Adam Morrisey talks with Jaime Bravo, General Manager of Hotel Bardo in Tulum, a boutique hotel group consisting of three hospitality concepts in Mexico. The hotel’s stay was called ‘transformational’ in Forbes. Bravo claims, “there’s nothing like Tulum. Its soul cannot be replicated.”
I am excited to officially announce our emergence from stealth mode with news of our Series A of $23M, led by the inimitable Angela Strange at Andreessen Horowitz. We are also humbled to announce our partnership with Brian Lewis at TriplePoint Capital for a debt facility of up to $25M. This recent capital follows our previously unannounced $5M seed round, led by Marcelo Lima at Monashees Capital and Nico Szekasy at Kaszek Ventures, bringing us to a total of $53M.
Viridi International Resorts SRL, a new upstart in the ultra-luxury boutique hotel and spa space, is pleased to announce the acquisition of El Silencio Lodge and Spa from Grupo Isilita, San Jose, Costa Rica. El Silencio Lodge is a luxury eco-tourist resort located in the high-altitude cloud forest just one hour from San Jose in Bajos del Toro. El Silencio was recently voted the Number 2 Top Resort in Central America by Condé Nast Reader's Choice Awards.
Ever wanted to stay at a Columbian drug lord’s home? Now you can. Located in Tulum, Casa Malca, Pablo Escobar‘s former private estate, has been transformed into a five-star resort. The vacation home of the King of Coke was renovated and turned into an uber-luxe beachside boutique hotel by New York-based art dealer Lio Malca. Located along the most private Tulum beachfront, the heavily-art centric hotel Casa Malca’s (formerly Casa Magna) 36 luxurious velvet-drapped rooms and suites, indoor and terrace bars, and lobby are populated with Malca’s private contemporary art collection — of furniture, sculptures, paintings and installations — including works of Kenny Scharf, Rafael Gomez, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kaws and more.
Ateliers Jean Nouvel has released new renderings for its plant-covered luxury hotel adjoining a former maternity hospital in São Paulo, which will feature interiors by Philippe Starck.Nouvel's Paris-based firm teamed up with developer Alexandre Allard of Groupe Allard to create Cidade Matarazzo – a 550,000 square-metre complex of historic buildings being regenerated in the city's centre, including the former Filomena Matarazzo maternity hospital.Scheduled to open towards the end of 2018, Rosewood Tower will function as a mixed-use cultural and tourist complex, including 275 guest rooms between Nouvel's new building and the former hospital, 122 apartments, two restaurants, a bar and a caviar lounge, three swimming pools and a spa.
Melín Castro Ardavín has received the Merit Award for Interior Design from the Association of Furniture Manufacturers of Jalisco (AFAMJAL). Recognizing the most prominent interior designers in Mexico, primarily in the hospitality industry, the award was bestowed on Melín Castro for her excellent outstanding career achievements and contributions to numerous various projects. Among them are the interior design and branding of Velas Resorts in Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Maya and Riviera Nayarit, which have been recognized for their sophisticated and dramatic interior design with a strong sense of place. The award was presented on August 15, 2014 at the first National Interior Design Meeting by AFAMJAL. The event took place at Expo Guadalajara Convention Center in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Hotel Matilda (www.hotelmatilda.com), the trend-setting boutique hotel offering a lifestyle-focused guest experience, has become the newest member of Design Hotels, and the only member of the international collection in San Miguel de Allende. “Hotel Matilda was created with vision and passion, and endowed with a pulsating heartbeat of art and design, making us a perfect match with Design Hotels,” said General Manager Bruce James.
The 2011 top Double Gold Medal Award for interior design went to Melin Castro Ardavin for her work for the Grand Velas Riviera Maya in the Fourth International Forum of Women in Architecture and Interior Design of the Iberoamerican Council of Interior Designers (CIDI). The award, given for the best in Mexico, recognized her body of work for the Grand Velas Rivera Maya's three hotels within a hotel and the spa. Castro is the Interior Designer and Creative Director for Velas Resorts' four luxury all-inclusives in three destinations in Mexico and also President of MC Design of Guadalajara.