Cuba’s first five-star hotel opens in the heart of old Havana
The Gran Hotel Manzana is jointly owned by Kempinski and the military-controlled Cuban tour operator Gaviota
Cuba’s first ultra luxury hotel opened its doors Monday in Havana, with guests paying up to US$2,500 a night to stay in five-star comfort on the Communist island.
The “Gran Hotel Manzana”, part of the Swiss group Kempinski Hotels, is situated in the heart of the Cuban capital in front of the verdant gardens of Parque Central and the grand Alicia Alonso theatre, home to the Cuban National Ballet.
Guests in each of the hotel’s 246 rooms, 50 of which are suites, have the pick of four bars and two restaurants and can take a swim in the rooftop infinity pool.
The European-style building first opened in 1917, before undergoing a complete renovation.
In order to deliver the project in time, the Cuban government was forced to accept the builders bringing hundreds of qualified workers from India, a rare move in a country that usually requires that only underpaid - and undermotivated - Cuban workers.