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 Workers of the world, relax! Chávez takes over Hilton
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Workers of the world, relax! Chávez 
takes over Hilton
Socialist hotel empire grows as Venezuelan 
president seizes second property 
Rory Carroll in Caracas 
22 October, 2009
A portrait of the president greets you at 
reception, the managers support socialism, 
the guests wear red T-shirts and the decor 
promotes Latin American solidarity: welcome 
to Hotel Chávez. What used to be the Caracas 
Hilton today towers over Venezuela’s capital 
as a bold symbol of Hugo Chávez’s leftist 
revolution, a 36-storey, state-run declaration
of intent.
The government took it over from the US hotel 
chain two years ago as part of a move towards 
greater state control of the economy. Renamed 
Alba – “dawn” in Spanish and also the acronym 
of Chávez’s regional alliance, the Bolivarian 
Alternative for the Americas – the hotel hosts 
summits which condemn US imperialism and 
chart a brighter, leftist future.“We are the first 
socialist hotel but hopefully not the last,” said 
Katiuska Camaripano, its general manager.
Last week it acquired a sister: the government 
seized the Hilton on Margarita Island, 
Venezuela’s tourist playground. Chávez had 
been angered during a meeting of African 
leaders he hosted at the hotel. “The owners 
tried to impose conditions on the revolutionary 
government. No way. So I said, ‘Let’s 
expropriate it.’ And now it’s been expropriated.”
A presidential decree transferred its assets, 
including 280 rooms, 210 suites, shops, 
restaurants and a casino to the tourism ministry. 
A Hilton spokeswoman said the chain was 
“evaluating” the government’s action.
The state’s Margarita acquisition may also be 
renamed Alba, consolidating the brand name. 
Venezuela has also partly funded a small 
Alba hotel in Managua, capital of its leftist 
ally Nicaragua, said Camaripano. “It would be 
wonderful if we became part of a socialist chain.”
Two years after it became a political as well as 
geographic landmark, the Caracas Alba draws 
mixed reviews. Managers say it blends socialist 
values with business savvy and top-notch 
service. Critics say it is a dump in which
nothing works. 
There are some striking changes. Gone are 
the American and European managers and 
well-heeled foreign guests who used to snap 
up jewellery and cosmetics in the shops. 
Red-clad government officials and Cuban 
delegations have largely taken their place. 
“Business is dead. All we’ll sell is chewing 
gum and antibiotics,” said one store owner 
sadly. The Italian restaurant now serves more 
Caribbean food such as chicken in coconut 
sauce and 
cachapa
, a corn-based pancake. 
The gift shop offers a range of ceramic Chávez 
mugs and sculptures ranging from $20 to $240. 
The bookshop which sold glossy magazines 
and Dan Brown novels has been replaced 
by a culture ministry outlet offering political 
tracts such as 
Transition Towards Socialism
and 
Venezuela: a Revolution Sui Generis
. The 
titles are all subsidized, with some costing the 
equivalent of just 50p. “The problem is people 
buy the books and sell them on for profit,” said 
Nicola Castilla, the bookshop clerk. “It’s not 
easy developing a socialist conscience.”
Top floors offer superb views of downtown 
Caracas, the Ávila mountain and hillside slums 
but the hotel’s surrounding district, a hub of 
theatres and museums, has become dilapidated 
and crime-ridden. Many middle-class 
Venezuelans who used to visit now go only 
when participating in opposition marches. As 
they pass the Alba they chant “out”, apparently 
directed at the Cubans.
Managers say the 400 staff – who were retained 
from the Hilton era – reflect socialist values by 
doing voluntary work such as rubbish collection 
on their days off. The hotel says it does its bit by 
giving staff generous benefits not stipulated in 
their contracts, such as paying for babysitters, 
and by hosting poor children and hospital patients. 
A basic room costs $286 a night but discounts 
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