Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announces that its global powerhouse Sheraton Hotels & Resorts has debuted in Madrid with the opening of the Sheraton Madrid Mirasierra Hotel & Spa. Owned by Comercial Mirasierra Group, the hotel is part of Starwood"s strategic multi-billion expansion plan to open more than 60 Sheraton hotels around the world in the next three years.
The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), today unveils the iconic Hotel Alfonso XIII following an extensive $25 million restoration, returning the hotel its original splendour and luxurious grandeur. The reopening of Hotel Alfonso XIII marks the first of four Luxury Collection hotels that will undergo a multi-million dollar restoration and will re-open within the next 12 months, including Maria Cristina, a Luxury Collection hotel, San Sebastian scheduled to debut in July 2012; Prince de Galles, a Luxury Collection hotel, Paris and The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection hotel, Venice; both scheduled to open in early 2013.
Katmandu Park, a new generation theme park located in Mallorca, Spain, has joined forces with Meliá Hotels International, one of the largest operators of holiday resorts worldwide, to bring a new entertainment experience to the island, a new landmark for the family and youth market. For the 2013 tourist season, the Sol Magaluf Park hotel, adjacent to the Katmandu Park, will be transformed into a Katmandu-themed hotel. Known as Sol Katmandu Resort, the project will offer the island's only hotel park resort experience. Guests will enjoy a variety of exclusive entertainment benefits in Katmandu Park including unlimited entry until 6pm on all ticketed attractions each day of their stay and a private gated entrance to the park from the hotel. Katmandu's famous Yeti, Boro, and other park characters will also make appearances at the hotel children's club and other events.
By Esther Gladen. The article deals with the hotel and tourism markets in Madrid and Barcelona, reviewing 2011 data and comparing with previous years. The reader will learn about visitation, performance, supply, especially the five-star segment in both cities. Barcelona´s hotels are achieving a better overall performance than Madrid at the moment and this may not only be related to overall lower supply, which it has when comparing the number of visitors per hotel room. There are several other factors in the game. Certainly the nature of this destination city, close to the beach and the mountains, plays an important role. Last year Barcelona saw nearly one million more international visitors than Madrid and these may have been the reason why Barcelona, with 17 per cent fewer visitors in total, achieved nearly the same number of guestnights as Madrid.
Accor has just inaugurated a new ibis hotel near Madrid"s historic Las Ventas bullring, one of the Spanish capital"s most emblematic buildings. The hotel boasts an excellent location in the Goya-Serrano-Narvaez area, and is therefore an ideal destination for both business and leisure travelers. The ibis Madrid Centro Las Ventas has 111 rooms, including three with reduced mobility facilities, five with a terrace, eight communicating rooms and 21 triple rooms that are perfect for families. Most of them boast a view of Madrid"s Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas bullring. Reflecting the brand"s standards, the rooms are practical, guestfriendly, welcoming and fully-equipped. A large bed, air-conditioning, Wi-Fi Internet connection, a flat LCD screen TV and international and local channels are just some of the features that guarantee a comfortable stay.
Jumeirah Group, the global luxury hospitality company and a member of Dubai Holding, celebrates the opening of its first European resort this week. Nestled on the bay of Sóller in Mallorca (Spain), Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa is a luxury five-star resort ideal for travellers who want to discover the local traditions, connect with the destination and enjoy an internationally recognised service. Strategically located in the northwest of the island of Mallorca, Puerto de Sóller is a small fishing village famous for its bay, its port and its location, one of the most charismatic sites in the island: the Orange Valley found in the Sierra de Tramuntana, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Crowning a cliff overlooking the splendid bay of Sóller, Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa occupies an area of 18,000 square meters, offering 120 rooms and suites, two restaurants, four bars, two swimming pools and Talise Spa. The resort is divided into 11 low-rise structures respecting the harmony of the landscape and integrating the visitor into the exceptional natural environment. The interiors have been carefully selected in order to create a contemporary and comfortable look. Different shades of beige and earth colours and local woods such as olive and pine, local crafts and vernacular architecture, spacious rooms with large windows overlooking the sea, mountains or harbour make the resort an unparalleled experience. The gastronomic is supreme with the opening of two restaurants, Es Fanals and Cap Roig, the latter promising to become a culinary must on the island thanks to its creative cuisine with a strong local accent and the use of the freshest seasonal products. For leisure moments, the hotel boasts three terraces, one of them ideal for watching the sun go down whilst enjoying cocktails and tapas. Young pirates aged 3 to 12 will appreciate the Barbaroja Kids Club, while teenagers and adults will enjoy the guided tours, cooking classes and yoga sessions on offer.The prime location of Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa will offer nature lovers the chance to explore by foot or on mountain bikes almost 200 kilometres of tracks that run along the coast or golf at any of the 26 courses on the island. There is the opportunity to go diving, snorkelling and fishing; the hotel can also arrange boat rentals with experienced skippers who will guide guests to secluded beach coves. Talise is Jumeirah"s global spa brand. Talise Spa at Jumeirah Port Soller occupies over 2,200 square meters and offers magnificent views over the Port of Sóller and the Sierra de Tramuntana. It features ten treatment suites and a thermal area equipped with a Hammam, an ice room, a glass-panelled sauna overlooking the valley, a relaxation room with fireplace and an outdoor heated Hydropool. Designed to set a new standard in the Spanish wellness sector, Talise Spa offers a complete programme of treatments that combine the latest cosmetic innovations from prestigious brands like Barcelona-based Natura Bissé, Aromatherapy Essentials, Linda Meredith and Bastién Gonzalez. Guests at Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa will stimulate all five senses, with a daily selection of local seasonal fruits in every room, a fragrance chart to scent the room to the guests" taste, welcome hand massages, or orange aromas in the lobby to recreate the characteristic smell of citrus of the Sóller Valley. These small details will contribute to a cultural and social connection with the destination. Jumeirah Port Soller is the latest addition to the Jumeirah portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts in Europe, along with Jumeirah Grand Hotel Via Veneto in Rome, Pera Palace Hotel, Jumeirah in Istanbul and Grosvenor House Apartments by Jumeirah Living in London. From the start of 2011 to the end of 2012, Jumeirah Group will have more than doubled the number of hotels it manages and almost quadrupled the number of countries in which it operates. In the coming six months, Jumeirah expects to open Jumeirah Bilgah Beach Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan; Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa, Kuwait; and Jumeirah Creekside in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Apartment hotels are certainly not a new concept in Spain, writes María Rosa Barcia of Horwath HTL’s Barcelona office. Condo-hotels, on the other hand, most definitely are. She filed this report on how this new industry segment will be presenting interesting opportunities in 2012 in Spain, one of the world’s top tourist destinations.
Spanish hotel group NH Hoteles said on Thursday it asked creditor banks to back a near-term debt refinancing ahead of a 195 million euro ($249.92 million) payment on a syndicated loan due in a month's time. The group, which operates some 175 hotels at home and more than 225 abroad, said it hoped banks would soon agree to a five-year refinancing of the 650 million euro loan, which was taken out in 2007.
Meliá Hotels International has announced at FITUR the addition to its portfolio of the Villaitana resort, consisting of two 4 and 5 star hotels on the Costa Blanca (Alicante, Spain). Both hotels will be operated under a lease agreement and will open shortly under the company's Meliá Hotels & Resorts brand.
STR Global, the leading provider of market data to the world's hotel industry, reported double-digit revenue-per-available-room (RevPAR) growth in Lisbon, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands year-to-November (YTD) 2011 compared to the same time frame in the year prior. The double-digit RevPAR growth resulted mainly from increasing occupancy.
The Spanish hotel industry realized double-digit revenue growth in 2011 of +10.5% over 2010, according to data released today by Pegasus Solutions during the International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR) at stand #8B29. The data also showed combined leisure and corporate bookings for Spanish hotels were up +4.0% over prior year at the end of 2011, with average daily rates (ADR) climbing +4.6%.
Signalling the beginning of the international tourism calendar for 2012, UNWTO will hold a number of activities at the International Tourism Trade Fair, FITUR, addressing key issues facing the sector in times of uncertainty (Madrid, Spain, 18-22 January, 2012).
Thomas Cook Group PLC , the travel group, Tuesday said it has reached agreement to sell its interest in Hoteles Y Clubs De Vacaciones, a hotels and golf club group, to IBEROSTAR Hoteles y Apartamentos S.L. (IBS), the hotel division of Grupo IBEROSTAR, for EUR72.2 million in cash. Thomas Cook will continue to benefit from access to HCV's hotel portfolio through a separate commercial arrangement that has been agreed with IBS.
Spanish owned hotel chain Fiesta Hotel Group, has appointed Juan José Calvo as Group Commercial Director. Calvo assumes the role and responsibilities previously fulfilled by Óscar Palacios. Throughout his long career, Calvo has undertaken various roles in some of Spain’s most significant hotel chains.
The “Social Suite” is the result of the recent “Everything is Possible” online campaign by the hotel chain on Facebook which for two weeks encouraged fans of all the company’s hotel brands to share their dreams. The campaign helped the company raise the number of fans to make it the top Spanish hotel company on Facebook with more than 200,000 fans.
Romantik Hotels & Restaurants continues its European expansion and has now arrived in Spain. The hotels located on the Balearic island of Mallorca suit the over 200 members of the cooperation perfectly with regard to history, the personal management, the quality and the high standard of food and cellar.
Meliá Hotels International has announced a positive first summer season for its four hotels for adults only. The Meliá de Mar Hotel and Sol Cala Blanca Hotel, both in Mallorca, the Sol Ibiza Hotel and Sol Menorca Hotel have all exceeded expectations with improved occupancy and room rates thanks to the new Adults Only hotel experience for guests over 15 years of age and improvements in service standards and quality in all the hotels.
Sandra Farrero is the new Director of Sales and Marketing for Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa, Spain. Sandra is a Spanish national educated in the US and UK with 16 years of international experience in several senior sales and marketing management positions with high profile companies such as Harrods Group’s Hyde Park Residence in London, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company Hotel Arts Barcelona and Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Catalan. In her role Sandra will oversee all sales, marketing & public relations activities for Jumeirah Port Soller, opening in early 2012.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) has signed an agreement with Amrey Hotels S.L. to operate a Four Points Hotel in Barcelona. The Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona Diagonal will open this fall marking the entry of Starwood's Four Points brand into Spain. Located in the buzzing district 22@ adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea and within less than 20 kilometres from Barcelona Airport, the Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona Diagonal will comprise 154 guest rooms, an all-day dining restaurant, a café, signature bar and fitness centre.
Madrid's GDP was more than 12% of that of the whole country and nearly 68% of that of the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (Greater Madrid). The unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2011 was 21,29%, taking the country close to the quite terrifying barrier of five million people out of work. In Madrid, the unemployment rate is approximately 4,5% lower than the average rate in the country.