Mexican hotelfirm upbeat about Cuba debut
Doors open
IAN STALKER
(Photo above: Fiesta Americana is opening two Cuba resorts on Nov. 1.)
Mexican hotel company Grupo Posadas will make its debut outside its homeland with twin openings in Cuba on Nov. 1.
The company, which has different hotel brands and properties throughout Mexico, will open resorts in Varadero and Holguin at the start of next month.
Both all-inclusive properties will be part of its Fiesta Americana brand.
The Fiesta Americana Punta Varadero will have 633 rooms, while the Fiesta Americana Holguin Costa Verde will have 749.
“Cuba is a wonderful destination and a great country – culture, traditions, food and the warmth of its people are very similar to our Mexican culture. We saw this as a great opportunity to merge the best of both cultures to give our visitors a wonderfully Latin experience,” says Rafael Lizarraga, Grupo Pasadas’ COO.
More to come
Grupo Posadas now has more than 170 hotels and resorts. It expects to open five or six more properties before the end of the year and have nearly 300 by 2020, with the number of Grupo Posadas brands reaching eight.
“We [now] have seven brands that operate under the company – Live Aqua, Grand Fiesta Americana, Fiesta Americana, Fiesta Inn, Gamma, One and The Explorean by Fiesta Americana – all of which are very well known in the Canadian market,” Lizarraga says. “We believe that taking our Fiesta Americana brand to Cuba will be a success because the market knows we deliver memorable experiences, the best quality in food and beverages, entertainment and great service.”
Lizarraga says the two Cuban properties will meet Fiesta Americana standards, and Fiesta Americana staff has been preparing for the openings for the past half-year.
He says more Cuban hotels are in the works for Grupo Posadas, one slated for the island retreat of Cayo Santa Maria and another planned for Havana. The hotels are expected to open in 2020. “We are also working on converting some existing hotels to our Fiesta Americana brand over the next several months. Our goal is to extend our brand in Cuba in the upcoming years to become a strong presence in that destination.”
Expansion continues
Meanwhile, Grupo Posadas has begun building its first property in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The Grand Fiesta Americana Los Corales will be an all-inclusive with 554 rooms and suites and a lagoon measuring over 100,000 square feet. “We will continue opening wonderful resorts in Mexico. However, our goal is to grow and have a stronger presence in the most popular travel destinations of the Caribbean,” Lizarraga says.
As well, Nov. 1 will see Fiesta Americana open the Live Aqua Urban Resort San Miguel de Allende in the quaint, central Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende, popular with tourists and expatriates. “We are very excited about bringing this destination the best urban resort,” Lizarraga says.