REPORT: Spiderman French daredevil scales 27-storey Cuba hotel

A French daredevil who has scaled some of the world's tallest buildings conquered Cuba's famous Habana Libre hotel on Monday without ropes or a safety net.

Alain Robert succeeded in climbing to the top of the hotel in about half an hour as hundreds of awed onlookers gasped and cheered from the streets below.

He reached the top floor of the 27-storey hotel just after 1.30pm (1830 GMT) after a death-defying stunt that followed years of other hair-raising feats.

The 50-year-old climber had said his main concern was not the height of the 413-foot-tall (126-metre) hotel, but that a bit of the building's brittle facade might break off.

Before he began, Robert acknowledged that he felt nervous.

"You know it can be rusty, the concrete can be damaged. So, I could break this or that so it's a bit scary," he said.

Like many city landmarks, the hotel is in disrepair after more than half a century of Communist rule on the island.

A huge cheer went up as Robert started climbing under a bright blue sky.

Tourists stared up from the hotel pool, and office workers shouted encouragement from nearby balconies.

Robert, known as "Spider-Man," has scaled much taller structures in his career, including the former Sears Tower in Chicago, New York's Empire State

Building and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.

Two years ago he took six hours to summit what currently is the world's tallest building, the 2,717 foot-tall (828 metre) Burj Khalifa in Dubai, though for that ascent he used some safety equipment.

Robert arrived in Havana last week, and has been waiting to get permission from the authorities to begin the stunt.

Cuba agreed to let him go ahead, and dozens of police were on hand on Monday to keep order.

In other countries, Robert has often pulled off his stunts without seeking permission, and has sometimes been arrested.

The hotel is one of the Cuban capital's most iconic buildings, taken over after the 1959 Cuban Revolution and redubbed the "Habana Libre," or "Free Havana."

Fidel Castro briefly set up his personal offices in the hotel after his triumphant march into the capital.


AP