The Gaviota Tourism Group together with the Spanish chain Axel Hotels announced today the upcoming opening in Havana of the first city hotel in Cuba dedicated to the LGTBIQ+ community.

An official communiqué released in Havana added that such information was timely disseminated through social networks.

The message pointed out that it is the Telegraph Hotel, located on the intersection of Prado and Neptuno streets, a very central place in this city (Old Havana).

This segment (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender) will enjoy the reopening of the Telegraph Hotel, a historic facility in the city.

The information points out that its reopening will depend, in addition to the epidemiological situation due to Covid-19, and its protection measures, on the resumption of regular flights and the consequent reactivation of tourism.

In this regard, Axel's Communication and Marketing Director, Silvia Pérez, commented for Gaviota's website that its hotels are spaces conceived by and for the LGTBIQ+ community.

She clarified, however, that its hotels around the world welcome anyone.

It explained that these are spaces where freedom and respect are the most important values, and where inclusion and diversity are promoted.

The communiqué stressed that the hotel is a sign of the evolution of a Cuban society that is making progress in inclusion and support for the rights of such groups.

For her part, the head of the Research and Teaching Department of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education (Cenesex), Ana Belkis Perdomo, confirmed the willingness to carry out training actions aimed at the hotel staff.

She pointed out that they have already started a dialogue with the management of the Telegraph Hotel to carry out sensitization workshops, in order to train its labor force to contribute to the quality of the services.

He recalled that Cenesex instructed those who work at the Gran Muthu Rainbow Hotel, located in Playuelas Beach, in Cayo Guillermo (central-northern Cuba), also specialized in this segment.

The Telegraph Hotel (63 rooms) dates back to 1860, at that time located on Amistad Street. Around 1888 it was moved to its definitive location on the populous corner of Prado and Neptuno.

Completely rebuilt in 1911, it was considered by the press of the time as the most modern hotel in Old Havana. As a peculiarity, it was among the 11 best in Latin America.

By 1914 all its rooms and the restaurant boasted telephones, something very rare for the time, as well as its public bathrooms, and its workers spoke several languages.

Telegraph Hotel boasts a great variety of services and facilities and a privileged location, right in the heart of Old Havana, close to famous places such as the Capitol, current seat of the island's Parliament.

Source: Prensa Latina