5 Historic Hotels in Havana

Havana is a city steeped in history, and there'sThe Nacional hotel in Havana has the longest list of
certainly plenty of culture and echoes from the pastcelebrity visitors in the whole of Cuba. Holiday making
amongst many of its main tourist attractions. But forcelebrities included actors Errol Flyn, Marlon Brando
those who really want to absorb themselves in aand Buster Keaton, historical figures Winston Churchill,
historical holiday in Cuba, these luxury hotels inAlexander Flemming, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra,
Havana all have their own claims to fame. Fromand even various Italian-American gangsters such as
famous events to people, these Havana hotels allLucky Luciano and Frank Costello.
have a story to tell within their walls...Santa Isabel Hotel
Hotel Ambos MundosThe Santa Isabel is another luxury Havana hotel
While few would argue that the Hotel Ambosthat's popular with celebrity visitors to the island.
Mundos is the best hotel in Havana, it does have oneAmongst the likes of Jack Nicholson, Jake Bloom,
very strong endorsement - one that theBruce Willis, Sting, Naomi Campbell and Robert Plant
management has been promoting for decades:are heads of state including King Juan Carlos II and
between 1932 and 1939, Ernest Hemingway stayedformer US president Jimmy Carter. His 2002 visit was
at the hotel, and room 551 is where he wrote thethe first person to hold that high office to visit the
first few chapters of "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Itisland since 1928 when Calvin Coolidge attended the
was clearly his favourite room, and is now preservedPan American Conference in Havana.
as a shrine to the legendary author, with his affects -Hotel Inglaterra
including the typewriter he worked on - exactly as heAlthough time has been less kind to the Hotel
left them when he moved into his own house 9 milesInglaterra, its heritage speaks for itself. As well as
outside of Havana. Local drinking establishmentshosting guests from the world the arts (Garcia Lorca,
Hemingway was said to favour include La BodeguitaSara Bernhardt, Anna Pavlova) and sports (Jose Raul
and La Floridita, so if you work up a thirst on yourCapablanca and Ramon Fonst), the Inglaterra was
Cuba holiday, you can enjoy a mojito to Hemingway'shost to Cuban national hero José
specifications.Martí's famous speech in homage to Manuel
Hotel RivieraMarquez Sterling in 1879. More recently, the hotel has
Notorious gangster Meyer Lansky (known for hishosted Frei Betto - one of the creators of the
work in The Commission and heading up Murder Inc.Liberation theology.
in the US) used his relationship with corrupt CubanWhile some of these Havana hotels may not be the
leader Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar to build this casinomost luxurious in town, what they lose in features
and luxury hotel in Havana in 1957. It was short livedand decadence, they more than make up for in
though, as Zaldivar was overthrown by the Cubancharacter in history. If you want to walk in the
revolution just two years later, and the casino wasfootsteps of Winston Churchill, Federico Garcia Lorca
shut down, with the hotel becoming property of theor Ernest Hemingway, the historical hotels of Havana
state. In its two years of Vegas style glory, itprovide the perfect place to hang your hat on a
managed to attract celebrities from around the globe.Cuba holiday.
Hotel Nacional