Meliá Internacional Varadero Hotel Opens in Cuba

The President of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, and the Executive Vice President and CEO, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, officially presented the latest jewel in the crown for the hotel company in Cuba: the Meliá Internacional Varadero, an exceptional hotel which Gabriel Escarrer referred to as "a declaration of intentions" with regard to the importance of Cuba to international travel, reiterating that Cuba "has everything that the most diverse and demanding modern travellers could ask for in a destination".

The hotel revives the spirit of the legendary "Hotel Internacional" in Varadero and reopens as one of the most innovative hotels on the island, with 946 rooms with the latest technology, exclusive areas such as The Level and The Level Adults Only, and an extraordinary "boulevard of world cuisine" with 18 restaurants and 15 bars. The facilities also include a spectacular wellness area on the top floor with a YHI Spa, an infinity pool overlooking the Varadero Sea, 7 massage rooms and a new Spa concept for teenagers known as the "Teen Spa".

Another key feature of the hotel is its facilities for meetings and events, including a modern Convention Centre which is destined to become the benchmark for the MICE segment (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events) in Cuba. The Convention Centre provides 7 event rooms and an exceptional ballroom measuring more than 1,000m2, as well as alternative locations for hosting events by the pool, in the gardens and on the beach.

The event was attended by Miguel Diaz-Canel, President of Cuba, and the Tourism Minister, Manuel Marrero, among many other representatives of the Cuban state and society, and was a significant milestone for the Cuban tourism industry, which continues to grow and modernise in spite of current circumstances. For the President of Meliá, Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, the inauguration of this iconic hotel in the destination where it opened its first hotel in Cuba more than 30 years ago, the Sol Palmeras (currently under renovation), is a further example of Cuba's exemplary tourism development model and of the loyalty and commitment of Meliá to the destination and the Cuban people, with whom, Escarrer explained, "Meliá has always formed part of a large and very united team."

After the activation by the United States of Title III of the Helms Burton Act, Escarrer recalled that it is not the first time that travel companies have been put under pressure for operating in Cuba, and reiterated that "travel is a driver of peace, understanding among peoples and social and economic well-being", before going on to declare his hope that the latest controversy will be resolved in a way that respects the principles of international law and the position adopted by both the Spanish government and the European Union.

As he also recalled from recent statements, Meliá Hotels International reaffirms its desire and intention to continue contributing to the development of the most sustainable tourism industry in Cuba, a destination in which it has been managing hotels impeccably, professionally and responsibly for the last 30 years.