Hotel
Nacional de Cuba***** is a hotel with history and the only
one in Cuba that`s a monument
Even if you don`t stay at this
hotel it`s still worth a visit
See the beautiful hall, garden and
terrace to enjoy the view
You can see in the evening "Cabaret Parisiën "
A dazzling show of Cuban music and tropical costumes
This luxury hotel is located on the Malecón in Havana
It's on the tip of the Punta Brava that once a notorious pirate stronghold in Havana was
The Ordoñez gun is still in the garden of the hotel
The hotel was designed by the famous New York firm McKim, Mead and White and features a mix of architectural styles
It has a Spanish - Moorish touch and is built with clear Art Deco influences
The hotel opened on December 30, 1930 its doors to the first guests
Cuba was a prime travel destination for Americans and they also received many famous guests
Artists, actors, athletes and writers such as Ava Gardner, Johnny Weissmuller, Buster Keaton, Errol Flynn, John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, Marlon Brando and Ernest Hemingway
Furthermore, it was visited by celebrities like Fidel Castro, Winston Churchill, the Duke of Windsor, scientist Alexander Flemming and many Heads of State and European monarchs
The guest list also includes the names of gangsters like Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Vito Genovese and many others
This is reflected in the film by Francis Ford Coppola
“The Godfather Part II”
In 1955 Lansky managed Batista to give him a piece of the hotel
Lansky renovated the large hall and built a casino that was
an immediate success
The casino was closed by Fidel Castro in October 1960
After years of neglect, due to the disappearance of tourism, the hotel was mainly used for diplomats and foreign officials
Despite the restoration in the nineties, the hotel no longer has the status it once had
What remains is a piece of history and nostalgia of the past of Cuba
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