The first five-star plus hotel in Cuba, Manzana Kempinski, was inaugurated this Wednesday afternoon, with the presence of Cuban Minister of Tourism Manuel Marrero.

The six-story building with 246 rooms is located at the heart of Havana city, across the Central Park, just a couple of hundred meters from the seat of the Parliament, the Capitol.

Markus Semer, chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer since March 2016 of the Swiss Kempinski Hotels SA, in his opening remarks, said this new facility has all the amenities to please the most exclusive tastes in the world.

Semer and Carlos Miguel Latuff Carmenate, president of the Cuban company Gaviota, owner of the installation, cut the ribbon that officially opened the newest hotel in Cuba.

This day is a special occasion, as Kempinski resumes the presence in the Americas in a market ready for luxury services, Semer said.
In addition, he expressed gratitude to Gaviota for undertaking the restoration of this historic building that now displays a modern style.

He also thanked the association between the Union of Military Constructions (UCM) and the Bouygues group, the world's leading construction company, in the execution of the work undertaken in 2014.

Havana City Historian, Eusebio Leal Spengler, noted the happy coincidence that the opening happens when the building celebrates its centenary, and just two years shy of the half millennium of the Cuban capital, a marvel of the modern world.

This eclectic hotel is reborn in an environment where other buildings of great heritage value such as the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso, the National Museum of Fine Arts and the Capitol are rebuilt, said the outstanding intellectual.

Leal Spengler meant that the restoration of the old Manzana de Gómez constitutes a significant contribution to the reconstruction of the Historic Center, declared a World Heritage Site in 1982.

In operation for more than a week, Manzana Kempinski has a variety of restaurants and bars, a public swimming pool, business rooms, a gym, a spa and a terrace with panoramic views of the city.