Hotel Habana

Located in the Centro Historico, only about 15 minutes walk from the Zocalo, but the price is very reasonable. The rooms were spotlessly clean. Of course, you do need to know at least some basic tourist-level Spanish and have a good dictionary and phrasebook (this is after all a Spanish-speaking country!) to communicate with the staff since this is not a tourist trap where everyone speaks English; but all the employees are courteous, dignified, helpful, and professional. The hotel is across the street from a decent restaurant and a small grocery story, and only a few blocks away from the EXCELLENT Cafe La Blanca and Cafe El Popular, so food is always nearby. (If your flight arrives late, there are vending machines in the lobby). The nearest subway station is about a 10 minute walk, if I remember correctly, which is VERY convenient. The only problem was the noise: since there are long corridors and skylights (the skylight shafts go all the way down to the basement floor) noise travels and amplifies itself significantly, and occasionally some guests have WILD, rather scary-sounding parties. But that was the only problem we noticed: it bothered my wife more than it did me, since she is a light sleeper. All in all, though, I would highly recommend it.