Hotels in Spain Showing a Revitalized Spirit

PHOTO: Eurobuilding, the new flagship of the NH Collection will be a center for hotel innovation in technology. (Via YouTube. All other photos courtesy those pictured.)

Spanish tourism and the Spanish economy don't seem to have much impact on each other. While Spain continues to suffer economically, its tourism should set arrival records in 2014. The continuing fascination with tourism in Spain (it ranked six on Virtuoso's list of places to go this year) keeps the hotel sector on the move.

Hotels large and small from big and smaller brands are making noise in 2015. Perhaps the most intriguing comes from one of Madrid's most recognized hotels, the Eurobuilding, which has now been revitalized as the flagship of the NH Collection.

After an extensive renovation, the Eurobuilding reopened in October in Madrid as the flagship of the NH Collection brand. Not only did NH modernize the design of the hotel, but it also positioned the property as a home to high tech innovation via the Living Lab initiative.

With that kind of panache as well as 83,959 square feet of meeting space and four high quality restaurants, NH has positioned itself to get a good share of the business travel through the Spanish capital. Driving the point home is the lobby's 3,229 square-foot LED vault screen, the only one in Europe. The four-star, 431-room NH Collection Eurobuilding is now the only Living Lab in the hotel industry, making it into something of an attraction itself.

Living Lab is exploring new technology in the hotel industry by testing innovations in a real environment with testing often done by the hotel's guests themselves. Customers and guests are invited to participate in an ongoing innovation of hotel technology, a feature which will make it not only a lodging but a place of interest in Madrid. The hotel will have four Living Lab Rooms, for new technology testing including Free, Easy & High Capacity Wi-Fi (2Mb), 3D holographic telepresence technology, to be used for the first time and on a permanent basis in a hotel, and SMART Room System for Microsoft Lync Online next generation videoconference solutions.

The Living Lab rooms use best practices in energy efficiency with all of their energy coming from renewable sources. This eco-friendly stance is enhanced with all-LED lighting, environmentally-friendly (KRION) and 100-percent recyclable furniture materials, and holographic telepresence and virtual collaboration systems designed to prevent unnecessary displacement and travel. Moreover, NH Hotel Group offsets its carbon footprint in the Living Lab rooms by means of its participation in the Kasigau Corridor REDD wildlife protection project in Kenya.

The hotel has also been repositioned as a major dining location in Madrid. It has four restaurants devoted to haute cuisine including the DiverXO, Madrid's only Michelin three star. Though it's listed as a four-star property, it also offers what it calls "two five-star floors within the hotel."

Federico González Tejera, CEO of NH Hotel Group called the hotel, "a worldwide pioneer in the tourism and hotel sector thanks to the Living Lab initiative, a destination in its own right on account of its unparalleled gastronomic offering and the best place for holding meetings and events, due to its versatile rooms in which technology has been placed at the service of business and leisure."

Up in Barcelona, another classic hotel with an Olympic past is getting revitalized by a major brand. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is now managing the 432-room Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I and has renamed the property, the hotel Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos I, Barcelona.

PHOTO: The Fairmont Barcelona occupies a hotel that opened for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

The hotel will remain open as it undergoes a major renovation this year. "Barcelona is one of the most popular destinations in Europe and a key hub for the cruise market, as well for MICE travel, a segment in which Fairmont has established itself as an industry leader," said Jennifer Fox, president, FRHI International and Fairmont Brand.

The hotel was designed by architect Carlos Ferrater, winner of the National Prize for Architecture in 1993. It was inaugurated by the King and Queen shortly before the Barcelona Olympic Games of 1992 and offers a wide breadth of amenities including the Polo Restaurant, Club Lounge and a lobby bar. The hotel has a fitness center and spa with both indoor and outdoor pools, plus 13 treatment rooms. The hotel also provides direct access to the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya, a congress center offering some 43,000 square feet of exhibition space and a 2,000 seat auditorium.

The hotel is situated on the Avenida Diagonal, and offers panoramic views of Barcelona and the sea. Situated near Barcelona's famous shopping districts, Plaça Catalunya and Passeig de Gràcia, it is also next to Camp Nou, the stadium of the famous "Barca" Football Club and adjacent to the Royal Polo Club of Barcelona.

Another Barcelona property recalls another age of cutting edge innovation, this time in art. The Hotel Serras occupies a building where Picasso had his first studio, when he was just 16. Located on the waterfront in Central Barcelona, the Serras Hotel's 1846 façade is backed by fresh interiors designed by Eva Martinez using a mélange of New York and Catalan motifs as well as a rooftop bar with views as far as the sea and the newly upgraded Port Vell.

The 30 room and suite Serras is situated on Passeig de Colom, a short walk from Las Ramblas and overlooking both the Old Town and Port Vell Marina, which recently underwent a €125 million renovation. Antonio Bignone and Ona Matas, who run the property, have both worked in such London classics as The Dorchester, The Ritz and Mandarin Oriental.

Relaxed elegance is the service style and the highlight of the dining comes from Michelin-starred chef and owner of Els Tinars, Marc Gascons. Gascons follows in the footsteps of Ferran Adria and Juan Pretel of El Bulli and Roca fame, by opening a Barcelona restaurant after success in their Girona establishments. Designed for sharing, the menu at his informal restaurant will consist of locally sourced produce from the land and sea. Specialities include sea bass sushi and Galician beef tataki from the grill.

After opening the Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza last year, Hard Rock International (HRI) plans to open its second European property, the 637-room Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife in mid-2016. HRI also has such new properties on the books as the Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos, Hard Rock Hotel Dallas-Ft. Worth, Hard Rock Hotel Dubai and most recently announced, the Hard Rock Hotel Goa. The hotel will be located on the southern shore of Tenerife, the most popular of the Canary Islands.

PHOTO: When it opens the Hard Rock Tenerife will be Europe's second Hard Rock resort.

"We're thrilled to introduce the Hard Rock brand to Tenerife and bring a unique experience fusing luxury accommodations and lavish amenities with electrifying entertainment," said Abel Matutes Prats, chief executive officer at Palladium Hotel Group, the hotel owners.

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