The Iberostar Grand Packard Hotel in Havana and the Mystique Trinidad La Popa by Royalton in Trinidad, ranked today as the fifth and 19th best hotels in the world.
The Best Hotels in the World (2024) award, based on surveys conducted by the travel website Tripadvisor, placed those hotels in this country on its preferred list of 25 establishments (previously, Cuban resorts have been awarded in multiple surveys of this kind, along with beaches and other scenarios).
The Travelers' Choice Awards Best of the Best Titie celebrate the highest level of excellence in travel. They are awarded to those who receive a high volume of excellent reviews and opinions from the Tripadvisor community over a 12-month period (from its eight million listings, when less than one percent achieve this milestone).
The first case of Cuba's award winners concerns the Iberostar Grand Packard, characterized by luxury and sustainability in the heart of Havana.
It appears in the panorama of the island capital, very close to the Floridita bar-restaurant, famous for the latent presence of U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway, La Bodeguita del Medio, and other emblematic places of Cuban tourism.
The Iberostar Grand Packard, which is part of the Spanish hotel company's urban hotels, stands out for its Grand category, the most luxurious of the company's offerings.
Located in the central Paseo del Prado, in the heart of Havana, its responsible tourism model that focuses on people and the oceans is striking thanks to the Wave Of Change movement, which was launched in 2017 with three lines of action: circular economy, promotion of responsible fish consumption and care for coastal health.
Such accommodation opened in 1911 as Biscuit Hotel. Two decades later, in the 1930s, it changed its name and paid tribute to Packard, one of the automobile brands that already circulated in the streets of Old Havana, now renovated (it has 321 rooms).
Canada's Blue Diamond Resorts operates the Mystique Trinidad La Popa, the brand's latest addition to its unique portfolio of four resorts throughout the Caribbean. The boutique hotel is located atop La Popa hill, guarding the town of Trinidad, in south-central Cuba, the city that best preserves its colonial architecture.
On the ruins of the former military hospital, this five-star, adults-only hotel is especially conceived for couples, individual tourism, events and incentive groups wishing to soak up the true Cuban culture.
It has 52 comfortable, well-equipped rooms in a city declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1988.
The Best Hotels 2024 list includes Hotel Colline de France in Brazil, followed by OBLU SELECT Lobigili, La Siesta Hoy An Resort and Spa, Adiwana Suweta, and Iberostar Grand Packard in fifth place.
Emerald Maldives Resort and Spa, La Siesta Classic Ma May Hotel, Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya, Padma Resort Ubud, Sofitel Mexico City Reforma, Chandys Windy Wooks, Voyage Belek Golf And Spa, Salinas Maragogi All Inclusive Resort, Hyatt Centryc San Isidro Lima, Romance Istanbul Hotel, and Corpo Santo Lisbon Historical Hotel.
The Ritz.carlton, Dubai, Jaya House River Park, Mystique Trinidad La Popa by Royalton, Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers, Bucuti and Tara Beach Resort Aruba, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, Steigenberger Coroya Beach, Sol Oasis Marrakech-All Inclusive and Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay complete the list of award winners.