Hotel Plaza in Havana,one of the most attractive in the country
HAVANA, Nov 10th. At a time of recovery of national tourism, authorities and tour operators working in Cuba today highlighted the wealth and age of the Plaza Hotel in Havana, one of the most attractive in the country.Considered a jewel of eclectic architecture, a bastion of conservation and restoration, and one of the longest-lived, the Plaza maintains its attraction for historical tourism.
The Community Manager of the establishment, Dareinys Vázquez, highlighted this Friday that thousands of tourists prefer this accommodation every year because its walls still contain a lot of history, although they are also inclined towards the quality of the service.
She recalled that this makes it particularly attractive to groups of visitors arriving through city or heritage tourism packages, in addition to being also chosen by families.
It is a facility preferred by entrepreneurs, businessmen and corporate personnel who travel to Cuba to participate in international events, fairs, conventions and meetings of different types and topics, said Vázquez.
Despite not being a very large hotel, it is preferred by travel agencies, and for this reason, the main source market is Mexico, which currently accounts for 35 percent of this accommodation, followed by Russia.
Close in terms of its source markets is the Dominican Republic, followed by Haiti, since many students from Cuban universities stay there, and Italy completes the list.
She specified that last February the establishment reopened after a remodel. During COVID-19, the hotel hosted and provided service to the majority of foreign travelers and hikers who were stranded in the capital and other parts of this archipelago.
Opened in 1909 and located at the gates of Old Havana, as a key to a world full of history, culture and Cuban identity, the Plaza Hotel (near Central Park) maintains its atmosphere, with its original interior patio, where a figure of a woman in Carrara marble welcomes the visitor.
It includes in its decoration original paintings from the colonial era, painted by prestigious Cuban and Spanish artists such as Esteban Valderrama de la Peña, Esteban Domech, Federico Siroca and Juan Gil García.
Located on Zulueta Street between Virtudes and Neptuno, in the historic part of the city, Meliá Hotels International will currently be in charge of its administration, through the brand The Meliá Collection.
Belonging to the Cuban hotel chain Gran Caribe, it is a four-star hotel with 188 rooms, of which 161 doubles, 15 junior suites, nine triples and three special suites, which have air conditioning, telephone, satellite TV, safe, hairdryer, minibar, air conditioning and private bathroom.
The accommodation has the restaurants Bufé Fausto (breakfast and outdoor tables), Los Portales, with international cuisine, and Real Plaza, as well as three bars.
This building is the result of the remodeling, when it was originally the residence of the Pedroso family and was later occupied by the newspaper La Marina, until the 1930s.
Then the company Hotel Plaza S.A. began to operate it, although that lease contract ended in 1948 and the Plaza brand passed to another company.
It hosted celebrities such as the physicist Albert Einstein, the baseball player Babe Ruth, and dancers Ana Pavlova and Isadora Duncan, Ninon Sevilla, the singer Paulina Álvarez, the Cuban chess player José Raúl Capablanca, the musician Pacho Alonso and the Cuban actor Jorge Villazón.
