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.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery...

As legend has it, Irenee Dupont heard this poem and decided to build his own Xanadu on the pure white sand beaches of Varadero in 1929. Exotic plants where brought in from all over the world, Italian stone masons mixed the mortar with goat's milk to reduce its sheen, a huge organ was built for the playing pleasure of one of his daughters, tapestries with the poem in its entirety were tailor-made for the windows.....no expense was spared. It's said that the servants changed the food supply on a daily basis in the event that Mr. Dupont unexpectedly decided to sail in from the Florida cays with friends.

Soon other wealthy North Americans set up residence here and Varadero became Cuba's Miami with exclusive neighbourhoods patrolled by private police. Al Capone and Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista had houses here. In the 1950s, the Internacional Hotel and casino was built while other hotels sprung up along the coast. Movie stars, mobsters and high class hookers soon followed.

Irenee was almost 80 when he left Cuba in 1963. The Xanadu mansion was nationalized and today functions as the Varadero Golf Clubhouse and Varadero's most luxurious property with 6 guest rooms, a second floor ocean-facing lookout & bar, a restaurant featuring fine French dining, and a museum.

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