THE CUBA REVIEW 13 



Sevilla-Biltmore Hotel 



By Robert J. Kemiedy 



Havana, the capital of Cuba, is soon to have a magnificent new hotel. It is being 

 built by the Bowman interests, the executive president of which is John McEntee Bow- 

 man. It will be one of the finest buildings of its kuid in the world and will be com- 

 pleted by January of 1924. The new hotel will be known as the Sevilla-Biltmore. The 

 building has been planned by Mr. Leonard Schultze, regarded as the highest authority 

 on hotel architecture in the world. He is of the firm of Schultze and Weaver of New 

 York City. Mr. Schultze has also prepared the plans for the Los Angeles Biltmore 

 which the Bowman interests are building at a cost of over $7,000,000, and the Atlanta 

 Biltmore now being built in the "Convention City of Dixie" by Mr. William Candler 

 and Mr. Bowman. The Sevilla-Biltmore will be the first skyscraper hotel in the Cuban 

 Republic. It will be an addition to the present structure, which is situated in the 

 business and hotel center of Havana. 



This property was acquired by Mr. Bowman and his associates in 1919, and after 

 refinishing, furnishing and decorating, the hotel was opened to the pubhc January 1, 

 1920. The operation has proven so successful that it has been found desirable to provide 

 for additional space, and accordingly plans for a new ten-story addition were prepared, 

 and call for a modern fireproof construction conforming to the Spanish style of archi- 

 tecture of this section. The present Sevilla consists of a fireproof building covering a 

 space of about 24,000 square feet and is four stories high; the ground floor contains 

 the lobby, office, etc., and the three upper floors are occupied principally by 142 guest 

 rooms and baths. The land and buildings are owned in fee by the company. 



The new building will cover an area of 12,000 square feet, will be ten stories high 

 with basement and roof garden, and the present plan also embraces the following features : 

 An arcade with shops on either side will run from the Prado through to the present 

 hotel building. There are to be ten shops. The various floors above are to contain about 

 210 guest rooms with baths, which will be modern and complete in all detail. The roof 

 is to be used for afternoon teas and dances. This will give the completed hotel a total 

 of 352 guest rooms, and will make it the largest hotel in the West Indies from a stand- 

 point of accommodations. 



Present indications point to Cuba being the greatest winter resort in the world. 

 This is but natural when one considers the beauties of Cuba and the fact that it is 

 the healthiest country in the world. Entering the harbor of Havana in the old days 

 when the Spanish standard of red and gold waved above the Morro and Cabana, one 

 would have seen long lines of soldiers in white uniforms on the parapets and heard the 

 shrill of fife and roll of drum, but today no military display enlivens the scene. Both 

 forts have an air of desertion. 



The architecture of the buildings, of course, is of Spanish type. Most of the 

 houses are of one story or of two; but the single story is often so lofty that it seems 

 as high as many two-storied houses elsewhere; and the effect is enhanced by the colon- 

 nades which line the front. The houses are constructed of blocks of limestone, and 

 ,of rough rubble work, called mamposteria. The walls are very thick, doors high and 

 massive and the windows, reaching nearly from floor to ceiling, are guarded by iron bars 

 and ornamental grilles. In Havana every man's house is his castle. There is a great 

 building boom and many of the historical churches are being torn down to make way 

 for modern office buildings. 



You can get a room and a bath in Havana for the same price as you can in New 

 York and there are plenty of good hotels there. You can ride in a taxicab and go to 

 the theatre for less than you can in New York. You can ride as well, and see just as 

 good shows. You can buy anything you need in the stores in Havana cheaper on the 

 average than you can in New York and do not have to pay any war or luxury tax. 



America took Cuba from the grasp of the Spaniard and gave it to the Cubans; 



