All Cuban hotels are state-owned so the deal puts a major U.S. corporation (for now!) directly in business with the Communist government under a special U.S. license that pushes Washington's legal dismantling of the Cuban trade embargo further than ever before.

Starwood's chief of Latin America operations, Jorge Giannattasio, has said the company will invest millions to renovate and rebrand the Quinta Avenida, Santa Isabel and Inglaterra hotels, train and hire new staff and reopen the hotels by the end of the year.

Cuban hotels are notorious for their ramshackle furnishings and poor service.

Cuban law prevents widespread direct hiring of Cuban workers by foreign firms.

Giannattasio has said the Cuban Starwood hotels would be refitted with everything from new mattresses to improved kitchen equipment and safety measures and managed by teams of expatriate Starwood employees.