Excellent description, and very true ^

I stayed at the Habana Libre twice, once prepaid using Melia Rewards points and once on a prepaid revenue stay that included breakfast and dinner. As is to be expected in Cuba, absolutely nothing worked quite as it should. Elevators had a mind of their own and exposed wiring, room doors had broken locks, breakfast was included but the staff kept insisting on seeing a voucher which reception kept insisting I did not need (cue 45 minutes of arguing back and forth between two floors) and the water seemed to come on and off depending on the hour of the day. On both occasions the front desk tried to charge me for the stay, refusing to accept any evidence that it was prepaid. Oh, and the cleaning staff "liberated" anything that was not locked in the safe, including my personal toiletries, a book and a bottle of water. All these things I had expected, indeed is part of the Cuba experience.

On the other hand, the brand new Melia Varadero Marina was delightful. Staff were exceptionally pleasant, helpful, the whole property was safe and welcoming, all rates were all-inclusive but cheap, and the quality of the food was surprisingly good. No hassles whatsoever. I thoroughly recommend it.