Hotel Telégrafo () is a historic hotel in Havana, Cuba. The Telégrafo is owned by the international hotel chain, Axel Hotels.
Early history The Grand Hotel Telégrafo opened in 1860.Grivetti, L. E., Shapiro, H. (2011). Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage. Germany: Wiley. It was reestablished in 1888 on Paseo del Prado, near the National Capitol of Cuba, facing Parque Central in Havana, Cuba.Cuba Illustrated: With the Biography and Portrait of Christopher Columbus, Containing Also General Information Relating to Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and the Island of Cuba ... Together with an Anglo-Spanish Vocabulary. (1894). United States: Napoleon Thompson.
In 1892, it was managed by Gonzalez & Giralt, Proprietors. In 1893, the Souvenir of the Grand Hotel Telégrafo was published by J.C. Prince.Souvenir of the Grand Hotel Telegrafo, Havana, Cuba. (1893). Cuba: Gonzalez & Giralt. Other Hotel Telegrafo locations existed in Sagua La Grande and Camajuaní.Special Agents Series. (1919). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
The 1902 International Sanitary Congress took place at the Hotel Telégrafo.Public Health Reports. (1902). United States: The Service..
In 1905, Guillermo Del Toro was the hotel's proprietor. The hotel hired interpreters as guides covering Havana, Marianao, and Matanzas for American visitors. The Café Helados de Paris () specializing in ice cream was connected to the hotel.Standard Guide to Cuba. (1905). United States: Foster & Reynolds.
By 1915, the old Hotel Telégrafo building was demolished, and a completely new one was constructed.Alfonso, M. F., Valero Martínez, T. (1915). Cuba Before the World: A Comprehensive and Descriptive Account of the Republic of Cuba from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. United States: Souvenir guide of Cuba Company. After new management and ownership took over in 1915, an expert chef directed the cuisine at Hotel Telégrafo.Times of Cuba. (1915). Cuba: Times of Cuba.
The hotel, a favorite in the late 19th century, was adversely affected by the Cuban Revolution of 1959. It was reconstructed in 2001 and reopened the following year.Moon Handbooks: Cuba. (2004). United States: Avalon Travel Pub..Griffith, C. (2010). Havana Revisited: An Architectural Heritage. United Kingdom: WW Norton.
After being acquired by the Spanish hotel chain Axel Hotels, it was renamed Telégrafo Axel Hotel La Habana. The former Telégrafo reopened in 2022 as the first state-run LBGTIQ+-friendly hotel.Planet, L. (2024). Lonely Planet Pocket Havana. Ireland: Lonely Planet.
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