Swiss luxury hotel operator Kempinski will open a five-star hotel located within the historic Manzana de Gomez building in Cuba in Q2 of this year.

The 246-bedroom hotel is located within a UNESCO World Heritage Site and will be known as the Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana.

Markus Semer, chair of the management board and CEO of Kempinski Hotels, said that the hotel’s location within a famous historic building makes it “the most exclusive hotel project in Old Havana.”

The hotel will include a 1,000sq m (10,764sq ft) spa managed by Resense, as well as a rooftop terrace and swimming pool, three restaurants, a lobby bar and cigar lounge.

The Manzana de Gomez building was completed in 1917 and occupies an entire block in Old Town Havana; it was built as the first European-style shopping arcade in Cuba.

The renovation project is being led by architecture studio Proyectos Arquitectura y Urbanismo. The interior design will be overseen by Eric Bogo of construction firm Bouygues, who is creating a "contemporary interpretation of classic style." The historic rooms feature extra-high ceilings and French windows opening out onto the old city.

This is the first hotel in the western hemisphere for Kempinski, which operates around 77 hotels in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Kempinski also has upcoming hotels in Latvia and Oman.