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 !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 