Hundreds of people have reacted upon seeing the entrance of the Torre K-23 hotel, located in the heart of El Vedado, which has now been fully revealed after the scaffolding in front of the facade was removed.
Beyond the relevance of erecting a massive construction dedicated to tourism while the city is falling apart, the building has not had a positive impact on those who have seen it.
The criticism and mockery in CiberCuba's Facebook post reflect the rejection the hotel has faced from the public, who were expecting a design in harmony with the architecture of the surrounding area and its beautiful buildings from the 1940s and 1950s.
One of the first to comment was the comedian Andy Vázquez. "Let someone say that thing is ready. It looks like a crematorium. Well, in socialist style, because even the crematoriums here in the States are nice," he expressed.
"From my house, it looks like a coffin," stated a local resident.
"He looks like a big guy wearing shoes that don't fit," said a resident in Miami.
"Perhaps they will surprise us, and that large building will serve as a giant solar panel providing the entire city of Havana with the much-anticipated energy solution. Bravo for such a brilliant idea!" an elderly man remarked sarcastically.
“It looks like the back of a warehouse where they dump the trash in containers,” said a resident of Pinar del Río.
"A factory has more glamour than that," assured an engineer.
"What a beauty, congratulations! It's great that there was money to spend on that construction; perhaps it wasn't enough to build a thermoelectric plant," an internet user sarcastically remarked.
"It looks like anything but the entrance of a hotel; if someone had asked me without saying what it was, I would have said it was the entrance to a wholesale warehouse. (...) It's ugly, a rectangular box with no appeal," noted another.
"When there's a blackout, you'll have your little Christmas tree," a young man said sarcastically.
"The entrance of any hotel built after 1959, such as the Hotel Guantánamo, is much more welcoming than this one. It can’t even be called more beautiful, because this one has nothing beautiful about it. It looks like any patchwork façade, like the ones used to split a house in two..." commented a woman.
Recently, architect Maurys Alfonso Risco stated that the K-23 Tower is like a "dagger in the landscape of Havana," a large block that violates urban regulations in El Vedado and causes issues for its neighbors.
"The design is outdated, featuring technological facades but lacking charm, failing to adhere to basic principles of our tropical architecture, such as the use of covered terraces, overhangs, or shutters for solar protection," Alfonso noted.
Another negative aspect is its impact on the city's skyline. "It is taller than the obelisk to José Martí, something that should never have been allowed. If it had been built in a lower area of La Rampa, it would be less jarring for the urban landscape," the expert added.
The K-23 Tower in Havana has generated controversy for symbolizing inequalities in Cuba. While the regime prioritized this major investment, the people suffer from daily shortages and are unable to meet basic needs.
On platforms like Facebook, Cuban users have given the building unique names such as The Outlook of Misery, The Tower of Mordor, The Tower of Pride, The Super Matchbox, Hotel Voltus V, and The Grand Hotel That No One Asked For.
With a height of 154 meters and 42 floors housing 565 five-star rooms, the hotel will be managed by the Spanish company Iberostar.
This project, financed entirely with Cuban capital, has faced numerous challenges since its initiation in 2018, originally scheduled to be completed in 2022.
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