Eastern Cuba resort wins award

The Paradiso Rio de Oro Hotel in the tourist destination of Playa Esmeralda in the province of Holguin, has just nabbed the TUI-Holly Award for a second straight year in recognition to the facility’s top-quality services. The award is bestowed on the top-100 lodging establishments preferred by German travelers worldwide. In the world ranking, this Cuban hotel holds the 36th spot.

Since last November, the Rio de Oro Hotel won the Paradiso Category that praises top-quality service and specialized destinations for honeymooners. This award-winning facility –run by Spanish hotel chain Sol Meliá and Cuba’s group Gaviota- is so far the only five-star resort in the eastern province of Holguin.

The award is seen here as one major hit for Holguin’s leisure industry, a circuit that became one of Cuba’s top picks among tourists last year and averaged the highest stay ratio per visitor and per day on the entire island nation with little more than a week.

Holguin’s hotels and other resorts raked in a figure in the neighborhood of $100 million last year as arrival levels of foreign travelers remained as high as ever despite the crisis sparked off by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.