The Varadero Xanadu

Golf course and small hotel and former mansion of Irenee Du Pont

BY MIREYA CASTAÑEDA —Granma International staff writer

PERHAPS it would be a contradiction to say that there is a mansion called Xanadu in the resort of Varadero. However, if we follow — precisely— the myth of the summer capital of Kubla Khan, the splendor of which Marco Polo spoke, Varadero really is a Xanadu given the wealth of its nature, its beaches, its sky and its gardens.

The word Xanadu does not bring to mind Olivia Newton John or U.S. millionaire Irenee Du Pont, but the British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) and his Kubla Khan (1797), who gave eternal life to Xanadu. The first stanza of the poem has been cited many times: In Xanadu did Kubla Khan /A stately pleasure-dome decree: /Where Alph, the sacred river, ran /Through caverns measureless to man /Down to a sunless sea.

Although “to the sunless sea” doesn’t fit with Varadero, other verses, other metaphors, other expressions in the poem totally describe the blue waters of Varadero and especially the area acquired by Du Pont at a ridiculous price. For example when it speaks of Enfolding sunny spots of greenery, or The shadow of the dome of pleasure, or Where was heard the mingled measure/ From the fountain and the caves, It was a miracle of rare device.

The Arrival of Du Pont

The Xanadu Mansion, as the magnate named it, although it was later known as Du Pont, is located in the rocky outcrops of San Bernardino and was designed by architects Covarrocas and Govantes in 1927, the year the U.S. millionaire reached 49 years old and decided to retire from the presidency of the family empire (in the book Trading with the Enemy: 1933-1949, historian Charles Higham, after describing him as being the most amazing and powerful member of the clan, added that he was obsessed with Hitler.)

It is said that he began to search for a retirement haven, and, like many U.S. citizens, he found it in Cuba. He then bought 180 hectares on the Hicacos peninsula for 90,000 pesos (an absurd price of 4 cents per square meter.) The property included eight kilometers of virgin beach, but he chose the rocky hills of San Bernardino to build the house (at a cost of $1,300,000), a veritable mansion on four floors, with 11 bathrooms, three large terraces, seven balconies, and a private boat dock.

Precious woods were used for the ceilings, stairs and columns while the floors and bathrooms were of marble from Cuba, Italy and Spain.

Du Pont resided in Xanadu for a few months every year starting January (Varadero oral history says only a few days and not every year). In 1931 he ordered the construction of an 18-hole golf course (redesigned to only nine in 1933 after the first course was destroyed by a hurricane.)

It was in March 1957 when Du Pont visited Xanadu for the last time, corroborating that he did not come to Cuba every year given that he stopped his trips two years before the triumph of the Revolution. He died December 12, 1963, the same day on which Xanadu opened as the restaurant Las Americas, with the first women cosmonaut in the world, the Soviet Valentina Tereshkova, as guest of honor.

Varadero Golf Club

Over the last few years Xanadu and its surroundings have undergone many transformations finally becoming, in 1999, the Varadero Golf Club.

José Tovar, its general director, assured that its “course of 18 holes par 72 is in line with universal regulations.”

Golf, he said, is a magnificent tourism option, given that this sport is growing by around 15 % annually and more than 80 million people are members of golf associations.”

Tourist arrivals in Varadero are particularly significant between November and April, as the Club’s main clients are from Canada, Spain, France, and the UK.

“The Xanadu Mansion has been remodeled into a clubhouse with six hotel rooms. The first floor restaurant offers a menu and banquet service, and has a wine cellar in the basement (formerly a bar).”

The current Varadero Golf Club —explained Tovar—, with its 39.7 ha., (not including surrounding greens, lagoons, and parks totaling 61.0 ha.), was the first 18-hole course on the island designed by architect Les Furber, president of the Canadian Golf Design Services Company Ltd. It extends along a narrow strip in the vicinity of a number of hotels such as Breezes SuperClubs, Tuxpan, Bella Costa, Meliá Las Américas, and Meliá Varadero.

According to Tovar, the shape of the golf course separates two areas each with their defined characteristics. The first section up to the ninth hole is considered a bit easier; holes 10-18 stand out for their individual complexities. “Both allow golfers to combine the technical elements of the game with the beauty and tranquility of the environment.”

For its qualities, the Club has been twice selected as the venue of the European Challenge Tour Grand Final (1999 and 2000.)

The Varadero Golf Club or Xanadu Mansion is, without any doubt, a magical place in the finest tradition of the myth of Kubla Khan.

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