Havana's first U.S.-run hotel in over 50 years opened this week, as Starwood took over the former Gaviota Quinta Avenida Hotel and hung out the signs proclaiming it as the Sheraton Four Points Havana.
More than just the name is changing: Starwood is doing a major upgrading and refurbishing, but the hotel will stay open during the work, which has already started and will take several months.
The second hotel in the deal, the historic Gran Inglaterra, which faces on Parque Central, near the heart of downtown Havana, will come under Starwood management by summer's end. It will be operated as part of Starwood's Luxury Collection.
The hotels, which are owned by government corporations, should prove profitable for Starwood; with Havana's tourist boom (visits up 13.5% from last year and continuing to grow), it would be hard not to fill the rooms, which go for about $200 a night at Four Points, and will be higher at the Inglaterra.
Relaxed U.S. travel restrictions account for part of the boom, and if the U.S. lifts restrictions to permit purely tourist visits, the demand for rooms with familiar names and amenities will only grow. Speaking of amenities, the Four Points has one that's highly unusual for Cuba: Internet access in every room.
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