In 1939, the Sevilla-Biltmore was purchased by Italian-Uruguayan mobster Amleto Battisti y Lora.[1] Its casino was closely associated with Havana's mafia network, being part-owned by Santo Trafficante, Jr. Mobs destroyed the Sevilla-Biltmore's casino on January 1, 1959, after Fulgencio Batista fled the country overnight as Fidel Castro's rebel army approached Havana. Amleto Battisti took refuge in the Uruguayan embassy.[2][3]
Today, the hotel is owned by the Cuban state-run Gran Caribe hotel group. The French Accor chain assumed management in 1996,[4] first under their Sofitel division as the Hotel Sofitel Sevilla Havana,[5] and later under their Mercure Hotels division as the Hotel Mercure Sevilla Havane. Accor announced plans in 2017 to renovate the Sevilla and transfer it to their boutique MGallery by Sofitel division.[6] However, Accor ceased management of the hotel on December 31, 2018.
In 2023, the hotel joined the Spanish Meliá Hotels International chain[7] as Hotel Sevilla Habana Affiliated by Meliá.
In Popular Culture
The hotel is mentioned in The Godfather Part 2, at a meeting between main mafia bosses in Havana.[8]