Cuba's new luxury hotels look to lure waves of US tourists

Havana

IN Havana's Parque Central, shady stone benches and graceful palm trees beckon to mojito-sipping tourists and locals gathering to shoot the breeze. The gathering spot, in the centre of town, is surrounded by horse-drawn carriages and long lines of colourful finned-and-chromed 1950s cars.

But more utilitarian vehicles have recently begun circling the square: construction equipment transforming old buildings into luxury hotels. As Cuba's relationship with the United States grows warmer, real estate redevelopment is heating up, too.