The Hotel Saratoga is located at the
intersection of the Paseo de Martí (Prado street) with the Dragon
street, southeast to the Capitolio.
HISTORY
After the demolition of the city
wall in 1863, the extramural area, where the Capitolio, the
Parque de la Fraternidad, and the Centro Gallego stand today,
became the focus of the investments, and it was intended to
build new hotels and inns here according to the urbanization
plan of the city to overcome the increase in the number of
the foreign travelers and investors that contributed also to
the changes and modernization of the old hotels.
The plot where the Hotel Saratoga
stands today, was occupied by a portion of the demolished
city wall, and belonged to Doña Josefa Pesta, widow of the
Marquise of Villalba. In 1879 the wealthy Don Gregorio
Palacio y Perez, one of the richest landowners in Havana and
one of the biggest contributors to the treasury, bought the
ground from her, and agreed with a contractor to construct a
building, intended for a tobacco warehouse and stores on the
ground floor, four houses on the first floor and a guest
house with forty-three rooms on the second floor. In 1881,
Gregorio Palacio y Perez brought a suit against the
contractor, as the contractor didn’t finish the building in
15 months which was the pledged period for the completion of
the building. The lawsuit between the contractor and the
owner lasted until 1888, but the nearly completed building
had started to deteriorate, without ever having been
occupied other than by lowlife characters. Eventually the
building was restored, and it opened as Hotel Alcázar in
1911. In 1935 it changed its name to Hotel Saratoga.
Formerly, the Hotel Saratoga was on the Monte street (Máximo
Gomez street today), alongside the Campo de Marte (Parque de
la Fraternidad today), where Hotel Isla de Cuba (permanently
closed) stands today. During the restoration process the
outward appearance of the hotel was preserved, but the
interior was demolished and rebuilt again, so that from the
internal structure nothing remained to the present.
Together with its prime position
close to the Capitolio, as well as to the stores and banks
of Old Havana, the Saratoga Hotel became one of the most
important hotels in Cuba, establishing its reputation also
as the venue for the outdoor performances of some of the
most popular orchestras of the time, including Anacaona, the
first Cuban all-female orchestra, on the terrace of the
hotel, known as Los Aires Libres. The canopy of the building
becomes the headquarter of Radio García Serra, where the
live performances of some important musicians from the island
took place.
Even though, the city grew towards
the west and new modern hotels were built in Vedado, the
Hotel Saratoga maintained its vitality until 1960s, when it
was nationalized. Later, it became a low-class tenement house
with many sub-partitions, until it was finally closed down
due to its deplorable condition. After a restoration period
of four years, the renovated Hotel Saratoga opened its doors
once again in 2005.
The hotel is 32 meters high. The
original building had 3 floors. Looking from outside, the
building seems to have 5 floors today. However, some of the
doors that face the façade, actually correspond to two
levels. Some floors were added to the building in the early
20th century and the new façade was integrated to the
existing one with the same design. It has 13 levels,
including the roof and the 2 basement levels.
The façade is adorned with the
Doric arches on the ground floor, and Ionic and Corinthian
arches on the upper floors. On the lowest two of the upper
floors there are balconies that run along both the Paseo de
Martí and the Dragon street. The new floors lack balconies,
but they have decorative columns similar to the original
ones, even though they look more simple. The building has a
prominent circular corner. The façade has an unusual color,
a combination of green and gray. The main entrance is on the
Paseo de Martí. The Hotel Saratoga is the first hotel in
Cuba that used tempered glass. Lightness and functionality
are preferred in the interior design, in spite of big
pretentious spaces and sculptures. French carpentry,
fanlights, timber trellises, marble stairs of the interior
are true signs of good craftsmanship. The hotel has a total
of 96 rooms including seven private suites with French style
windows and mahogany shutters. On the breathtaking roof-top
terrace you can enjoy the view of the Capitolio, the Parque
de la Fraternidad and the beginning of the Paseo del Prado.
There is also a swimming pool on the terrace.
In the past, the Hotel Saratoga was
preferred by many well-known international personalities,
such as the rock band Rolling Stones (2016), Mohamed VI and
King of Morocco (2017), the actor and singer Will Smith
(2017). In 2013, the singer Beyonce and her husband,
producer and rapper Jay Z, stayed in the most luxurious
Havana suite of the hotel with some family members to
celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary. In 2016 the pop
star Madonna, stayed with her children in the hotel, on the
occasion of her 58th birthday.
