the only one we could find available.

The reviews of the Ambos Mundos were mixed. Some were positive with most commenting on the age of the hotel, and a few complaining about rooms without windows. The hotel has a famous past having been the hotel Hemingway stayed at when in Havana. The room he stayed in is now available for touring and the hotel bar downstairs looked pretty nice in the pictures.

Checking in we were impressed and surprised by the room, it really wasn’t that bad at all. We had a room with a window looking out over the rooftops of the neighboring places, the bed wasn’t overly uncomfortable, it had a flat-screen TV, and toilet paper in the bathroom. It did have air-conditioning, although, I wouldn’t say it was working that well. It did keep the room cooler inside than outside so that was good enough for us. What it also had which we found out first thing the next morning was construction. The entire hotel with the exception of the floor we were on was under construction. The non-stop hammering, saws, and other construction noises greeted us each morning of our stay except for Sunday. 

The hotel overall wasn’t that bad, we did like the lobby bar but what we liked better was the rooftop bar where breakfast was provided and a great view could be had in the evenings when the air-cooled down, and it was possible to relax to some local music played by a live band. I expect that once all the construction is done, it will be s pretty decent place to stay.