Hotel Capri
| Hotel Capri Havana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Calle 21 / Calle N, Vedado, Havana |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 19 |
The Hotel Capri is a recently reopened[1] high rise hotel located in central Havana.
In 1955, President Batista enacted Hotel Law 2070, offering tax incentives, government loans and casino licenses to anyone wishing to build hotels in excess of $1,000,000 or nightclubs for $200,000 in Havana. This bill brought Meyer Lansky and his "associates" in the mafia flooding to the city to take advantage.
The Capri was one of first to be built. Located on Calle 21, 1 Mp. 8 Vedado, only two blocks from the Hotel Nacional, it opened in November of 1957. With its 250 rooms, the nineteen-story structure was one of the largest hotel/casinos in Havana during its heyday. It boasted a swimming pool on the roof that can be seen in the opening scenes of Carol Reed's film "Our Man in Havana" and Mikhail Kalatozov's "I Am Cuba".
Owned by mobster Santo Trafficante, Jr. of Tampa, Florida, the hotel/casino was operated by Nicholas Di Costanzo racketeer Charles Turin (aliases: Charles Tourine, Charley "The Blade") and Santino Masselli of the Bronx NY(aliases:"Sonny the Butcher"). After it opened, George Raft was hired to be the public front for the hotel's club during his gangster days in Cuba.[2]It was believed that he owned a considerable interest in the club.[3]
The hotel was designed by architect Jose Canaves and owned by the Canaves family. The hotel, along with its famous casino, was leased to American hotelier, "Skip" Shephard.
The hotel closed in 2003, and was, of 2011, undergoing renovations. The hotel reopened in January 2014 [1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Capri Hotel on Cubaism.com". Retrieved 2014-2-1.
- ↑ Havana Before Castro by Peter Moruzzi, p.176
- ↑ Cuban Information Archives, Document 0126
Coordinates: 23°8′31.96″N 82°22′57.35″W / 23.1422111°N 82.3825972°W