Havana.- Trinidad de Cuba -Sancti Spíritus, located in the central zone of the island, presents novel tourists attractions for the holiday makers.

In that sense the specialists emphasized the program called Route of the Conquerors (Ruta de Los Conquistadores), which covers a visit to the village Ma. Dolores, navigating along the river Guaurabo. According to investigators, River Guaurabo was the route used for commercial traffic of the village before the 19th century.

Likewise, during the high tourist season, is incorporated to the local excursions; the Visit to Valle de Los Ingenios, Cultural Patrimony of the Humanity.

In addition to the tourist attractions that Trinidad has been offering to its visitors is now available The Museum of Contemporary Art, in the zone of Topes de Collantes- Escambray Mountains, 800 meters above sea level.

Havana.- Varadero Beach Resort, main beach destination in the biggest of The Antilles, will be benefited with a recovery programme devoted to improve the quality of its sandy beaches.

According to the specialists, this programme will improve the area and rocky zones, fruit of the erosive action of the ocean, will be covered with sand dragged from the sea.

The project in motion, which does not interrupt the massive winter arrival of the international tourism, has been arranged between the Cuban Ministry of Tourism and that of Science, Technology and Environment.

The ambitious project aims at the benefit of an area close to the seven thousand square meters of coastline.

Last summer in Varadero, 600 thousand cubic meters of sand were shed to improve the end of the peninsula. Up to now, two million cubic meters of sand have been introduced in the area.

Havana.- The lodging capacity in Cayo Coco – part of the tourist destination Jardines del Rey, on the north coast of Cuba - increased with the opening of a new 320 rooms hotel.

The installation managed in joined venture by Gaviota Group, called Los Balcones Blue Bay, marked the introduction of the Spanish Hotel Chain Hotetur in the region.

The new hotel has a category of four stars and houses 154 suites, distributed in two-floor bungalows, besides other facilities for recreation.

Including Los Balcones Blue Bay hotel, Cayo Coco counts 13 900 rooms, distributed in 13 hotels and villas.

Cayo Coco reachable by air, sea and land, share its territory among the most important Cuban hotel chains: Gran Caribe, Cubanacán and Gaviota, as well as the international brands Sol Meliá, Iberostar, NH, Blau, Globalia and Hotetur.

If you found this page searching on the net and you are looking for the hotel Royal Hideaway please allow me to clarify one thing first. Royal Hideaway is not located in Cayo Santamaria and there is not such a thing called Hideaway Cayo Santa Maria.

Cayo Santa Maria is one of there tiny islands located off shore on the north coast of Villa Clara Provice and it takes 40 minutes to reach them driving along a road build over the sea. Magnificent drive by the way.

The other 2 islands are called Cayo Las Brujas and Cayo Ensenachos. Cayo Ensenachos is where Occidental Royal Hideaway Hotel is located and this is the only hotel in this island. Fantastic beaches completely virgin. In some places there is absolutely no one else but you. I think this is pretty amazing.

I have seen and stayed in many hotels in Cuba but when I visited Royal Hideaway that hotel topped the top of the list of the best hotels in Cuba.

Excellent food (they even have a Suchi a la carte restaurant), the rooms are very large and decorated impeccably but if you have money to spend the give the Royal suites a go. These suites are located in a separate area of the hotel with its own reception and you get a golf car for your self to drive around the hotel. You also have your own butler. The suites look like a villa. It is a 2 story construction with living rooms dinning rooms, bedrooms and every thing you find in your own home plus a Jacuzzi over looking the sea.

If you are looking to stay in this Hotel don’t even think about it and go for it. You will not regret it.

We stayed in Sirenis La Salina from the 05 Jan to the 12 Jan 2009. We were a bit doubtful about our choice of hotel after we read some reviews on trip advisor especially from Canadian tourists. According to them the hotel wasn’t very good but since the hotel had an excellent price we decided to give it a go despite the bad reviews.

Our first surprise was the excellent and friendly welcome we received from the hotel staff including the management of the hotel.

The only bad thing is the food based on what Canadians like to eat. If you are from Spain you will understand what I mean (we have the best food in the world)

The hotel is huge but there are golf cars circulating all around the hotel and you can hop on/off any where you want.

The rooms are large and very clean. Bear in mind this is a new hotel and our room was impeccable.

The beach of the Hotel Sirenis La Salina is a bit wild sinse there are only a couple of hotels being built in the distance.

In general we spent a great time and we will recommend this hotel to our own family.

We stayed 14 nights in Iberostar Varadero Hotel. It is one of the best 5 star hotels in Varadero and anyone that have stayed here before would agree that it is a good hotel. Although I have stayed before in another 5 star  Iberostar hotel in Mexico (Beach Paraiso) and Iberostar Varadero is well under the 5 star standard of the one in Mexico.

 To begin the hotel is very pretty and the swimming pools are a dream. I did find the buffet restaurant a bit too small for such a big hotel. There are other options though but you have to book in advance for any of the 3 a la carte restaurants that they have and of course there is the fast food and snacks that you can have in the bars. After trying everything we decided to stick to the buffet restaurant it was very good for Cuban standards.

There are few sun beds available and there are certain times in the day in which I would not suggest to go to the beach cause they have few shady places available.   The best from the hotel was the pool bar and the waiters who made our days.

Ernest Hemingway, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, used to fish in the beautiful water (of all imaginable hues of blue) around this island on board of the Pilar and, and during World War II, kept an eye on the Nazi submarines in this labyrinth of Cays.

The island is a limestone pain rimmed by beaches, cliffs, marshes, lagoons and mangrove thickets. These features plus the fact that nobody lived here, made it an ideal hideaway for corsairs and pirates, who used to bury their treasures in this little islands. Ships loaded with great wealth and bound for Spain were often sunk in its waters.

Cayo Coco has 13.6 miles of creamy-white sandy beaches bathed by green-blue waters. There are 9 beaches in Cayo Coco of which Flamencos, Las Coloradas and La Jaula are the most popular. The section of seabed around Cayo Coco is considered one of the most important of the north coast of Cuba and in the Caribbean. The island is abundant in vegetation, and you can find large colonies of pink Flamingos, as well as other birds, molluscs and reptiles.

Cuba, Havana’s Old Town and its attractions, history and traditions has impacted the international market for tourism in the Caribbean island, informed authorities of the tourist industry in Cuba.

The peculiarities of its hotels and the vivid colours of its colonial architecture keep charming travellers from all over the world – explained Tania Sibori, Managing Director of Habaguanex.

The 4 square kilometres that make up the Old Town area – declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982- is the favourite location in Havana specially for the European and Latin-American market.

One of the recent investments of Habaguanex – the company in charge of the restoration of the Havana’s Old Town – is the refurbishment of Marques del Prado Ameno Residence, a lush property built on the 18^th Century for one of the richest families in Havana. Located in one of the most affluent streets of Old Havana today Marques del Prado Ameno residence opens its doors as a hotel with 3 suites and 16 standard rooms.

Siborit reported that Habaguanex is in charge of a project of restoration that includes over 300 installations such as hotels, restaurants, bars and museums. Habaguanex is planning to open another hotel, this time Marques de Felipe y Santiago with a total of 30 rooms.

The 19 rooms at Prado Ameno Hotel add up to a total of 546 existing at present in Havana’s Old Town.

by Ventura de Jesús

VARADERO. — Cuba’s top beach resort has received more than 700,000 tourists to date and the conditions exist for the year to end with a total of one million visitors for the first time in the history of tourism in that province.

“Varadero has been strengthening its position as a destination,” emphasized Amado Acosta Hernández, Ministry of Tourism delegate in Matanzas province. “We have maintained progressive growth since the second semester of 2007 and, specifically this year, we are seeing the best results in overall indicators, although we know we can be still more efficient.”

Varadero has a total of 17,300 hotel rooms, and according to experts, it is highly likely that in February and March, the peak of the high season, the daily rate of tourists will exceed 30,000, a record set last season.

Acosta Hernández explained to Granma that damages from the recent hurricanes are insignificant; they were localized in the structures of several hotels, above all windows and roofs, along with landscaping and gardens. “We are now completely back to normal and preparing for the high season,” he said.

Leading up to the winter period, some of the most important actions include beefing up beaches with sand, with a current accumulation of 35,000 cubic meters.

The process of restoring facilities is particularly comprehensive at the Breezes Varadero, Tuxpan and Las Morlas hotels.

Acosta Hernández added that work is underway to improve roads, street signs and lighting. Because of the competition in this industry, a greater emphasis should be placed on service quality, he commented.

Translated by Granma International

In the narrow alleys of Old Havana, The los Frailes Hotel raises just few steps away from the majestic convent of san Francisco de Asis and the populous Old Square.

The former mansion of the fourth Marquis and Captain of the French Navy Don Pedro Claudio Duquesne is today Los Frailes Hotel. Once visited by the finest and most prominent personalities and renowned artists the Hotel Los Frailes is the prefect place to enjoy the voice of the silence and meditation in the pleasant afternoons of the Old Town.

Right at the entrance a sculpture made of cooper resembling a monk welcomes visitors inviting them into the imaginary trip to a medieval abbey.

Its lobby bar, comfortable rooms and quiet courtyard, decorated with outstanding works of art, its enigmatic and intimate atmosphere combined with the suggestive sound of a water fountain invite to contemplation and meditation in this exclusive hotel.

Facilities:

22 rooms (18 standard rooms and 4 mini-suites) all with air conditioning, private bathroom, satellite T, min bar, national and international telephone access in the room, safe box and lobby bar.

Address:
Los Frailes Hotel
Calle Teniente Rey No 8 entre Mercaderes y Oficios, La Habana Vieja
Telephones: (00 53 7) 629383/(00 53 7) 629510