The Nacional Hotel, Havana
This is the most famous hotel in Havanа и Cubа. It was officially opened on the 30th of December 1930. Built by the American companies McKim, Mead & White, and Purdy & Henderson Co the hotel used to be of the greatest significance for its time in the whole Caribbean region. The hotel construction was funded by the American mafia like many other hotels in Vedado such as Capri and Riviera.
Nacional de Cuba was the meeting point of the mafia bosses in December 1947 and therefore served as the perfect setting for the “Godfather” movie. The hotel lobby walls are decorated with photographs signed by all the important hotel guests: Churchill, Nelson Rockefeller, the great Frank Sinatra, Ernest Hemingway, Yuri Gagarin, Walt Disney, and others.
Nacional de Cuba is a part of a district known in the earlier ages of the colonial period as Monte Vedado (vedado from Spanish means “forbidden”). The reason for this is the decree from the Spanish government that forbids road construction to the beach in this district. This is why one of the conference halls in the hotel is called “Sala Vedado”. The unstopping pirate attacks during the colonial age, followed by the capturing of Havana by the English, lead to the construction of various fortifications, including the one of Santa Clara. The remains of this defense system are exposed in the hotel garden.
In Nacional Hotel you can visit the Parisien Cabaret, which like Tropicana includes musical and dance performances. They are not as flamboyant as these of Tropicana but they are surely something worth seeing.
Compay Segunda, Ibrahim Ferrer and other Cuban legends perform in Nacional Hotel. Check out this video made by one of our tourists whose favourite place is the Nacional Hotel.
From the garden, you will also enjoy a breathtaking view of Malecon and the Atlantic Ocean.
Luxurious taxis will be waiting for you at the hotel entrance in case you want to explore Havanа.
