Hotel Sevilla
- for the hotel in Algeciras see Hotel Sevilla (Algeciras)
| Hotel Mercure Sevilla Havane | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original 1908 wing of Hotel Sevilla | |
| General information | |
| Location |
Calle Trocadero #55, Entre Prado y Zulueta Havana, Cuba |
| Opening | March 22, 1908 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 10 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | José Troya, Antonio Rodríguez and José Rodríguez, Schultze & Weaver |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 178 |
The Hotel Mercure Sevilla Havane is a historic hotel in Havana, Cuba.
History
The hotel was built as the Hotel Sevilla in 1908. It consisted of a four-story Moorish Revival structure, designed by architects Arellano y Mendozaon, located on Calle Trocadero, next to the Paseo del Prado, between the Malecón and Parque Central. It was bought by John McEntee Bowman and Charles Francis Flynn in 1919 and renamed the Sevilla-Biltmore Hotel. In 1924, they constructed a huge ten-story tower wing, with a rooftop ballroom, designed by noted New York architects Schultze & Weaver.
In 1939, the hotel was purchased by Italian-Uruguayan mobster Amleto Battisti y Lora.[1] The Sevilla-Biltmore's casino was closely associated with Havana's mafia network, being part-owned by Santo Trafficante, Jr. Mobs destroyed the casino in early January 1959 as Fidel Castro's rebel army overtook Havana, and Amleto Battisti took refuge in the Uruguayan embassy.[2]
The hotel was also featured in Graham Greene's novel Our Man in Havana as the location where the protagonist joins the British secret service.
The hotel is now owned by the Gran Caribe hotel group, and is currently run by the French chain Accor under their Mercure Hotels division as the Hotel Mercure Sevilla Havane.
References
External links
Coordinates: 23°08′25″N 82°21′30″W / 23.1404°N 82.3583°W