Hotel Saratoga

Hotel Saratoga
Hotel Saratoga
	Hotel Saratoga, before the 2022 explosion that largely destroyed it
Former names	Hotel Alcazar
General information
Status	Closed
Type	Commercial
Architectural style	Postmodern
Address	Paseo del Prado No. 603
Town or city	Havana
Country	Cuba
Coordinates	23°08′01″N 82°21′29″W / 23.13361°N 82.35806°W / 23.13361; -82.35806
Completed	1888
Opened	2005
Renovated	1933
Closed	April 2020
Owner	Revolutionary government
Landlord	Empresa Mixta Hotel Saratoga S.A.
Height
Architectural	33 meters (108 ft)
Roof	27 meters (89 ft)
Top floor	24 meters (79 ft)
Technical details
Structural system	Reinforced concrete
Floor count	13
Lifts/elevators	4
Grounds	1,132 square metres (12,180 sq ft)
Website
	www.hotel-saratoga.com

The Hotel Saratoga was a historic hotel located on the Paseo del Prado, in Old Havana near the Fuente de la India. Built in 1880 as a warehouse, it was remodeled into a hotel in 1933. It was further remodeled in 2005 and reopened as a luxury hotel.^[3] The hotel was largely destroyed by a gas explosion on 6 May 2022, which killed forty-seven people.^[4]

History

The Hotel Saratoga is located in front of the Parque de la Fraternidad near the Capitolio Building in Havana, Cuba. Spanish merchant Gregorio Palacio y Pérez commissioned the building. Originally, it was a three-story building.^[5]

Its first location was on Calle Monte. Later it was moved to the surroundings of the Campo de Marte (now the Parque de la Fraternidad) and called the Alcázar.

The central location and the views made it a preferred destination for international visitors.^[3] In 1935, tourist guides highlighted the hotel as one of the best in Havana. Its terrace, called Aires Libres, was an important cultural and traditional center in the 20th century.^[3]^[6]

Revolutionary period

Like most businesses in Cuba in the 1960s, the Hotel Saratoga was confiscated by the revolutionary government.^[3]^[a]^[8] Until then, the building had maintained its vitality. After the takeover by the revolutionary government, it became a tenement building with multiple subdivisions until it was vacated due to its poor condition.^[3]^[b] In 1996, the property was transferred to Hotel Saratoga S.A., a Cuban joint-venture company owned jointly by Habaguanex S.A., the commercial arm of the City Historian's Office, and an international consortium of investors.^{[citation needed]} The original building was gutted, and only the street façades on Paseo del Prado and Dragones remained. A new building was constructed behind the original façades, including a two-level basement, a mezzanine level, and additional floors. It was reopened in 2005 as a five-star hotel with 96 rooms, three bars, two restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, and a business center. Its architecture recalled the colonial era and had an eclectic character with a large number of elements of interest such as French carpentry, ceramics, and Cuban marble.^[3] The two original facades were destroyed by the explosion.

2022 explosion

An explosion occurred on 6 May 2022 at the hotel, killing forty-seven people, including one Spanish tourist.^[4] The hotel's facade was sheared off and the interior was gutted. The cause was attributed to an accident while resupplying the building with gas.^[10]

Gallery

Aerial view. circa 1929
First Hotel Saratoga, Calle Monte
1950s
The original Hotel Alcazar
Hotel Alcazar, 1910
Hotel Saratoga in 1949
Hotel Saratoga, Havana, Cuba

Notes

^ " Confiscation: (a) The nationalization, expropriation, or other seizure by the Cuban Government of ownership or control of property on or after January 1, 1959 without the return or compensation for the property, or without settlement of the claim to the property pursuant to an international claims settlement agreement or other mutually accepted settlement procedure; or (b) The Cuban Government's repudiation of, default on, or failure to pay on or after January 1, 1959 the following: (i) a debt of any enterprise nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban Government, (ii) a debt that is a charge on property nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban government, or (iii) a debt which was incurred by the Cuban Government in satisfaction or settlement of a confiscated property claim. See LIBERTAD Act § 4 (4)."^[7]
^ Also see 104th Congress Public Law 114:^[9]

References

^ a b cross section hotel Saratoga
^ Ziomara Lamelas (08 october 2017), "Recuerdos y Nostalgias de Cuba".
^ a b c d e f Iglesias Sánchez, Zenaida (6 May 2022) [2018-03-05]. "Edificio en la esquina de Paseo del Prado y Dragones: Hotel "Saratoga"" [Building on the corner of Paseo del Prado and Dragones: Hotel "Saratoga"]. Habana Radio (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2022.
^ a b Minsap, Redacción (15 June 2022). "Información actualizada sobre el estado de los lesionados en el accidente del hotel Saratoga" [Update on the status of those injured in the Saratoga hotel accident]. Ministerio de Salud Pública (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
^ "Hotel Saratoga: History". Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
^ Rodríguez Marcano, Yamira (6 May 2022). "Ámbitos de recreación y sociabilidad: Los Aires Libres del Prado" [Areas of recreation and sociability: The Free Airs of the Prado]. Habana Radio (in Spanish).
^ "US Lawsuits Commence against Non-US Persons for Confiscated Cuban Property, EU Raises Concerns_Note No. 10". Retrieved 16 May 2022.
^ "What types of property was taken?". Retrieved 16 May 2022.
^ "To seek international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba". Retrieved 16 May 2022.
^ de Córdoba, José (6 May 2022). "Cuba Hotel Explosion: At Least Nine Dead in Blast at Havana's Hotel Saratoga". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.

External links

USA Today clip of the damaged hotel on YouTube
Official site of the Office of the Historian of Havana City
2006 article including the Saratoga as one of the five best rooftop pools
Article about opening of hotel (in Spanish)
– video showing hotel interior in mid-2010s
Coral Capital quietly funds Cuba ventures.
Cuba probes British fund, arrests top executive
From now on you have no name. You are prisoner 217': life in a Cuban jail
Business: Investing in Cuba Is More Than Just a Financial Gamble

[8] " Confiscation: (a) The nationalization, expropriation, or other seizure by the Cuban Government of ownership or control of property on or after January 1, 1959 without the return or compensation for the property, or without settlement of the claim to the property pursuant to an international claims settlement agreement or other mutually accepted settlement procedure; or (b) The Cuban Government's repudiation of, default on, or failure to pay on or after January 1, 1959 the following: (i) a debt of any enterprise nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban Government, (ii) a debt that is a charge on property nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by the Cuban government, or (iii) a debt which was incurred by the Cuban Government in satisfaction or settlement of a confiscated property claim. See LIBERTAD Act § 4 (4)."^[7]

[11] Also see 104th Congress Public Law 114:^[9]

[crosssection-1] ross section hotel Saratoga

[2] Ziomara Lamelas (08 october 2017), "Recuerdos y Nostalgias de Cuba".

[saratoga-3] Iglesias Sánchez, Zenaida (6 May 2022) [2018-03-05]. "Edificio en la esquina de Paseo del Prado y Dragones: Hotel "Saratoga"" [Building on the corner of Paseo del Prado and Dragones: Hotel "Saratoga"]. Habana Radio (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2022.

[Minsap-4] Minsap, Redacción (15 June 2022). "Información actualizada sobre el estado de los lesionados en el accidente del hotel Saratoga" [Update on the status of those injured in the Saratoga hotel accident]. Ministerio de Salud Pública (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 June 2022.

[5] "Hotel Saratoga: History". Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.

[6] Rodríguez Marcano, Yamira (6 May 2022). "Ámbitos de recreación y sociabilidad: Los Aires Libres del Prado" [Areas of recreation and sociability: The Free Airs of the Prado]. Habana Radio (in Spanish).

[7] "US Lawsuits Commence against Non-US Persons for Confiscated Cuban Property, EU Raises Concerns_Note No. 10". Retrieved 16 May 2022.

[9] "What types of property was taken?". Retrieved 16 May 2022.

[10] "To seek international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba". Retrieved 16 May 2022.

[12] Córdoba, José (6 May 2022). "Cuba Hotel Explosion: At Least Nine Dead in Blast at Havana's Hotel Saratoga". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.