The first US-run hotel to operate in Cuba since the 1959 Cuban revolution was open for business Tuesday, Starwood Hotels said - but guests from the United States need to bring plenty of cash, dpa reported. Hotel chain Starwood opened the Four Points Sheraton Havana in Havana's upscale Miramar district, taking over the former Hotel Quinta Avenida from state-owned hotel operator Gaviota, which continues to own the property. The US Treasury Department gave Starwood permission to become the first US company to do business with communist Cuba earlier this year, ahead of an historic visit by US President Barack Obama to the island in March. But "special conditions" tied to the continuing US embargo of Cuba still apply to the hotel and US guests booking there. While the US has eased travel restrictions to Cuba, tourism per se is still banned, and US hotel guests must present a signed affidavit that their travel falls into one of 12 authorized categories including family visits, humanitarian work and cultural exchanges.
