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More Encanto hotels in a beautiful
World Heritage Site
Julio Martínez
Molina
Xavier Mojica Caminal is a tourist from Catalonia
who has been interested in traveling to the Cuban
city of Cienfuegos for many years. Despite the city
being on the coast, he is not interested in the
typical “sun and beach” offers that the area is
renowned for, given that he suffers from a skin
condition which prohibits him from prolonged
exposure to the sun’s strong rays.
According to what he told Granma International,
Xavier is primarily interested in experiencing
the personalized Encanto hotels located in a UNSECO
World Heritage Site, about whose attractions he read
in a European travel magazine.
After taking vacation from the computer company for
which he works, this year Xavier visited Cienfuegos,
where he stayed in the Encanto La Unión Hotel,
located in the very heart of the city, where, as he
stated, the service was exquisite and the lodging
conditions met the standards described in the
magazine.
Encanto hotels began to appear in Cuba six years
ago, with the first, the Encanto Palacio Azul,
inaugurated on September 5, 2007, and according to
Manuel Marrero Cruz, minister of Tourism, these
types of hotels possess features which set them
apart from others.
Marrero Cruz stated that “the Hotels E (Encanto)
project is none other than the recuperation and
restoration of establishments with historical value
in Cuba’s main historic squares, converting them
into hotels distinguished by excellent personalized
services.”
He
highlighted that the hotels are “exquisite,
exotic, luxurious and
exceptional,
among other descriptors. And mark
the beginning of a new trend in Cuban tourism which
goes beyond beach resorts, to offer the most
authentic examples of Cuban cultural identity, from
San
Antonio to Maisí”.
“Every building is a book. They are full of history,
their imposing architecture take us back to the
different movements and styles which have emerged
over the last 20 years. Encanto hotels preserve the
footprints of our past and foster a more fruitful
exchange between visitors and our country,” he
stated at the time.
According to the minister, the most outstanding
Encanto hotel in Cuba, the Encanto Palacio Azul, is
one of the most emblematic examples of the eclectic
style, constructed between 1920-1921, designed by a
leading Italian architect, it was originally used as
a town house for the
bourgeoisie of Cienfuegos, and later as the
headquarters for various entities.
After the Palacio Azul, in Cienfuegos, the Encanto
La Unión was opened (the largest of the hotels to
date, which was previously an old lodging house
built in 1869 and which in 2000 was restored), and
is located one block from Martí Park - the old Plaza
de Armas, the site where the former Fernandina de
Jagua colony was founded in 1819.
Later, La Casa Verde and Perla del Mar also joined
the Encanto hotels portfolio, both of which are
located near to the La Punta National Monument. All
the hotels – part of the Gran Caribe hotel chain –
have had, since their creation to date, high levels
of occupancy which has required establishments to
expand.
The
creation of a large group of Encanto hotels is part
of an initiative to transform Cienfuegos into a
prominent and comprehensive tourist destination -
one of the most proficient and attractive in South
Central Cuba, stated José Enrique González Garrido,
Cienfuegos MINTUR representative.
González remarked that the new Encanto hotels, in
addition to the construction of a complex of other
high standard hotels, will contribute to
strengthening Cienfuegos as a tourist destination.
Manuel Carcassés Borges, director of the Development
Program of the MINTUR Provincial Delegation, stated
that within the general projections for the sector
in Cienfuegos, the San Carlos Encanto hotel (the
fifth of its kind), located city center, with 46
rooms, and currently in the final stages of
construction, is scheduled to open by 2016.
There are also plans to restore and transform the
buildings next to Martí Park, into Encanto Ciervo de
Oro hotel (22 rooms). With 24 rooms, located in a
similar area and in favorable structural conditions,
the Encanto Bristol hotel joins the list of Encanto
hotels scheduled to be erected in the province, he
stated.
Located in the Historical Center-World Heritage
Site, the Hotel Encanto Palacio de Ferrer is
forecast to be constructed, with 28 rooms. Between
2015 and 2017, restoration works in the zone are
planned in order to match the conditions of the 12
room Encanto La Fernandina hotel, informed Carcassés.
The
director added that among the list of Encanto hotels
scheduled to be constructed are the El Prado, Perla
del Sur/La Paloma, El Comercio, La Punta, El
Amanecer and Tureira, which will all boast
historical assets.
Of
note is the fact that these emblematic buildings
either fell into disuse (in some cases through the
entire special period) such as the hotels San Carlos
and Ciervo de Oro, or fulfilled functions unrelated
to their original design such as the once celebrated
Pan América, now the Bahía – located at the entrance
to the malecón - and the Bristol.
These renovations have made available almost 300
rooms in the city (182 of which are located in the
Historic Center, in four and five star
establishments).
The
area’s hotel portfolio is set to increase with new
constructions (not belonging to the Encanto group)
planned, such as the Compacto, with 300 rooms; Mar 1
& 2, with 335; Puesta del Sol, with 200; and a hotel
complex in Cayo Carenas, with a similar number.
The
technical stage of the Villa Náutica Residencial, a
class A Marina, which will have 200 berths, 100
rooms and 256 apartments, is currently in the
completion phase.
As
part of the ongoing development program through
2030, Carcassés highlighted the 1,748 hectare
expansion of the Rancho Luna hotel, with the
construction of 60 bungalows, and the promotion of
the establishment as a golfing, horseback riding and
beach destination, with nine lodging sites dedicated
to golf and five to the beach.
Similarly, he emphasized the opening of the Oxio
Club Costa Sur scheduled for 2015 - directed by
Palmares Business Group; a 3D/4D/5D Cinema; and
Funicular Water Park, planned for 2017, in addition
to a cruise terminal whose construction will be
managed by the Ministry of Transport.
The new terminal is a result of the expansion of the
cruise industry in the country, which during the
coming high winter season, is predicted to grow to
double that of the same period last year, with 70
cruise ships forecast to dock at the local port, in
comparison to the 29 which arrived in the previous
year.
Deborah González Valladares, Cienfuegos MINTUR
representative, stated that of the 70 arrivals, 16
will stay at the
Faro
Luna, converted to cater to divers
on Cuba’s southern coast.
Various projects have received foreign investment,
while other expenditures are being covered as part
of the Bicentennial Program which will celebrate two
centuries since the founding of the Fernandina de
Jagua colony in Cienfuegos, April 22, 2019.
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