Area beach named after author's boat
IAN STALKER
A Kempinski resort found off of the north coast of Cuba doesn’t hesitate to show appreciation for a literary great who frequented the area over half a century ago.
The Cayo Guillermo Resort Kempinski opened in 2020 and sales manager Maidolys Sierra Pérez says it was inspired by “Ernest Hemingway’s legendary love for the (Cuban) islands found in the region and Cayo Guillermo’s Pilar Beach,” known for its aquamarine water and white sand.
The beach — found in a biosphere in Jardines del Rey — was actually named after the boat Hemingway used to sail local waters and frequently appears in lists of the world’s top beaches.
Cayo Guillermo was also referenced in Hemingway novels The Old Man and the Sea and Islands in the Stream.
The Kempinski resort — which says it offers “barefoot Caribbean luxury” — is located at the tip of 13-square-kilometer Cayo Guillermo and has direct access to Pilar Beach, which Sierra Perez labels “memorable.”
Guests will find swimming pools, a spa and a choice of restaurants and bars, including a cigar bar that bear’s Hemingway’s name.
Another bar is called the Nuevo Floridita Beachside Bar, with El Floridita being the name of a still-running Havana watering hole that was a frequent Hemingway haunt. Resort guests can swim in the ocean or in pools. Guest units found over ocean water await visitors, who can choose between rooms, suites and villas.
The resort was somewhat unusual for the area when it opened as a non-all-inclusive in a part of the world where vacationers typically choose all-inclusive holidays.
Sierra Perez says Kempinski has re-evaluated the type of vacations the property offers.
“Actually we are transitioning to an Ultra All Inclusive phase to become more appealing for the Canadian market mainly, and also it is important to add that the Bed and Breakfast concept does not resonate in Cayo Guillermo due to the competitors,” she says.
Canadian appreciation of all-inclusive vacations in the Caribbean is well known.
Sierra Perez says the resort will “keep offering elegant service for high-end guests who expect more customization in a non-massively-crowded resort. Our guests are proud of the sensational feeling of seclusion you feel once you step in our facilities.This is why Kempinski chose the property.”
Available activities for guests include scuba diving, kitesurfing, private yacht excursions, Jeep safaris, visits to Cayo Media Luna.
Kempinski is also represented in Havana, with Old Havana’s Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski being promoted as “the home of Cuban luxury.”
