Starwood Hotels & Resorts has signed three new hotel deals in Cuba, making it the first US-based hospitality company to enter the Cuban market in almost 60 years.

Iconic Hotel Inglaterra, first opened in 1875, will join The Luxury Collection, and Hotel Quinta Avenida will become a Four Points by Sheraton. Both hotels will undergo renovations before raising their new brand flags later this year.

Starwood also intends to convert the famed 27-bedroom Hotel Santa Isabel into a member of The Luxury Collection, pending US Treasury Department approval.

It is not clear whether any of these hotels will have spas – currently they do not – but the signings mark a historic moment in hotel development and pave the way for additional US hotel brands to enter the country.

Starwood is currently in the middle of a merger with rival hotel operator Marriott that will create the world’s largest hotel company, with 5,500 hotels and 1.1 million bedrooms worldwide across 30 brands.

A Chinese conglomerate, led by Anbang Insurance, had attempted to outbid Marriott, but Marriott offered a counter-bid yesterday, and the merger is back on.

Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson accompanied US President Barack Obama on his historic visit – the first by a US President since 1928 – to Cuba yesterday.

Thomas B. Mangas, Starwood’s CEO, said: “With Cuba’s rich history, natural beauty and strong culture, there is no question the entire US hospitality industry has watched Cuba with great interest, and we are thrilled to lead the charge and bring our sophisticated, high-end brands into the market at this inflection point.”