PCs, cellphones, now hotels : Cuba relaxes rules

Entering a luxury hotel, checking in and making the most of all the facilities and services it offers - what seems like a normal option in many countries has caused a stir in Cuba.

Since midnight Monday, following a prohibition lasting over a decade, Cubans may now lodge in top-notch hotels with no restrictions other than their cost.

They can also rent a car or join tours which were until now only for foreign tourists.

Access to such activities was one of the hoped-for reforms after Raul Castro indicated, in his inaugural speech as Cuban president on February 24, that he would move to end an "excess in prohibitions and rules" within the "coming weeks."

The hotel access is the latest in a series of relaxation of rules that give Cubans more access to symbols of a modern lifestyle that had long been forbidden.

The retail sale of computers and electronic home appliances is to be allowed starting Tuesday, and new cellphone regulations are expected.