Tryp Habana Libre

Hotel Tryp Habana Libre
Company type	Hotel
Industry	Hospitality, Tourism
Founded	1958
Headquarters	Havana, Cuba
Products	Accommodation, Conference facilities, Dining, Casino (historical)
Website	www.melia.com/en/hotels/cuba/havana/tryp-habana-libre/index.htm

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Tryp Habana Libre, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 28 November 2025

Hotel Tryp Habana Libre ranks among the largest accommodations in Cuba, situated in the Vedado district of Havana. This 25-story building, positioned at the intersection of Calle 23 ("La Rampa") and Calle L, contains 572 guest rooms. Initially inaugurated in 1958 as the Habana Hilton, it gained historical significance as the residence for Fidel Castro and fellow revolutionaries following their 1959 seizure of Havana.

Design and construction

Constructed at a cost of $24 million during President Fulgencio Batista's administration, the Habana Hilton was financed by the Caja de Retiro y Asistencia Social de los Trabajadores Gastronómicos, which is the pension fund for Cuba’s catering workers union. Additional funding came from Banco de Fomento Agrícola e Industrial de Cuba (BANFAIC). The hotel was managed by Hilton Hotels International and designed by Los Angeles-based architect Welton Becket, renowned for projects such as the Beverly Hilton. Becket worked alongside Havana architects Lin Arroyo and Gabriela Menéndez; Arroyo held the position of Batista’s Minister of Public Works. The construction contract was awarded to the Frederick Snare Corporation.

Architectural historian Peter Moruzzi emphasizes Batista’s perspective on the hotel:

“Among Batista’s proudest accomplishments was the Habana Hilton, with its prominent blue-illuminated ‘Hilton’ sign atop the building symbolizing Conrad Hilton’s faith in Cuba’s prospects and establishing Havana as a contemporary global resort destination.”

Grand opening

Upon its completion, the Habana Hilton stood as Latin America’s tallest and most expansive hotel, offering 630 rooms including 42 suites. The facility featured an upscale casino; six dining and drinking venues such as Trader Vic's and a rooftop bar; a large supper club; extensive conference spaces; a retail arcade; an outdoor swimming pool with cabanas; and two underground parking garages accommodating 500 vehicles. The hotel also displayed commissioned works from prominent Cuban modern artists, including a grand mosaic mural by Amelia Peláez at its main entrance and a tiled mural by René Portocarrero decorating the Antilles Bar overlooking the pool area.

The Habana Hilton celebrated its inauguration with five days of events from March 19 to 23, 1958. Attendees included Conrad Hilton and actress Ann Miller, who frequently accompanied him to openings worldwide. The host welcomed around 300 guests, among them socialite Virginia Warren (daughter of Chief Justice Earl Warren), Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, actresses Terry Moore, Dorothy Johnson, Linda Cristal, dancer Vera-Ellen, actor Don Murray, actress Dolores Hart, ABC network President Leonard Goldenson, and journalist Leonard Lyons. On March 22, a formal blessing ceremony was conducted featuring Cuba's First Lady, Marta Fernandez de Batista, union leader Francisco Aguirre, Minister of Labor José Suárez Rivas, alongside other officials. The program included speeches by Hilton and Aguirre, followed by a luncheon and an elegant gala dinner with dancing in the grand ballroom.

Casino

The hotel’s casino operations were leased for $1 million per year to a consortium comprising Roberto "Chiri" Mendoza, his brother Mario Mendoza, Clifford "Big Juice" Jones, Kenneth F. Johnson, and Sidney Orseck. Roberto Mendoza was a prosperous Cuban contractor linked to President Batista; Mario Mendoza practiced law; Orseck was an attorney based in New York; Johnson served as a Nevada state senator; and Jones had previously held office as Nevada’s lieutenant governor while owning various casino interests in Las Vegas. Hilton representatives disclosed that they had declined 12 out of 13 leasing candidates due to concerns over connections with organized crime or refusal to undergo scrutiny. There was speculation that the 1957 assassination of Gambino family boss Albert Anastasia related to his attempt to secure a share in the Hilton casino. Both Mendoza and mob figure Santo Trafficante Jr., who had gambling ventures in Cuba, were present in New York at that time. The murder case remains unresolved.

Revolution

The political turmoil in Cuba during the hotel's inaugural year resulted in Hilton Hotels International reporting no profit contributions from its Habana Hilton branch in 1958, citing substantial financial losses.

Following Fidel Castro's arrival in Havana on January 8, 1959, the hotel was transformed into his operational base, with Castro living for three months in the Continental Suite (room 2324). Although Havana’s casinos were initially shut down, they reopened shortly after workers protested. Castro held his inaugural press briefing at the hotel on January 19, 1959, using the venue as a stage for addressing international press and delivering political messages.

On June 21, 1959, the revolutionary authorities temporarily permitted mob leader Santo Trafficante Jr. to attend his daughter's wedding held in the hotel’s ballroom, under official supervision.

Despite escalating anti-American attitudes affecting travel bookings, the Habana Hilton proceeded with hosting the American Society of Travel Agents’ international convention in October 1959—a meeting planned prior to the Revolution—to promote Cuba as a tourist hotspot. On New Year’s Eve 1959/1960, Castro organized an extravagant gathering at the hotel that included American journalists and celebrities such as boxer Joe Louis, aiming to entice U.S. visitors. Nonetheless, Hilton’s U.S.-based operators faced challenges maintaining hotel operations amid labor regulations that forbade dismissing any of its 670 employees, while occupancy rates seldom surpassed 100 guests. To support ongoing expenses, the Cuban government eventually provided a 2 million peso loan to Hoteles Hilton de Cuba, S.A., the Cuban subsidiary managing the property.

In January 1960, an alleged assassination plot against Castro at the hotel involved botulinum toxin pills smuggled by Marita Lorenz, his American mistress. Lorenz claimed she was recruited by agents linked to both the Mafia and CIA to administer poison but abandoned the scheme when the toxin dissolved after contact with cold cream. Reportedly, Castro confronted Lorenz but chose not to retaliate; their relationship briefly continued before she returned to the United States.

Hotel Habana Libre

The establishment operated under Hilton management until deteriorating diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba led to its nationalization on June 11, 1960. Shortly thereafter, Fidel Castro renamed it Hotel Habana Libre (Free Havana Hotel). In that same year, Hilton Hotels International wrote off $1.85 million invested in its Cuban operations. The hotel temporarily accommodated the first Soviet embassy in Havana across two floors.

In March 1963, another assassination attempt on Castro took place at the hotel involving a poisoned milkshake allegedly orchestrated by U.S. Mafia and CIA operatives. According to Cuban intelligence chief Fabian Escalante, a poison pill intended for Castro was accidentally broken inside the hotel kitchen’s freezer.

The hotel became a venue for major events such as Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s 1964 press conference and hosted the inaugural Tricontinental Conference in January 1966 with Fidel Castro attending and establishing the Castellana Suite as his diplomatic residence—a suite now preserved as a museum. Later that year, it served as host for the 17th Chess Olympiad featuring notable players including Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. In 1967, prominent Marxist Chilean politician Salvador Allende was also among its guests.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba shifted focus toward revitalizing tourism. In 1993 management transitioned to Spanish Guitart Hotels, which rebranded it as Hotel Habana Libre Guitart. By 1996 Sol Meliá assumed control under its Tryp brand and renamed it Hotel Tryp Habana Libre. Between 1996 and 1997 extensive refurbishments modernized interiors while conserving historic features such as the Peláez mural and balconies of the Castellana Suite. The hotel officially reopened on December 22, 1997, marked by a speech from Eusebio Leal, instrumental in restoring Old Havana’s historic district.

During Pope John Paul II’s visit to Cuba in January 1998, the hotel functioned as headquarters for international media outlets and hosted leading journalists including Peter Jennings and Christiane Amanpour. CNN founder Ted Turner and actress Jane Fonda were also accommodated there during this period.

On February 4, 2013, French stunt climber Alain Robert—known as The French Spider-Man—scaled the exterior of the hotel without any safety gear before an assembled crowd.

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