Hotel Tryp Habana Libre is one of the larger hotels in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, situated in Vedado

Vedado

Vedado is the downtown and a vibrant neighboorhood in the city of Havana, Cuba. Bordered on the east by Central Havana, and on the west by the Miramar/Playa district. The main street running east to west is Calle 23, also known as 'La Rampa'...

, Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

. The hotel has 569 rooms in a 25 floor tower at Calle 23 ("La Rampa") and Calle L.

History

The hotel was built as the Habana Hilton, under the personal auspices of President Fulgencio Batista

Fulgencio Batista

Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....

, as an investment by the pension plan of the Cuban Catering Workers' Union, and was operated by the American Hilton Hotels

Hilton Hotels

Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...

 group. It was designed by the Los Angeles firm Welton Becket

Welton Becket

Welton Becket was an architect who designed many buildings in Los Angeles, California.Becket was born in Seattle, Washington and graduated from the University of Washington program in Architecture in 1927 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree .He settled in Los Angeles in 1933 and formed a...

 & Associates, who had previously built the Beverly Hilton, as well as the Capitol Records Building

Capitol Records Building

The Capitol Records Building, also known as the Capitol Records Tower, Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District, located in Hollywood, Los Angeles is a thirteen story tower designed by Welton Becket – and one of the city's landmarks...

 in Hollywood.

Opened on March 22, 1958, with Conrad Hilton

Conrad Hilton

Conrad Nicholson Hilton was an American businessman and investor. He is well known for being the founder of the Hilton Hotels chain.-Early life:Hilton was born in San Antonio, New Mexico...

 himself in attendance, the Habana Hilton was Latin America's tallest and largest hotel. It boasted a Trader Vic's, as well as a casino, supper club, pool and rooftop bar.
Following the entry of Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

 into Havana, on January 8, 1959, the hotel became his headquarters. The casinos throughout the city were briefly closed, but protests by Havana casino workers led to their reopening in February.

The hotel remained in operation as a Hilton for two more unsuccessful years as relations between the US and Cuba

Cuba-United States relations

Cuba and the United States of America have had an interest in one another since well before either of their independence movements. Plans for purchase of Cuba from the Spanish Empire were put forward at various times by United States...

 worsened, until October 1960, when all American hotels in Cuba were nationalized and the casinos permanently closed. The hotel was then renamed the Hotel Habana Libre (Hotel Free Havana).

In 1996 the Spanish Sol Meliá

Sol Meliá

Meliá Hotels International, S.A. is a Spanish hotel chain which was founded by Gabriel Escarrer Juliá in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca. The company is the world's largest operator of holiday resorts and the 13th biggest hotel chain worldwide. Domestically the company is the market leader in both...

 chain assumed management of the hotel. It was placed in their Tryp division of urban hotels and renamed Hotel Tryp Habana Libre. It was renovated between 1996 and 1997. Among the highlights of the work was the restoration of an enormous original mural by artist Amelia Peláez

Amelia Peláez

Amelia Peláez del Casal was an important Cuban painter of the Avant-garde generation.-Biography:Amelia was born in 1896 in Yaguajay, in the former Cuban province of Las Villas...

over the main entrance which had spent decades hidden from public view.

Hotel Habana Libre is just a few steps from the popular ice-cream parlor Coppelia.

External links

• Sol Meliá Cuba - Habana Libre - Sol Meliá Cuba official website
• Sol Meliá - Habana Libre - Sol Meliá International official web site
• Hotel Habana Libre.com - hotel fansite