Cuba used to depend on aid from its oil-rich ally Venezuela. But with Venezuela in turmoil, opening luxury hotels is"a new stage," but also"a necessity," Cuba's Tourism Minister says as his country scrambles for other revenue sources.
The exclusive camera store and other boutiques featuring A-list brands like Versace and Armani are located in a shopping gallery on the ground floor of the swanky Gran Hotel Manzana.The mere existence of the shops certainly seems incongruous in a country that has been governed as a one-party communist state since 1959, and where the average wage is $30 a month.
"It's the first hotel with a 1,000-square-metre spa," he said. All the rooms are at least 40 square metres , with prices ranging from $370 for a basic room in low season to $5,000 for the presidential suite. Having traveled around the island nation for three weeks, she and a friend had decided to spend their last few days relaxing by the hotel's rooftop pool.
The Kempinski group, which hopes to open two or three more hotels in Cuba, is of course not the only chain to show an interest in the ultra-luxury market.French hotel giant Accor is planning on opening its own luxury establishment on the Malecon, Havana's famous seaside boulevard, in September.The employees' outfits will be designed by Spanish fashion designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada.
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