A large “Four Points by Sheraton” sign has gone up outside the Havana hotel that this week becomes the first in Cuba to operate under a US brand since the 1959 revolution, Reuters reported.
The military-owned Gaviota 5th Avenue Hotel, close to the Caribbean seafront, is one of two hotels that Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide agreed to manage in a multimillion-dollar deal with Cuba in March.
For decades, such arrangements have been prohibited under the U.S. economic embargo of the Communist-ruled island. But while the embargo remains in place, the Obama administration hs
loosened restrictions on trade and investment since it announced a detente with Cuba in December 2014.
“This is a historic moment,” said Nancy Sarabia, public relations manager for the hotel. She called the hotel “a symbol of brotherhood and collaboration.”
Starwood is the first US company to commit major money to Cuba since Fidel Castro overthrew a pro-American government on January 1, 1959, Reuters reported.
According to Starwood’s website, it will start operating state-owned Gran Caribe Inglaterra Hotel under its Luxury Collection brand on August 31.