Havana hotels practice exchange anarchy with the dollar

Havana/The Sevilla Hotel in Havana lives oblivious to the comings and goings of the currency exchange rate in Cuba. The establishment, managed by the Spanish hotel chain Meliáhas its own rules: anarchy. The restaurant’s menu displays its prices in Cuban pesos and dollars and the result could not be more unexpected. If the customer orders a Seville sandwich, it will cost him seven dollars or 1,500 pesos (exchange rate: 214), but if he prefers a Cuban sandwich, he can pay the same seven dollars or 1,800 pesos (257). Of course, always with a card, because cash is not accepted.

The hotel, located in a privileged central area of ​​the capital, a few meters from the Capitol, does not follow the official rate dictated by the Government to which it rents the management of the establishment, that is, 120 pesos per dollar. Nor has he chosen the one that moves in the informal currency market, 445 this Tuesday, but rather a rate halfway between legality and the black market. Perhaps this pricing policy has something to do with the fact that Meliá has, since this year, its own supply companyMesol, to be able to supply outside the State.

At 4,000 pesos, that is, for 181 pesos per dollar, you can eat a beef entrecote, which costs 22 dollars if you choose to pay with the US currency.

Thus, the letter is nonsense from head to toe. For 15 dollars you can eat a good plate of bluefin tuna at 3,800 pesos (change at 253), or a ropavieja that is at 4,300 (286). But at 4,000 pesos, that is, for 181 pesos per dollar, you can eat a beef entrecote, which costs 22 dollars if you choose to pay with the US currency. Furthermore, the drinks section leaves some almost paranormal situation. A half-liter bottle of water costs 150 pesos or 2 dollars (change at 75 pesos, well below the official rate of 120), but if you prefer a Seven-Up soft drink, the price in foreign currency is the same, but in national currency it will be double (300 pesos).

“The service is terrible, I had the worst cappuccino of my life: agua con churre,” says a Cuban sitting at the hotel this weekend. The coffee, by the way, is two dollars, regardless of its presentation, but the exchange rate is not the same for the espresso (100), with milk (125) or the tasteless cappuccino (150), which costs the same in national currency as the cocktail that a foreigner was drinking at the neighboring table, the only tourist in the cafeteria.

“Before you passed through the Plaza de la Revolución and saw a caravan of cars. Now, with luck, you see one or two,” says the Cuban, who confirms with his eyes what the numbers continue to reveal month after month. Tourism has collapsed on the Island since the pandemic and as of October 31, only 1.4 million international travelers arrived on the Island, 20% less than the already disastrous year 2024.

“The cafeteria at the England is more popular,” says the Cuban, although this weekend there was not much movement in the hotel rooms – managed by the Canadian chain Blue Diamond–, the bar had a little more clientele. In your case, the prices are only shown in Cuban pesos, so it is impossible to know what exchange rate applies if you want to pay with the Classic card to which the letter refers for payment in dollars. The waiters are the first to dissuade the unwary from trying to do it. “Are you sure you want to pay in dollars, at 120?” the employee responds, amazed.

The one that does respect the official rates is the Plaza, located in Old Havana and belonging to the Gran Caribe state group. The letter can be seen in pesos and dollars and in all products the exchange rate corresponds to the 120 set by the Government for individuals – the rate for companies is still the one that was set almost five years ago by the Ordering Task.

A combo of croquettes costs five dollars or 600 pesos, while a four-season pizza sells for 2,000 pesos or 16.66 scrupulously exact dollars. “Here payment is only by card, whatever you want, because cash is not accepted,” says a Havana native, a regular customer of the restaurant. “It’s better in CUP, because if you pay in dollars, you lose because of the exchange rate they apply,” he reasons, stating that both the service and the quality of the food were good. Surprisingly, since the clientele was only Cuban.