The Spanish hotel chain Meliá Hotels International He added from July a new installation inhabits his portfolio. This is the Gran Bristol Hotel, which now assumes under an administration contract, so far in the hands of the exclusive Kempinski brand.
The property, located near the National Capitol, was designed with an Art Deco style that evokes the 30s, and has 162 rooms, in addition to a striking pool on the roof, stands out The specialized medium Reportur.
Meliá Sum Hotel Gran Bristol to his portfolio in Cuba | Cuba Excellences https://t.co/foll9WBKP1 pic.twitter.com/st4nyd9Dou
– Havanatur S (@havanaturcuba) August 5, 2025
The Great Bristol was since 2020 the second Cuban hotel operated in Cuba by Kempinski Hotels, which marked its return to Latin America with the opening in 2017, also in Havana, of the luxurious Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski, with 246 rooms and suites.
With the new acquisition, Meliá reaffirms his commitment to the tourism market of the island, despite the complex situation in which he has developed in recent years.
In a semiannual report, the company re -qualified the situation on the island as a “challenger”, mainly due to the energy crisis and the difficulties facing the country for the importation of essential supplies for the sector.
This document also highlights the negative effect of international perception on Cuba, influenced by social networks campaigns that alert the shortage of products and supposed security risks.
These circumstances did not represent a brake for Meliá, which received authorization to operate within the country an importing company dedicated exclusively to supply its properties.
However, the Spanish company appreciates positive signals in certain tourist -emitting markets such as Canadian, when air connectivity is maintained. Others, such as Colombia, have experienced growth, as noted in the report.
Uncertain recovery
For the third quarter of the current year, Meliá projects a cautious strategy, focused on strengthening local and Canadian demand to compensate for the reduction of flights from other destinations.
In its balance at the end of March the company confirmed a 8.3 % drop in Cuba in the average rate per room and 20.8 % in revenues per room available.
For its part, the occupation of its rooms on the island stood at just 40.5 %, below the data compiled in the same period of the previous year.
The situation derives from the marked crisis that the sector lives in the country, which fails to recover the arrival levels of foreign visitors that reached before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the first quarter of 2025 there was a drop of 11 % hotel occupancy compared to the same period of the previous year, according to official statistics.
In this period, this index stood at just 24.1 %, more striking figure to be framed in the middle of high season.
Cuba occupies only a quarter of her hotel capacity in the first quarter of 2025
The trend remained until the semester, when 981 856 international tourists had received on the island, 327 799 less than those arrived in the same period of the previous year, according to the data offered by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
Tourism is essential for government plans, for its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and by the entry of currencies it supposes (traditionally only behind professional services and remittances).
Cuba received 2.2 million international visitors in 2024, a total of 2.4 million in 2023 and 1.6 million in 2022. All figures are far from the four million barrier that was exceeded in 2018 (4.6) and 2019 (4,2).
