When he landed in our city at 33 years old, Friedrich von Schönburg did not imagine how intense and singular his time as a director of El Palace Barcelona would be. That historic hotel on the corner of Gran Via and Roger de Llúria, opened as the Ritz, was celebrating its centenary in 2019.
The famous brand, surname of the legendary César Jean Ritz, father of modern hospitality along with chef Auguste Escoffier, stopped being used in the Barcelona hotel in 2005 due to a series of lawsuits by the former ownership. The name change was a recurring story, although it is now fading into the past.
In fact, Von Schönburg's youth is part of that step forward for the house: he was its interim general manager from February 2020 and officially took office in January 2021, which made him, at 35, the youngest director of a five-star grand luxury hotel in Europe. Quite an exception, as such a position is generally more typical of a mature person with a long career, almost that of a consul or ambassador of long experience.
In fact, his mother wanted him to be a diplomat and his father thought his role in life would be that of a banker. Friedrich, however, wanted to be an actor. "And none of that happened. In the end, I completely dedicated myself to the world of hospitality and here I am in Barcelona managing a hotel that has as many years as it has potential," he comments with a soft Andalusian accent, because although his name and surname suggest otherwise, he was born in Malaga and raised in Marbella.
A style that is family heritage
It is true that María Luisa de Prusia and Rudolf Graf von Schönburg ---known as Count Rudi--- wanted another type of work for him, although they are now happy to see their son at the helm of one of the institutions of continental hospitality. His mother, a traveler and always linked to solidarity and charitable works, directed Unicef in Andalusia for decades and his father was director of a legendary establishment: the Marbella Club, the luxurious yet relaxed hotel founded in the mid-50s by Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe-Langenburg, one of the favorite places of the jet set and which positioned that town on the Costa del Sol as a luxury destination for years.
"I always saw my parents as impeccable people in their manners and that, I believe, you end up making your own. Both because of their past and their jobs, they are great hosts," he indicates, while recalling that his first real experience in hospitality was during a strike at the Marbella Club: "I had to do everything, because the guests were staying and we had to keep taking care of them. My father was involved in a thousand things and my mother became the hotel's telephone operator to keep it alive. That's where my passion for this world came from: treating others well and making them feel at home. Therefore, goodbye to the potential banker, the desired diplomat, and also the actor," he says, laughing.
"I always saw my parents as impeccable people in their manners and that, I believe, you end up making your own. Both because of their past and their jobs, they are great hosts," indicates Von SchönburgThus, young Friedrichended up moving from the German school in Marbella to the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, a classic in the sector, founded in 1893 during theboomof the beginning of travel and tourism in late 19th century Switzerland. He spent five years there, combining it with internships in large hotels in Madrid, Paris, and Andalusia, a time he remembers fondly and with mischievous eyes, although in the line of discretion of a great hotelier, he does not go into details. Afterwards, he worked with his sister inhis companyof event organization and marketing based in Valencia.
Then came a decade already fully active in several of London's best hotels: The Savoy, Claridge's, Rosewood, The Connaught… establishments of very high prestige that were a second school. "My plan was to spend two or three years in the United Kingdom to then develop my career in other countries, but… the job offers in such important hotels where you learn so much, made that period end up becoming a long London decade, which helped me a lot to face the current stage with more experience."
…And Barcelona
The arrival in the Catalan capital a little over two years ago came from an opportunity: the ownership of El Palace was looking for a "second in command," which in hotel jargon is called a Hotel Manager, to act as the right-hand man to the general manager, a role he held until February 2020, when COVID-19 was already looming. From then on, with the general manager on long-term leave, he assumed his role on an interim basis during the closure period. "This was truly a master's degree: having to close a hotel and be left with the keys to gates that are never closed was something I will not forget. We were coming from a good year in 2019, implementing new projects and giving the hotel a much-needed new vibe… but suddenly everything stopped. It was tough, strange, and enlightening," he admits.
The reopening was progressive: in the summer of last year, given the severe drop in reservations, it was decided not to activate the rooms and suites, although the terrace was opened: "We have a beautiful 1,500 square meter garden on the highest part of our hotel, with beautiful views of the entire city. I would say it is the largest rooftop garden in Barcelona, and we activated it so that Barcelonans could get to know and enjoy it. It has become a complete success, and 90%-95% of the people who visited us last summer did not know about it," he indicates, satisfied.
"This was truly a master's degree: having to close a hotel and be left with the keys to gates that are never closed was something I will not forget," admits the director.Opening the hotel to the city is one of Von Schönburg's obsessions.This same month, an open-air cinema reactivates at sunset with sun loungers, popcorn, cocktails, and a film programin which there is always a 007 one, as he declares himselfbondista"We are trying to make many things happen in the hotel, to make it a pole of attraction and to make it one of Barcelona's great social centers again. We intend that in our beautifulhallthings always happen and that people enter El Palace, make it their own and feel good."
The director lives near the hotel and admits that he is very happy in the Eixample with his partner, Amanda, who from Barcelona is developing Classpass, a fitness, wellness and beauty application for all of Southern Europe. He recognizes all the virtues of the city, although he misses more vigor from local institutions so that the restart of 2021 places the city in its rightful place: "If we want to continue being a desired destination where people aspire to spend attractive days and even stay longer, we need to fine-tune security, cleanliness, and urban planning a bit more. We do our part to beautify it and we need that balance," he acknowledges.
Up and running again
With the full reopening of the hotel on April 1, El Palace activated its 120 rooms and suites, which started with a discreet occupancy, although they are progressively achieving a certain return to normality. During all this time, the director and his team have modernized procedures, flattened the chain of command, improved external and internal communication, implemented technology not used in the 102-year history of the house, and improved different departments.
El Palace activated its 120 rooms and suites at the beginning of April: they started with a discreet occupancy, but are progressively achieving a certain return to normality.There is a special interest in returning the hotel to international luxury circuitsthanks to agreements with different companies in the sector and reactivate a reference restaurant in the space that for years was occupied by the famous Diana and Caelis. "Times are not the same and we are seeing that we can have high quality combining the history of the hotel, its aesthetics and beauty, although with a certain informality. We will find that balance in the same way that we are doing in other restaurant areas of the hotel. We don't stop and we are very excited about the times to come," he concludes.
After 102 years of history, El Palace has a new captain who is already straightening the course of a hotel that needed verve and new life with a team that is motivated to do so, to which a small-big signing has now been added: Lulu, the director's small dachshund who acts as hostess for the pets of the hotel's guests, as the hotel is now also pet friendly. Times change.
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