Paris1972-Versailles2003

A big task considering was a beautiful city now mostly in ruins unless Unesco has provided some funds, This is my native capital City, the city where I spent a great part of my very early life until 10 years old, For family or business was lucky to visit it in 1984, 1998, and 2012 , This City is Havana or La Habana or the full name San Cristobal de La Habana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba.  This is my Habana and would like to share some of the emblematic hotels which visited with my parents as a boy and later visits, This is the Hotel Habana Libre (former Hilton ), Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The Hotel Habana Libre (Hilton) is one of the greatest hotels in Cuba, located at Calle 23 (“La Rampa”) and Calle L The hotel has 572 rooms in a tour of 25 stages , 532 Standard Double, 37 Standard Junior Suit, 1 Presidential Suit and 2 Standard Senior Suit. It was inaugurated on March 22, 1958, it then bears the name of Habana Hilton, it was the largest hotel in Latin America at the time. It belongs to the American group Hilton Hotels & Resorts . It was kept as the Hilton for a year and one half without success. On July 11 1960, the communist government nationalise it. (one reason of the current embargo), It featured a Trader Vic’s restaurant, casino, dining room, billiards room, and a bar on the hotel’s rooftop. For info below pic shows on left Yara, the revolutionary new name for what is was Radiocentro!

After coming to power in 1959, the already dictator moved into suite 2324 at the Habana Hilton. For three months, the hotel becomes the nerve center of the Cuban revolution, but hotel service continues in the rest of the skyscraper. (the room is now an art gallery).   During the following years, the hotel, already operated by the Cuban communist government, focused on national tourism, losing much of the prestige it had generated with its opening. For some years the hotel, underused for its original use, was repurposed for many other functions; Among them, it stood out for operating for some time as the Embassy of the Soviet Union in Cuba. Later, the hotel operated again to house important foreign personalities during their stay on the island. In 1996, the Spanish chain Sol Meliá took over the management of the hotel together with the government. It was placed in its Tryp division of urban hotels and renamed Hotel Tryp Habana Libre. It was renovated between 1996 and 1997. Among the highlights of the work was the restoration of a huge original mural by artist Amelia Peláez above the main entrance, which had spent decades hidden from public view.

In its facade there is a beautiful ceramic fresco of 640 square meters of Amelia Peláez and the Car of the Revolution, the work of Alfredo Sosa Bravo, who used 525 pieces of ceramic to make it. Currently the hotel houses shops, and you can find there the Sculpture of Clepsidra, a 10 meter high column, in metal and glass, emerging from a fountain located in the hall, among other pieces recognized by prestigious potters, sculptors and craftsmen in the living rooms, hallways and bedrooms.

Inside you will find the brand new and famous Casa del Habano (cigar house) and in its highest floor the famous cabaret Turquino, The Sierra Maestra is one of the most famous restaurants in Havana. Also, El Barracón the ideal place to enjoy an authentic adventure with a Cuban flavor. The decoration recalls the houses of the villages, Polinesio ,with the spirit of the Pacific Islands and a place where time sits still. Also, the Las Antillas buffet as varied as the rosary of islands and keys that inhabit the Caribbean. La Rampa , a cafeteria takes its name after a popular section of Havana and offers a wide assortment of dishes for breakfast and lunch as well as fast food dinners and take-outs. I cannot tell you the current conditions of these eateries.

The Spanish group Melia, which owns the Habana Libre, has reportedly tried several times to do renovation work. Several renovation projects were imagined between 2011 and 2019, but all of them turned into “mission impossible”. No less than ten floors of the hotel are currently closed because they are completely unusable and, at best, two elevators are working out of the six that make up the Habana Libre. Of course. The hotel’s strategic location permits easy access to the most important points of interest, such as the Cathedral (4 km), the port (4 km), the Congress & Conventions’ Center (10 km), the International Airport (17 km), the beautiful Playas del Este beaches (20 km), Varadero (140 km) and Pinar del Río (147 km).

The official Melia hotels on the Habana Libre: https://www.melia.com/en/hotels/cuba/havana/tryp-habana-libre

The official Melia Cuba site on the Habana Libre: https://www.meliacuba.com/cuba-hotels/hotel-tryp-habanalibre

The pictures all date from 1998, and 2012  when I made a business and family trip to introduce to my family there to my French wife Martine and boys, which they enjoy much. One more post down memory lane, many moments spent with the family now almost all gone from there. One of them was the Hotel Habana Libre (Hilton). I was the first one out 52 years ago !!, Havana is a city to fall in love for no matter what period of time in history you may choose to visit.  Enjoy the ride into nostalgia land. Again, hope you enjoy the post as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

A big task considering was a beautiful city now mostly in ruins unless Unesco has provided some funds, This is my native capital City, the city where I spent a great part of my very early life until 10 years old, For family or business was lucky to visit it in 1984, 1998, and 2012 , This City is Havana or La Habana or the full name San Cristobal de La Habana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba.  This is my Habana and would like to share some of the emblematic hotels which visited with my parents as a boy and later visits, This is the Hotel Riviera, Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The Hotel Riviera is located at corner of Avenida Paseo de Marti (old del Prado) y Malecon ,Centro district, Overlooking the sea, The hotel was built in 1957 and still retains its original 1950s style. It has 21 floors and 352 rooms. It is currently operated by the Spanish chain Iberostar and the dictatorship..

A twenty-storys modernist building, curved so that all the rooms have a view of the sea. At the foot of the twenty floors with turquoise reflections, the entrance to the hotel is marked by a daring duo in love with a human and a seahorse. The reception desk of the Hotel Riviera is surmounted by three magnificent gilded bronze clocks, in local, European and American time, The staircase unfolds like in a musical, in the middle of turquoise and gold scrolls, under a dome lit by a very graphic bronze suspension.   In the first three years of its founding, the following stayed and performed there: Fred Astaire’s dance partner, artists such as Jean Stewart and 1950s heartthrob William Holden. World boxing champions Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Cuban boxer Kid Chocolate, actors such as César Romero (Cuban-Spanish born in NYC) , and American film noir gangster George Raft were also hosted.

As this was my dear late father Elio hangout when young ,and I was taken there by my mother very early and later visited in 1998,and 2012. Let me give you a brief description of this wonderful Hotel Riviera !

The 1st Salon, has massive stone tables, the elegant metal sideboards and the gold mosaics serve as pedestals and settings for the marble sculptures, The 2nd Salon between a palm tree and a partition with motifs freely inspired by the art of the Taïnos Indians, relaxation and daïquiri in original furniture in ivory and gold lacquered wood.

The restaurant L’Aiglon offers dinner dances a tribute to the brief passage in these waters of the forces of the Emperor Napoleon. The paintings are inspired by a theatrical set by Valentine Hugo, The old cabaret In the old Copa Room, a cabaret (the copacabana song by Barry Manilow) inaugurated by Ginger Rogers, now the Palacio de la Salsa, huge birds of paradise fly on the walls, as spangled as the naked dancers.

From the top of the three-story diving board overlooking a more than Olympic swimming pool, Johnny Weismuller, swimming champion and incarnation of Tarzan in Hollywood, paraded for starlets and wealthy clients. The swimming pool restaurant has on the walls the Al Fresco, fish and starfish dance in front of surviving furniture signed Saarinen.

The official ibercuba on the Hotel Riviera : https://www.ibercuba.com/en/hotels/la-habana/habana-riviera-by-iberostar/

The pictures all date from 1998 and 2012, when I made a business and pleasure trips to introduce to my family there to my French wife Martine and boys, which they enjoy much (1998). One more post down memory lane, many moments spent with the family now almost all gone from there. One of them was the Hotel Riviera. I was the first one out 52 years ago !!, Havana is a city to fall in love for no matter what period of time in history you may choose to visit.  Enjoy the ride into nostalgia land. Again, hope you enjoy the post as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

A big task considering was a beautiful city now mostly in ruins unless Unesco has provided some funds, This is my native capital City, the city where I spent a great part of my very early life until 10 years old, For family or business was lucky to visit it in 1984, 1998, and 2012 , This City is Havana or La Habana or the full name San Cristobal de La Habana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba.  This is my Habana and would like to share some of the emblematic hotels which visited with my parents as a boy and later visits, This is the Hotel Nacional, Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The Hotel Nacional is a 5-star palace from 1930. This mythical emblem of the refinement and luxury of Cuban culture and Cuban history of the 1930s, has been listed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register since 1982, and classified as a national monument of Cuba since 1988, It’s only 19 km (12 miles) from the airport and a 10-minute drive to the Old Town.

This palace is built on the site of the former Fort of Santa Clara from 1797, with a mixture of Hispano-Moorish, Neo-Classical, Palladian, Colonial, and Art Deco monastery and cloister styles, with vast exotic gardens dotted with palm trees,and peacocks ! on the Malecón waterfront promenade, with panoramic views of Old Havana, Havana Bay, and the Caribbean Sea.

It was inaugurated on December 30, 1930, for New Year’s Day 1931 with to date 457 rooms, 16 suites, 4 special suites, 4 restaurants, 6 bars, 2 swimming pools , tennis, and Parisian cabaret of Cuban music shows, spread over 8 floors ,The hotel continues to trade on an illustrious former guest list and rooms include Nat King Cole (218), Sinatra (214) and Fred Astaire (228). There are three restaurants and a cafeteria. The chic Comedor de Aguiar, the best of the bunch, features beautiful chandeliers and waiters in tuxedos. El Rincon del Cine, a traditional ranchón-style (ranch) restaurant set in lovely gardens, serves a Cuban Creole menu. There are several bars for a pre-dinner drink. Try a daiquiri in the Churchill Bar (under renovations).. La Veranda’s breakfast offers is a buffet affair typical to hotels the world over.

It was frequented by many celebrities of the time, including Buster Keaton, Errol Flynn, Johnny Weissmuller, Walt Disney, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando, Ernest Hemingway, Yuri Gagarin, Robert Redford, Robert De Niro, as well as political leaders and monarchs, such as Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, Winston Churchill, and Jimmy Carter., Following the Cuban revolution, the palace became during the 1960s a residence for representatives of foreign governments (including the couple Jean-Paul Sartre-Simone de Beauvoir). Anti-aircraft guns were installed in the gardens during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Following the breakup of the USSR in 1991, it reopened Cuba to international tourism, and completely renovated the ruined hotel in 1992. It is located at Calle 21 y O, Vedado, district of Plaza,La Habana, 

The official Hotel Nacional :https://hotelnacionaldecuba.com/

The pictures all date from 2012, when I made a business trip from France. One more post down memory lane, many moments spent with the family now almost all gone from there. One of them was the Hotel Nacional, I was the first one out 52 years ago !!, Havana is a city to fall in love for no matter what period of time in history you may choose to visit.  Enjoy the ride into nostalgia land. Again, hope you enjoy the post as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!