focused on rebuilding the tourism industry. In 1993, they brought in the Spanish Guitart Hotels chain to manage the property as the Hotel Habana Libre Guitart. Then, in 1996 the Spanish Sol Meliá chain assumed management of the hotel from Guitart. It was placed in their Tryp division of urban hotels and renamed Hotel Tryp Habana Libre. The hotel was extensively renovated between 1996 and 1997. Much of the interior was gutted and modernized. The guest rooms were remodeled, with the balconies all glassed in, except those of the historic Castellana Suite. The supper club on the second floor was converted to a buffet restaurant. Among the highlights of the work was the restoration of the huge Peláez mural on the exterior, which had spent decades hidden from public view. The hotel reopened on December 22, 1997, with a speech by Eusebio Leal, who spearheaded the restoration and conservation of the historic district of Old Havana. In January 1998, the hotel served as the international media headquarters for the Papal visit to Cuba by Pope John Paul II. Journalists including Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, Ted Koppel, Tom Brokaw and Christiane Amanpour reported from and were housed at the hotel. CNN's Ted Turner and his wife, actress Jane Fonda, also visited the hotel at the time. On February 4, 2013, French daredevil Alain Robert, known as The French Spider-Man, climbed the hotel without ropes or a safety net, as is his custom, watched by hundreds of onlookers. Gallery Notes References External links Meliá Cuba - Habana Libre - Meliá Cuba official website Meliá - Habana Libre - Meliá International official web site Hotel Habana Libre.com - hotel fansite Habana Hilton Construction 1958 FleitasCuba Collection "When Castro Seized the Hilton" Inside The Havana Hilton Havana skyline from Havana Hilton Hotel buildings completed in 1958 Hotels in Havana Hotels established in 1958 Hilton Hotels & Resorts hotels Hotel Tryp Habana Libre Hotel Tryp Habana Libre Buildings and structures in Havana Nightclubs in Havana