The Cuban activist and content creator Salomé García published a video on Instagram in which she recalls the existence of the Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai, a five-star hotel in China managed by the Cuban regime.
In the video posted on his social media, García denounces the contradiction between that luxury and the misery on the island. He poses a direct question: "Did you know that the Cuban people have a hotel in Shanghai? Of course, that's false. In Cuba, we all know that nothing belongs to the people, everything belongs to the government, but the hotel in Shanghai does exist."
The activist describes the establishment as "the first hotel de Cubanacán abroad, with a Cuban manager" and emphasizes that Díaz-Canel visited it during his trip to China.
In the audiovisual, García urges his followers to share the information "so that more Cubans can learn the truth about a government that invests in managing luxury hotels in other countries while abandoning its people to hunger, misery, darkness, and disease, under the pretext of the 'blockade'."
The post generated a strong reaction. One follower summed up the general sentiment: "The most outrageous thing is that for decades they sold the idea of equality and communism. 67 years later, the result is a people surviving and an elite living like millionaires." Other comments pointed out that this is not the only business with Cuban public money abroad.
A five-star hotel with a Cuban touch in the heart of Shanghai
The Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai stands in the Lujiazui district of Pudong, overlooking the Huangpu River and the city’s iconic skyline.
The establishment features 686 rooms and suites, with sizes ranging from 43 m² in the executive rooms to 147 m² in the Presidential Suite.
Among its facilities are a restaurant, spa, indoor pool, and a panoramic gym located on the 30th floor.
The hotel belongs to the mixed company Shanghai SunCuba S.A., which is made up of the state tourism group Cubanacán and the Chinese company Suntime Enterprise, with a Cuban stake of 51%.
The background: from Gran Meliá to Kempinski
The origin of the project dates back to January 2009, when Cubanacán announced the joint investment with Suntime to build hotels in Shanghai and in the Marina Hemingway in Cuba.
The hotel opened its doors in February 2010 under the Gran Meliá Shanghai brand, inaugurated by the then Cuban Minister of Tourism, Manuel Marrero, who expressed gratitude for the support from Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro, and the Chinese authorities.
At that event, Marrero described the establishment as "a new symbol of friendship between Cuba and China" and announced that the opening was "the first stage in the working relationship between Suntime and Cubanacán," with plans to build a similar hotel in Havana.
The hotel was decorated with 3,500 pieces of Cuban art from more than 60 artists from the island, including Roberto Fabelo, Flora Fong, and Alfredo Sosabravo.
In 2013, the establishment changed operators, moving from Meliá to Kempinski. Miguel Díaz-Canel visited the hotel during his trip to China in 2018, while Cuba was experiencing heightened blackouts, food shortages, and the collapse of the healthcare system.
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