In Havana hotels like the Sevilla, prices in Cuban pesos and dollars reflect inconsistent exchange rates ranging from 75 to 286 per dollar, ignoring the official rate of 120. This practice creates confusion in restaurants where only card payments are accepted. Meanwhile, tourism on the island has plummeted, with just 1.4 million visitors through October.
The Sevilla Hotel, managed by the Spanish chain Meliá and located near the Capitol in Havana, disregards both the government's official rate of 120 pesos per dollar and the informal rate of 445. In its restaurant, a Sevilla sandwich costs 7 dollars or 1,500 pesos (rate of 214), while a Cuban sandwich is 7 dollars or 1,800 pesos (257). Bluefin tuna is offered at 15 dollars or 3,800 pesos (253), and ropa vieja at 4,300 pesos for the same dollar price (286). A beef entrecôte is 22 dollars or 4,000 pesos (181). For drinks, a half-liter bottle of water is 2 dollars or 150 pesos (75), but a Seven-Up costs 300 pesos for the same dollar amount (150).
A Cuban customer remarked: “The service is terrible; I had the worst cappuccino of my life—water with grime.” Coffees vary: espresso at 100 pesos for 2 dollars (50), with milk at 125 (62.5), and cappuccino at 150 (75). Meliá has its own supply company, Mesol, since this year, which may explain this policy.
At the Inglaterra Hotel, run by the Canadian chain Blue Diamond, prices are listed only in pesos, and waiters discourage dollar payments: “Are you sure you want to pay in dollars, at the 120 exchange rate?” The state-owned Plaza Hotel, part of the Gran Caribe group, adheres to the official rate: croquettes at 5 dollars or 600 pesos, pizza at 16.66 dollars or 2,000 pesos. A regular customer said: “It’s better to pay in pesos, because if you pay in dollars you lose on the exchange rate they apply.”
Tourism has collapsed since the pandemic; through October 31, only 1.4 million international visitors arrived, 20% fewer than in the already poor 2024. All payments are by card only, no cash.
