Meliá will reopen the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya in October

Green light for the change of operator of the complex comprising the Hotel Juan Carlos I and the Palacio de Congresos de Catalunya, both closed since 2020 as a consequence of the pandemic. Last January, the new owner of this emblematic hotel and convention asset, the Tyrus Capital fund, announced that it had reached an agreement with the Meliá Group to transfer its management and reopen the hotel under the new brand Miranda de Pedralbes. More than half a year later, this Thursday Meliá has set a date for the reopening of the Palacio de Congresos: it will be operational again in October, while the hotel's reopening is delayed until January 2024.

This announcement by the Balearic group comes after a Commercial Court of Barcelona has blessed the change of operator, validating Tyrus's decision to terminate the contract it had until now with the Fairmont chain, a subsidiary of the French Accor group. This company went to court when the fund signed the agreement with Meliá, requesting to annul the early termination of the contract or an indemnity of 19 million euros. The judge has dismissed the lawsuit that had left Meliá's entry in suspense, a group that considers it now has "free rein," although Fairmont has announced that it plans to appeal the ruling before the Audiencia de Barcelona.

"With yesterday's decision by the Commercial Court, the hotel would finally be given free rein to reopen its doors under the name of Miranda de Pedralbes, of Gran Meliá, and with a new and exciting management project, which will be led by Ramón Vidal Castro, whose credentials include the management for 6 years of the Meliá Castilla hotel, the group's flagship in Madrid, and who also launched and managed with notable success the Hotel and Palau de Congressos de Palma complex," highlighted the hotel group chaired by Gabriel Escarré.

According to the businessman, "with this judicial decision, a definitive step is taken in the long and tortuous path that has delayed the reopening of an asset destined to mark a new era for Congress and Business tourism in Barcelona, improving its management and reputation thanks to the Gran Meliá brand, which this year will have opened, among others, highly distinguished luxury hotels such as the Gran Melia Nha Trang, in Vietnam, or the Gran Meliá Palazzo Cordussio, in the historic center of Milan. Furthermore, I am sure that the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya, together with the Palau de Congressos de Palma, will become the undisputed winning duo of the entire Mediterranean for a segment that attracts high-purchasing-power tourism 12 months a year."

For his part, Tony Chedraoui, CEO of Tyrus, explained that "I had no doubt that the exemplary commitment demonstrated by Meliá's highest management, which will allow this project to soon proudly re-emerge in Barcelona, would be recognized by the courts." According to the investor, "in the interest of the project, its employees, and the city of Barcelona, at the end of 2022 we decided to contact Gabriel Escarrer and his team as new operators, whose response was immediate and in line with the urgency required by the situation. I can assure that both Gabriel Escarrer and I are fully committed to this project, which for us represents not just a hotel, but the passion and commitment that we both share with the city of Barcelona."

Tyrus Capital has already begun the reforms and necessary preparations for the reopening after this long three-year hiatus. Its goal is for the new Meliá Miranda de Pedralbes to be "an oasis of tranquility" within Barcelona, enhancing the hotel's spaces with the more than 25,000 square meters of gardens that surround it and that they also want to open to local residents. The project is led by architect Álvaro Sans, from the ASAH studio.

Among the attractions that the new luxury establishment will have are a signature restaurant, a jazz club, a night club, a renovated pool area, and a "spectacular" terrace with 360-degree views of the city that they want to turn into the emblem and main meeting point of the hotel. The reopening also implies the renovation of the 391 rooms, of which 65 are suites.

The reopening in October of the Palacio de Congresos will allow to face the growing demand for this type of spaces in the Catalan capital. Barcelona reaffirmed its leadership in 2022 as a city for fairs and congresses, with 135,000 congress attendees, a figure that places it in the first position of the world ranking, ahead of Vienna (105,000) and followed by Paris, Lisbon, Milan, and London, according to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).

The Palacio de Congresos de Catalunya, located at the entrance of Avenida Diagonal, has 39 rooms of different sizes, an auditorium with capacity for more than 2,000 people, and more than 4,000 square meters of spaces for organizing fairs and conventions.