Cuba’s Historic Hotel to Reopen as Iconic Rainbow Hub
Havana’s elegant Hotel Telégrafo is located in the heart of Old Havana, Cuba. It is a stylish building and meeting place that would fit right into a turn of the [19th] century film set. It has a colorful stucco exterior, inner courtyard complete with fountain and majestic mural, forever ceilings, and a perfect central location on the corner of Prado Avenue and Neptuno Street.
Once a hub for Cuba’s aristocracy in the early 20th century, it is Havana’s oldest hotel, established in 1860. And under its new management, Spanish hotel chain, Axel Hotels, in partnership with Cuban chain Gaviota, this iconic destination is set to reopen as the first LGBTQ hotel in Havana , as reported by teleSUR.
Conmemorando este día, hemos preparado un reportaje sobre el primer hotel en #LaHabana para la comunidad LGTB: el Hotel Telégrafo administrado por #AxelHotels
Entérate de cada detalle ???? https://t.co/U6J4wWfy8C#SegurosConGaviota #DestinoSeguro #Pride #Alianzas pic.twitter.com/AOcFTGNXEw— Gaviota Turismo-Cuba (@GaviotaTurismo) June 28, 2021
The newly refurbished Hotel Telégrafo will invite guests to take in the Cuban capital’s historic old quarter. This famed area’s many attractions include the ”Gran Teatro de La Habana”, art galleries, restaurants and bars, and of course, the many lovingly restored American classic cars from the 1940s and 1950s that whizz around the quarter’s streets.
The hotel’s 63 comfortable rooms, pool terrace, lounges and dining areas have been modernized to give it a design-led feel in a mixed contemporary and colonial style.
But the special atmosphere will be due to much more than design. Juan Juliá, President and founder of the Axel hotel chain, explains his vision for all the chain’s “heterofriendly” destinations on Axel’s website: “A cosmopolitan and tolerant environment where atmosphere, diversity and respect are valued.”
“Axel hotels are spaces conceived by and for the LGBTQ community”, echoes Axel’s Communication and Marketing Director, Silvia Pérez. She makes it clear, however, that the revamped Hotel Telégrafo will be a place to stay that warmly welcomes all.
Special awareness workshops and training to reflect this tolerance are already being planned for hotel staff.
Making the turn onto Calle Neptuno, in the background R -> L = Hotel Telegrafo, Hotel Inglaterra, and Gran Teatro de La Habana #Havana #Cuba #streetphotography #streetview #vintage #architecture #travel #classiccars #arquitectura #Cuban pic.twitter.com/5TOfajjc22
— michael (@LOW843) March 10, 2021
Significantly, TeleSUR relayed that “the hotel is a sign of the evolution of a Cuban society that is making progress in inclusion and support for the rights of historically marginalized groups.”
