First American Hotel Opening In Cuba This Year

Half a decade? Should that be half a century?

There are many state run hotels in the Havana vieja in amazing old spanish buildings. They are quite reasonably priced (just don't expect the hotel services to match the grand building..) so it's the last minute to visit them before they will be grabbed to various small luxury chains and prices will be something very different from today.

I'm so glad I managed to see Cuba last september before the big run. Right now the island is flooded with tourists, with hotels being overbooked twice over, no available rental cars and people sleeping in the parks, because even the casas are all full.
I can't even imagine how it's gonna be once direct flights between the States and Cuba start.

@Marina, that was my impression when we were there three years ago. Havana's tourist infrastructure seemed woefully unprepared for a sudden influx of tourists.

I do wonder who will get the crown jewel of Havana's hotels - the Nacional. The common areas have been kept up pretty well but our room was straight out of the 1950's.

@travel4b being from the former socialist country of Eastern Germany I suspect it also has a lot to do with socialism itself and the way things are handled logistically and service wise.
In terms of organization and service Cuba just can't compare to other caribbean countries, same with the value for money. I get a lot of negative feedback from Cuba travellers and I feel like that's gonna help the surrounding countries though.

The article states that Starwood got a license from State Department to run other properties and Marriott is also trying to get licenses. It's also interesting that no licenses for tourist resorts are forthcoming because American leisure tourism isn't allowed at this point.

Personally, I'd be very curious to know details of any refurbishments. They mustn't be very significant as hotels will switch to Starwood this year.

"Right now the island is flooded with tourists, with hotels being overbooked twice over, no available rental cars and people sleeping in the parks, because even the casas are all full."

In other words, typical Communist country conditions. Is it like Venezuela where you have to bring your own toilet paper from home, since your hotel can't find any to buy at any price?

The lack of rental cars shouldn't be a problem though, as you can always hire a driver with a donkey cart.

Anyway, it sounds delightful. Go soon before these nostalgic conditions disappear. 🙂

So Starwood will now start a business where they make money out of properties that were stolen by the government when the Castro brothers took power and bloggers promote this has something that is good.

"...the progress has been slow. As with most things involving the government, things don’t change overnight."

This comment is a bit strange. Would...anyone expect things to change overnight, especially when it's a pretty drastic transition? Like "BAM, sanctions are lifted, here are your American hotel chains and Olive Gardens! Enjoy!"

I've actually been quite impressed at the speed with which things are developing! This is the type of transition that will be ongoing for decades and decades, not just because of the inefficiencies of governmental bureaucracies, but also because of the sheer magnitude of the transition!

@ Elteetrav -- Fixed, thanks!

Can anyone guess when we might be allowed to book an award ticket with United miles on Copa Airlines flights from Panama to Cuba??

I can't help but find it ironic this comes after communist China is making a hostile takeover bid for Starwood, which was halfway digested by Marriott.

Robert, hah 🙂
Guess what we brought in our suitcase when we went to Miami for some shopping 🙂
At least we have internet. It's slower than near-solid honey, but at least I can browse reddit 🙂

By the way, http://m.imgur.com/Ith4Fzo.

So the takeaway from this blog today is to bring your own fluffy toilet paper? Why not take a whole bagfull and trade it?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/04/18/cuba-you-owe-billion/jHAufRfQJ9Bx24TuzQyBNO/story.html

What’s often forgotten, though, is that the embargo was actually triggered by something concrete: an enormous pile of American assets that Castro seized in the process of nationalizing the Cuban economy. Some of these assets were the vacation homes and bank accounts of wealthy individuals. But the lion’s share of the confiscated property—originally valued at $1.8 billion, which at 6 percent simple interest translates to nearly $7 billion today—was sugar factories, mines, oil refineries, and other business operations belonging to American corporations, among them the Coca-Cola Co., Exxon, and the First National Bank of Boston. A 2009 article in the Inter-American Law Review described Castro’s nationalization of US assets as the “largest uncompensated taking of American property by a foreign government in history.”