Hotel Havana opened in 1914 and restored nearly 100 years later by its current ownership group.
Hotel Havana opened in 1914 and restored nearly 100 years later by its current ownership group. Credit: Nick Simonite for Hotel Havana

Hotel Havana, the Cuban-inspired boutique hotel near downtown’s Tobin Center, will permanently close Monday, Oct. 20, the San Antonio Business Journal reports.

“After7-r7-22 15 years of service, Hotel Havana is expected to cease operations and close on Oct. 20, 2025,” hotel General Manager Shane Hamilton said in an email obtained by the Business Journal. In the message, he added that the hotel’s “top priority” is ensuring a seamless transition for guests and the hotel employees. 

Hotel Havana, 1015 Navarro St., will have a new owner after Oct. 20, according to the email, which didn’t identify the new ownership group.

The Current reached out to Austin-based Bunkhouse Hotels, which owns the 27-room River Walk property, and got no response by press time.

Any hotel stay or event booked at Hotel Havana following Oct. 20 has been canceled, the Business Journal reports, citing the email. However, Hyatt is reportedly looking into moving events to the Thompson Hotel San Antonio, located nearby at 115 Lexington Ave. 

Back in June, renowned San Antonio chef Jesse Kuykendall, revealed that Ocho, Hotel Havana’s onsite restaurant had shut down. The chef said the closure of the eatery and the hotel’s distinctive and dimly lit basement bar were due to renovations planned for the site.

Grocer Edward Franz Melcher opened Hotel Havana’s original iteration in 1914, paying tribute to the Cuban capital with a Mediterranean-style design scheme and tropical shrubbery. According to the hotel’s website, many of the trees Melcher planted are still on the property to this day. 

Bunkhouse Hotels restored the property in 2010 under the artistic eye of noted hotelier Liz Lambert, who now works with MML Hospitality.

Hotel Havana still bears Lambert’s signature touches around the restored property along with Melcher’s original designs. The building itself is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. 

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This article appears in Sep. 18-Oct. 1.