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The Varadero Xanadu
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Golf course and small
hotel • Former mansion of Irenee Du Pont
BY
MIREYA CASTAÑEDA —Granma International
staff writer—
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PERHAPS it would be a contradiction to say that
there is a mansion called Xanadu in the resort of
Varadero. However, if we follow — precisely— the
myth of the summer capital of Kubla Khan, the
splendor of which Marco Polo spoke, Varadero
really is a Xanadu given the wealth of its nature,
its beaches, its sky and its gardens.
The word Xanadu does not bring to mind Olivia
Newton John or U.S. millionaire Irenee Du Pont,
but the British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge
(1772-1834) and his Kubla Khan (1797), who
gave eternal life to Xanadu. The first stanza of
the poem has been cited many times: In Xanadu
did Kubla Khan /A stately pleasure-dome decree:
/Where Alph, the sacred river, ran /Through
caverns measureless to man /Down to a sunless sea.
Although “to the sunless sea” doesn’t fit with
Varadero, other verses, other metaphors, other
expressions in the poem totally describe the blue
waters of Varadero and especially the area
acquired by Du Pont at a ridiculous price. For
example when it speaks of Enfolding
sunny spots of greenery,
or The shadow of the dome of pleasure, or
Where was heard the mingled measure/ From the
fountain and the caves, It was a miracle of
rare device.
THE ARRIVAL OF DU PONT
The Xanadu Mansion, as the magnate named it,
although it was later known as Du Pont, is located
in the rocky outcrops of San Bernardino and was
designed by architects Covarrocas and Govantes in
1927, the year the U.S. millionaire reached 49
years old and decided to retire from the
presidency of the family empire (in the
book Trading with the Enemy: 1933-1949,
historian Charles Higham, after describing him as
being the most amazing and powerful member of the
clan, added that he was obsessed with Hitler.)
It is said that he began to search for a
retirement haven, and, like many U.S. citizens, he
found it in Cuba. He then bought 180 hectares on
the Hicacos peninsula for 90,000 pesos (an absurd
price of 4 cents per square meter.) The property
included eight kilometers of virgin beach, but he
chose the rocky hills of San Bernardino to build
the house (at a cost of $1,300,000), a veritable
mansion on four floors, with 11 bathrooms, three
large terraces, seven balconies, and a private
boat dock.
Precious woods were used for the ceilings, stairs
and columns while the floors and bathrooms were of
marble from Cuba, Italy and Spain.
Du Pont resided in Xanadu for a few months every
year starting January (Varadero oral history says
only a few days and not every year). In 1931 he
ordered the construction of an 18-hole golf course
(redesigned to only nine in 1933 after the first
course was destroyed by a hurricane.)
It was in March 1957 when Du Pont visited Xanadu
for the last time, corroborating that he did not
come to Cuba every year given that he stopped his
trips two years before the triumph of the
Revolution. He died December 12, 1963, the same
day on which Xanadu opened as the restaurant
Las Americas, with the first women cosmonaut
in the world, the Soviet Valentina Tereshkova, as
guest of honor.
VARADERO GOLF CLUB
Over the last few years Xanadu and its
surroundings have undergone many transformations
finally becoming, in 1999, the Varadero Golf Club.
José Tovar, its general director, assured that its
“course of 18 holes par 72 is in line with
universal regulations.”
Golf —he said— is a magnificent tourism option,
given that this sport is growing by around 15 %
annually and more than 80 million people are
members of golf associations.”
Tourist arrivals in Varadero are particularly
significant between November and April, as the
Club’s main clients are from Canada, Spain,
France, and the UK.
“The Xanadu Mansion has been remodeled into a
clubhouse with six hotel rooms. The first floor
restaurant offers a menu and banquet service, and
has a wine cellar in the basement (formerly a
bar).”
The current Varadero Golf Club —explained Tovar—,
with its 39.7 ha., (not including surrounding
greens, lagoons, and parks totaling 61.0 ha.), was
the first 18-hole course on the island designed by
architect Les Furber, president of the Canadian
Golf Design Services Company Ltd. It extends along
a narrow strip in the vicinity of a number of
hotels such as Breezes SuperClubs, Tuxpan, Bella
Costa, Meliá Las Américas, and Meliá Varadero.
According to Tovar, the shape of the golf
course separates two areas each with their defined
characteristics. The first section up to the ninth
hole is considered a bit easier; holes 10-18 stand
out for their individual complexities. “Both allow
golfers to combine the technical elements of the
game with the beauty and tranquility of the
environment.”
For its qualities, the Club has been twice
selected as the venue of the European Challenge
Tour Grand Final (1999 and 2000.)
The
Varadero Golf Club or Xanadu Mansion is,
without any doubt, a magical place in the finest
tradition of the myth of Kubla Khan.
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