The Spanish hotel multinational Barceló denied that there is a shortage of food in Cuba and, to demonstrate this, published images of its culinary offerings at the Solymar resort restaurant in Varadero.
“Scarcity in Cuba? Not at this moment,” said an anonymous participant in the Facebook group Barceló Solymar - Occidental Arenas Blancas, created by Alejandro Florat, community manager of the Barceló Group on the Island.
In its publication, which denied what constitutes evidence acknowledged even by the Cuban regime and international organizations such as the UN, it shared photographs of the well-stocked gastronomic offerings at its hotel in Varadero.
Judging by the images, the buffet table at the Solymar - Occidental Arenas Blancas resort was set up to welcome a group of guests from Canada, as the dishes and the venue were decorated with that country's flags.
At the end of June, a Canadian tourist who spent two weeks at the hotel complex described his stay as “the worst experience of his life.”
Joe Eastcott, a resident of the Canadian city of Surrey, shared his experience in the mentioned Facebook group and posted photos showcasing the high level of deterioration of the facilities and the poor quality of the food.
Their complaints joined those of hundreds of tourists from that nationality who in recent years have expressed their disappointment with hotel facilities in Cuba, even making headlines in international media.
Among the main concerns expressed by Canadian tourists traveling to Cuba are those related to the scarcity and poor quality of food offered in hotels. Canada, the leading source of tourists to the Island, has seen a notable decline in travelers and agencies interested in Cuba as a vacation destination in recent years.
Recently, Samantha Taylor, the marketing director of Sunwing Vacations Group, a prominent Canadian travel agency, announced that they had decided to remove 26 Cuban hotels from their offerings due to quality issues identified in customer feedback.
Instead of Cuba, the Canadian travel agency decided to promote alternative destinations in the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Honduras, and Colombia, aiming to ensure a more satisfying experience for tourists.
"What is a five-star hotel like in Cuba? How does a three-star hotel compare? What we see in our customers' feedback is that Canadians desire a certain level of transparency regarding what they receive. They don't want any surprises," Taylor explained.
He also acknowledged that the energy crisis facing the country has affected the opinions of his clients, many of whom have been taken aback by the power outages, even in the hotels where they are staying.
Taylor acknowledged that these events can impact consumer confidence. "Cuba has experienced some volatility in recent weeks, and that can affect consumer trust," he stated.
In February 2011, Barceló Hotels & Resorts decided to merge two of its facilities to create the Barceló Arenas Blancas-Solymar hotel complex, featuring 883 rooms operated under an all-inclusive system.
In June 2019, the Barceló Group was included in a class-action lawsuit filed by Cuban-American families who, under the Helms-Burton Act, sought compensation in U.S. courts from hotel companies based in Spain, France, and Canada.
Among the litigated cases, the one involving heir Diego Trinidad stood out, as he claimed compensation from the Spanish group for the Hotel Barceló Solymar in Varadero, which was built on the property of Diego Cosme Trinidad Valdés, owner of land and the tobacco company Trinidad y Hermanos.
Dedicated to the tourism sector since its founding in 1931, the Barceló Group currently has a hotel division and a travel division, making it one of the most important companies in the industry worldwide. Its main activities are focused on Europe, America, and North Africa, with 300 hotels in 28 countries and 1,643 travel agencies across three continents.
However, Barceló's presence in Cuba has diminished over the years. In 2010, the group managed six properties—Barceló Arenas Blancas, Barceló Solymar (merged in 2011 into the Solymar - Arenas Blancas resort), Barceló Marina Palace, Barceló Cayo Libertad, Barceló Cayo Santa María, and Barceló Habana Ciudad—but today it only retains the resort in Varadero.
This Wednesday, the management of the only Barceló resort in Cuba dared to deny the painful reality of a severe food shortage on the Island, sharing images on their social media of delicacies that the Cuban people are not even aware of.
Filed under: