Cuba’s 15th Iberostar Hotel Opens

The Bella Vista Varadero has five swimming pools, an enormous water park, and offers a variety of sporting and recreational activities

With 90% of its rooms boasting sea views as well as family and adult only facilities, Bella Vista Varadero, the 15th establishment managed by the Iberostar chain in Cuba, is already in operation.

Located on one of the best beaches in the world, the elegant Premium Gold five-star rated resort is set among lush tropical grounds, has five swimming pools, an enormous water park, and offers a variety of sporting and recreational activities.

According to Juan Gabriel Pujol, director general of the new establishment, what sets Bella Vista Varadero apart is its professional and experienced staff. “The main challenge is to position ourselves as Cuba’s leading hotel. This is our aim, because we have a genuinely good product and know that Iberostar Varadero must be the first flagship hotel to achieve this position.”

The executive highlighted the most “exclusive part of the fifth hotel managed by Iberostar in Varadero” – a gourmet restaurant located on the top floor of the new establishment, with stunning panoramic views and gastronomical offers catering to guests staying in the hotel’s 65 luxury rooms, or customers who prefer a private dining experience.

Meanwhile, according to Pujol, Bella Vista, the tallest hotel in Varadero, has tried to break with the customary aesthetic of facilities at this resort, with a white, minimalist design and façade featuring 45 different colors, as visitors to Cuba come to enjoy the island’s vibrancy and warmth.

The director also highlighted that Iberostar has placed great focus on its gastronomic offers, one of the chain’s three key pillars. “Regarding the restoration, our hotels have been reaching a level that only certain private businesses could reach and we intend to continue advancing in the diversification process,” he added.

According to the young Spaniard: “We really want to create, innovate, and produce different products and exploit the opportunity to build logically. For us every client, regardless of their nationality, is important. We also want Cuba’s domestic market to learn about us and know that they now have a new hotel in Varadero that aims to exceed its clients’ expectations.”

In this same vein, Iberostar representative on the island, Mateo Caldentey, reiterated that the country, which he described as “the most beautiful island in the Caribbean,” has enormous natural, cultural, and heritage potential, as well as a safe and happy environment; noting that the building of the Bella Vista hotel, undertaken by the construction company Almest and Gaviota Tourism Group, reflects the increasing quality and development potential of the sector.

“This potential has already seen success at a national and international level. As well as ensuring the quality of its products, Iberostar relies on the high-level of educational training and knowledge that Cubans possess,” he noted.

With a key focus on “quality, quality, quality,” Caldentey explained that Iberostar is set to solidify its relationship with its commercial partner AT commercial, the Caribbean Hotel Services logistics entity based in the Mariel Special Development Zone.

It is worth noting that this year, during which Cuba is set to receive over 4,200,000 visitors, Varadero continues to be one of the most popular tourist resorts.

With some 20,000 rooms across 50 hotels, in 2016 the beach resort located in the province of Matanzas received over one million visitors for the ninth consecutive year.

It should also be mentioned that the Varadero Iberostar Hotel recently received its Certification from the Quality Management System for Accommodation and Restoration Services, the company’s first establishment of this kind in Cuba, and Varadero, to receive such a distinction.

Iberostar Varadero is the only hotel on the Hicacos Peninsula with a mini aqua park and kids club, where children are looked after by specially trained personnel, while their parents enjoy the hotel’s other services.

IBEROSTAR EXPANDING IN CUBA

Established in Cuba almost 25 years ago, the company currently manages facilities in Havana, Cayo Largo del Sur, Varadero, Trinidad and the keys in the provinces of Villa Clara and Ciego de Ávila.

According to Caldentey, the chain hopes to be managing 25 hotels in Cuba by 2025, in collaboration with three national entities: Gran Caribe, Cubanacán and Gaviota.

Iberostar is set to take over the management of one of Gaviota’s Premium Gold five star, 600 room, hotels in Playa Pesquero, Holguín; the Colonial Hotel in Cayo Coco; as well as the Casa Granda, Imperial and Gran hotels, located in Santaigo de Cuba’s city center and affiliated with the Cubanacán Gorup.

The Iberostar representative noted that Cubanacán has begun construction on another five-star hotel, the Iberostar Albatros, on Guardalavaca, another of Holguín’s beaches, an important tourist destination on the island.

Meanwhile, Caldentey also mentioned the Hotel Riviera on Havana’s famous Malecón, which has been managed by Iberostar since January, and is set to be upgraded to a Premium Gold five-star establishment, with 352 newly renovated rooms, while its offers and services will be adjusted to meet the chain’s quality standards.

The renovations and hotel openings being undertaken by Iberostar in Cuba are part of a new modality offered by the Ministry of Tourism to sector partners, allowing them to both manage and carryout investments on establishments.

Regarding the company’s operations in Havana, Caldentey mentioned the inauguration this year of the Hotel Packard, located on Prado and Malecón streets, and included in Iberostar’s exclusive Grand Collection; while the company is also set to take over the management of another three hotels in the Cuban capital, in addition to the five it currently manages in Varadero.

The international hotel chain, founded in Palma de Mallorca, forms part of the Iberostar Group, one of Spain’s leading tourist entities, with over 60 years of experience and 100 four and five star hotels worldwide.