The 89-year old Hotel Nacional de Cuba is already counting the days leading to its nine decades as an icon of tourism in the island.

Located in a dominant position on the emblematic Malecón Habanero, it extends on the coastal protrusion of Punta Brava, on the hill of Taganana, almost at the end of the cove of San Lázaro.

The installation occupies the site where in the 18th century the Santa Clara Battery was part of the defensive system of the Cuban capital, vestiges of which are still seen in the area.

It has been included among the 10 Palace hotels in the world, in addition to having the category of National Monument of Cuba and World Heritage Site, while the documents that record its history are part of the Memory of the World collection, sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

With its eclectic architecture, elements of Art Deco and influences of Moorish architecture, Hotel Nacional has been visited by a myriad of national and international political, cultural and scientific personalities.

In some of its 457 rooms - 15 of them suites and one presidential room - Mexican figures such as Mario Moreno (Cantinflas), Pedro Vargas, Tin-Tan and María Félix left their mark on the photographic memory of the Gulf Gallery.

Film divas that at least once walked its halls and today fill its photo gallery include Libertad Lamarque, Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner, later joined by famous "top models" like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.

Meanwhile, the presidential suite, still in use, hosted leaders of the time such as Sir Winston Churchill, former prime minister of England, the king of Belgium and several heads of state.

The Nacional also opened its doors to the famous American swimmer Johnny Weismuller, a professional boxing legend named Rocky Marciano and scientists of the stature of Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin.

In recent times it has become the regular venue for events linked to tourism and wine, as well as film industry, as demonstrated by the Cinema Corner, that every December holds special events linked to the

International New Latin American Film Festival.

The hotel has won at least a dozen times the World Travel Awards, conferred through a rigorous selection process, in which more than half a million travel and tourism professionals from some 170 countries participate.

Its unique views offer a beautiful and varied panorama of the city, including the Havana Bay with its classic boardwalk and the ancient Morro Fortress.

Vacationers feel attracted by garden arcades, which recall the monastic cloisters of Hispano-Moorish tunnels, while the main floor resembles three parallel sections of a medieval church.