St. Giles Hotels has announced its expansion into Cuba, positioning the company as the first U.K.-based hotel brand to enter the Cuban hotel market.
Gran Caribe, a Cuban hotel group operating four- and five-star properties on the Caribbean island, accepted St. Giles’ bid to renovate and manage the Hotel Deauville, located in the heart of Havana.
Currently operating as a three-star hotel, the property will reopen at a later date as The Deauville – A St Giles Signature Hotel, and will be added to the brand’s highest hotel classification. The property is located on the Malecon, Cuba’s famous seaside promenade, overlooking Havana Bay and offering a centrally located base to explore both Old Havana and the Vedado district.
This is the first of St. Giles Hotels’ planned expansion into Cuba and the Caribbean, and this bid will mark the 11th hotel in the St. Giles portfolio.
This latest St. Giles development news follows 2015 openings including The Wembley – a St. Giles Hotel in Penang and The Tank Stream – a St. Giles Hotel in Sydney.
The news comes about two months after Kempinski Hotels announced that it will open its first hotel in Cuba in the second quarter of this year.
The Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana will have 246 rooms and suites and is located within the historic Manzana de Gomez building in the heart of Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Guests can choose from 246 luxury rooms and suites, ranging in size from 430 feet to the presidential suite’s roughly 1,600 feet. Other hotel highlights include a rooftop terrace and swimming pool with views of the city.
There will also be a spa managed by Resense, three restaurants, a lobby bar, a cigar lounge, and a business center.
Visit www.stgiles.com and www.kempinski.com. Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for all your latest travel news. Be sure to follow Travel Agent’s Joe Pike on Twitter @TravelPike and Instagram @pike5260.