It's a first for Cuba.
Gran Hotel Kempinsk
Bar Constante
Evocación Tobacco Lounge
La Habana Pool
Suite Presidential Lorca
Suite Presidential Lorca - Jacuzzi
Suite Mezzanine
Suite Mezzanine
The Gran Hotel Manzana, part of the Swiss group Kempinski Hotels, is situated in the heart of the Cuban capital in front of the verdant gardens of Parque Central and the grand Alicia Alonso theater, home to the Cuban National Ballet.
Guests in each of the hotel's 246 rooms, 50 of which are suites, have the pick of four bars and two restaurants and can take a swim in the rooftop infinity pool.
The European-style building first opened in 1917, before undergoing a complete renovation.
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Now the hotel, jointly owned by Kempinski and the military-controlled Cuban tour operator Gaviota, charges between $440 and $2,485 a night.
"We appreciate hidden gems and this matches our philosophy," Kempinski director Xavier Destribats told Cuban state television.
On the ground floor of the hotel, a shopping mall filled with high-end boutiques such as Versace, Lacoste and Montblanc sparked curiosity in a country where luxury was long ago banned under the iron-fisted rule of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
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