Lessons from the Failure of Carnival’s Fathom Brand

Lessons from the Failure of Carnival’s Fathom Brand

It was a typical Spring Miami day when on April 17th, 2016 I boarded the 704-passenger vessel, MV Adonia, for a lunch gathering with a select group of people responsible for the creation of the Fathom brand and the re-purposing of a small ship with a big concept, to yoke industry behemoth, Carnival Corporation, into … Read more

Here Is Cuba’s Premier Hotel and Investment Conference For 2017

Here Is Cuba’s Premier Hotel and Investment Conference For 2017

The inaugural SAHIC Cuba conference, to be held this May 15-16, 2017 in Havana, Cuba, adds two keynote speakers for this first-of-its-kind conference. They are David Scowsill, President & CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council, and renown Cuban historian Mr. Eusebio Leal. Hotels, resorts or related real estate developments, including shared ownership, recreational … Read more

In Conversation: St Giles Hotel’s Abigail Tan-Giroud

In Conversation: St Giles Hotel’s Abigail Tan-Giroud

Yesterday, St Giles Hotels announced its expansion into Cuba, positioning the company as the first UK-based hotel brand to enter the Cuban hotel market. Gran Caribe, one of Cuba’s leading hotel groups, accepted St Giles’ bid to renovate and manage the Hotel Deauville, located in the heart of Havana.  Abigail Tan-Giroud, St Giles Hotels Head of UK, Europe, and The … Read more

Here’s A Cuban Jazz Tour For Jazz Lovers

Here’s A Cuban Jazz Tour For Jazz Lovers

Guitarist Pablo Menendez’s funky Yoruba, Afro-Cuban, salsa, bebop fusion septet Mezcla (“mixture”) is as much about Cuba’s musical past as it is the future. Let’s Do Cuba‘s Intimate Cuban Jazz Weekend offers deep immersion into the Cuban Latin/fusion jazz scene through Mezcla and renowned artist, Pablo Menendez.  According to Let’s Do Cuba’s Lily Puosa, “Our experience … Read more

Tasting the H. Upmann Magnum 50

Tasting the H. Upmann Magnum 50

It’s one of Cuba’s signature cigar brands: H. Upmann, one that counts more than 173 years of heritage and among the world’s oldest cigar brands. Indeed, the Upmann brand, named after a German banker, was the favored brand of none other than John F. Kennedy, whose regular smoke was the H. Upmann Petit Upmann. And … Read more

Havana To Host International Jazz Day 2017

Havana To Host International Jazz Day 2017

The sixth annual International Jazz Day, to be celebrated worldwide on April 30, 2017, will be held in Havana, Cuba. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Irina Bokova and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock announced the news today. RELATED: Cuban-born Paquito D’Rivera Composes Diplomacy and Art with His Sax International Jazz Day … Read more

See Where To Eat: 3 Plates Of Havana

See Where To Eat: 3 Plates Of Havana

Havana’s restaurant scene moves in three dimensions: style, size and quality – and all are constant in flux, cooking up exciting new alternatives, making Havana’s restaurants a reflection of the broader unleashing of Cuba’s once dormant commercial energies. In Cuba, private restaurants, called paladares (pl) or paladar, are where much of the innovation is happening. … Read more