Santa Lucia is also known as the Hidden Eden. The tourist exploitation of its beaches started some time after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.

The resort was a witness of many naval battles between Pirates and the Spanish fleets. As a result, ships belonging to La Ruta del Oro came into the Puerto de Nuevitas to receive their supplies therefore leaving as proof more than 25 sunken treasures and goods.

It is in the waters of Santa Lucia and Cayo Sabinal that the North American writer Ernest Hemingway wrote the major part of his novel The Old Man and the Sea for which he obtained the Nobel Prize. It could just as well have been his autobiography. Hemingway also participated in the hunt for German sub-marines and ships that were prowling in the area. With his own yacht he helped sink two enemy boats.