Hotel Melia Cohiba in Havana, Cuba
Photo Feature by Irina Pino
HAVANA TIMES – The Cohiba Hotel was one of the first in Cuba from the Spanish Melia chain, built in 1994. It stands on Paseo Avenue, between 3rd and 5th Streets, in Vedado. It’s very close to Havana’s malecon seawall and the Riviera Hotel, another one of our most important hotels.
With a strange, modern structure, its construction is dominated by stone and glass. It resembles stacked rows of overlapping boxes.
Classified as a five-star hotel, it has 401 rooms and 61 suites. There are restaurants, shops, the Habana Café, meeting rooms, a swimming pool, and other services.
A few days ago, I decided to go in, took the escalators up, and walked around. I noticed that the hallways and lounges are filled with artworks by Cuban painters, reinforcing that in addition to the modern architecture, the interior decor is equally contemporary.
I loved how kind the staff were; not once did they question me about the photos I was taking. Although I was discreet and took them quickly.
Inside, I felt a clean, orderly, and pleasant atmosphere, in contrast to the scorching heat outside. Everything looked so different from real life, at least for those of us who can’t afford to rent a room in this hotel, not even for one or two nights.
However, when I was at the pool, it was full of Cubans, with very few foreigners. And I imagined how I might have brought a swimsuit and jumped in the water for a while. Maybe I could have done it without anyone realizing I wasn’t a hotel guest. In the end, all I could do was look and take pictures.
I have two memories of this place. One is sitting with my friend Verónica in the lobby eating sweet cookies one afternoon when we were out walking. The other is when I met a US photographer who invited me for some snacks.
Before I left, I went to the bathroom, washed my hands and face, walked the halls one last time, went down the same escalator, and exited the building.
I didn’t want to leave; it was hard to walk away from that environment. Anyone can get used to nice things. I will leave you the photographs. I hope you enjoy them.
