Ampliar

Ampliar

The Sevilla Hotel in Havana with more than 110 years of existence keeps its doors open to a tourist city. Located at number 55 Trocadero Street between Prado and Zulueta, it captures the attention of travelers for its beauty and the events that occurred in its halls. Built in 1908 with a marked Mudejar influence in its architecture, it is located on the Paseo del Prado, one of the busiest arteries of Havana. It is one of the four great historic hotels of this town (Seville, England, Plaza and Saratoga) next to the Central Park in the old part of the city.
The construction works of Seville began in 1880, at the time of the Spanish colony, by the Cuban company El Guardián. Perfecto López was the president and Felipe Beltrán was the administrator of that construction firm. Both were at the opening ceremony on March 22, 1908, when according to the custom of the time, Perfecto López was the godfather of the Hotel, and María Pilar de Beltrán the godmother. The Hotel Sevilla was built next to the Paseo del Prado, outside the walls of the old city.
The Great Hotel Sevilla changed its owner and name in 1924. It passed to the American company Bowman Hotel, which bought the neighboring building and added it to the Hotel that since then was called Seville Biltmore, although it was always known as Hotel Sevilla. In 1930 the Hotel changed its owner again, for Amleto Battisti, a Uruguayan of Italian origin, he bought the installation and introduced reforms, such as the opening of an air-conditioned bar, whose decoration was made by the famous cartoonist Conrado Massager. The Roof Garden and its luxurious halls were the center of fashion shows and important cultural and social events that were brightened by passing characters and regular guests.
In January 1959, the hotel's history changed, as Battisti, engaged in business with the North American mafia and the government of Fulgencio Batista, stayed in the Uruguayan embassy, and Seville was intervened by the Revolutionary Government. The Spanish painter José María López Mesquita, the Cuban rumbera Tongolele, the dance couple Veloz and Yolanda, Herbert Matthews, editor of The New York Times, and Patricia Schmidt, famous American dancer, passed through Seville. The list of his guests is long with Al Capone, who rented the entire floor six, Ignacio Villa (Snowball), Joe Louis, world boxing champion, or Josephine Baker, Enrico Caruso, Hugo del Carril and Ted Williams.
At present the Hotel Mercure Sevilla Havana has 178 rooms, is a marvel of architecture, historical setting and an unmissable place to visit.