For some weeks now, work has been intense on the renovation of the old Hotel Juan Carlos I in Barcelona. Everything has to be ready for Christmas, as the goal of the complex's new operator, the Meliá Group, is to open the hotel in January 2024 under the Gran Meliá Miranda de Pedralbes brand. It will be the first hotel of its highest category brand that the Balearic hotel group will have in Barcelona, a city where it will have a total of seven establishments; fourteen in Catalonia as a whole, although this figure will grow in 2024 with the opening of a hotel in Lloret de Mar. Meliá will also be responsible for reopening the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya ---which is part of the same complex--- next October.
Closed for three years as a result of the pandemic, the facelift and repositioning of this five-star hotel will involve an investment of 40 million euros, a figure that will be assumed by the new owner of this emblematic real estate asset, the Tyrus Capital fund, which rescued the hotel from ending up in liquidation after suspending payments as a result of its hefty debt, which amounted to 180 million euros. According to Manuel Juste, director of the tax area at Tyrus, thanks to the fund, 100% of the nearly 300 employees of the complex who are still on ERTE ---they already accumulate seven files--- will be able to be reincorporated and, when the hotel is fully operational, the staff will grow to 400 people, thus creating a hundred jobs.
"We are sure that this project, which we have entrusted to Meliá, will be a success. We want to turn this resort into the best hotel in Barcelona and we have the best manager to achieve it," says Juste. According to the lawyer, Tyrus CEO, Tony Chedraoui, "fell in love with the asset when he saw it," which is why he emphasizes that it is "a personal commitment of the CEO" and also in favor of the city of Barcelona. "Our plans do not involve divesting quickly; for us, this hotel has an emotional value, I believe it will be a long-term investment," he stresses.
Along these lines, Tyrus' plans do include exploring, when the time comes, the possibility of extending the municipal concession, which expires in 2040. That was the term set by the Barcelona City Council, owner of the land, for the company that promoted the former Juan Carlos I for the celebration of the Olympic Games. According to the agreement, once this date has passed, the property, designed by architect Carles Ferrater, must revert to the council. Juste explains that the investment now being made must be amortized before the concession expires in 17 years, but he links future investments in the complex ---which he considers will be necessary to keep the hotel at the top--- to a possible extension of the concession period.
A recent court ruling has given the green light to the management contract signed in January by Tyrus with Meliá, although the previous operator, Fairmont (Accor Group), which demands to maintain the contract or be compensated, has announced that it plans to appeal the ruling. Juste assures that he "is not afraid" that the higher court judge will overturn the agreement, because he believes that the reopening project they are promoting is the best for the future of the hotel and its staff. "We don't fight, we would like Fairmont not to appeal. It's a great chain, but it didn't have the capacity for reaction and the speed we needed to move the asset forward, it didn't give us the comfort we needed as investors," says the Tyrus executive, contrasting that in Meliá they quickly found all the support they were looking for.
It should be remembered that until it filed for bankruptcy in 2022, the company that owned the hotel, Barcelona Project's, belonged to a branch of the Saudi royal family, specifically to the descendants of the late Prince TurkiBen Nasser. Tyrus Capital, which was the largest creditor as it held a debt of 90 million, was in charge of leading the restructuring of the financial liabilities, which were capitalized into shares, so the Saudi family ceased to be the owner and the company remained entirely in the hands of the creditors. After this operation, Tyrus came to control a large majority of the capital of Barcelona Project's and the company was able to overcome the bankruptcy in June, which has allowed work to begin on the reopening of the hotel.
And what project does Meliá have planned for the establishment? The group chaired by Gabriel Escarrer first made the decision to change the hotel's name. At the beginning of the year, it announced that it would reopen it as Miranda de Pedralbes ---"for being a great viewpoint over the city of Barcelona"--- and now it has given more details, such as the intention to reduce the number of rooms from 432 to 391, which will allow gaining space to enable a total of 65 suites. One of them, the Penthouse Suite Red Level, will have more than 200 square meters spread over three floors (14, 15, and 16) and will be marketed with a minimum price of 2,000 euros per night.
There will also be a group of 108 rooms that will integrate the so-called RedLevel Lounge, a VIP area with exclusive services for guests. Another novelty is that the Miranda de Pedralbes will have 30 rooms with special equipment for long-stay clients (RedLevel Suite Long Stay), a service that they assure has a growing demand.
In total, there will be nine different types of rooms ---all are now being renovated--- and, during the first year, an average occupancy of 65% is expected, according to Alberto Lalinde, Meliá's operations director in Catalonia. According to the executive, the average price of the rooms will vary depending on the season of the year and the occupancy, but it is expected to be around 300 euros.
To manage the new Gran Meliá Miranda de Pedralbes, the hotel group has chosen Ramón Vidal Castro, who was the director of Meliá Castilla in Madrid for six years and, until now, managed the Hotel and Palau de Congressos complex in Palma de Mallorca. "For me, it is an enormous honor to take on this project," says Vidal, convinced that he has "the best meeting and hotel complex in Europe" in his hands. "There is nothing similar, I am very happy," he detailed in his first meeting with the press.
According to Vidal, the Miranda de Pedralbes will be "an urban oasis" just a few meters from Diagonal thanks to its centenary gardens of 25,000 square meters ---now also in a recovery phase---, which house two swimming pools and a lake. Precisely, one of the main interventions of the remodeling works will be to open the hotel lobby to the gardens, which will involve demolishing the lower part of the back wall so that the hotel is fully connected to the outdoor spaces.
The star of this outdoor part will be a 2,000 square meter beach club that will have a spectacular swimming pool and a restaurant. The pool bar area will also be completely renovated, where in addition to the hotel's second pool, the spa is located, which is currently operated by the Real Club de Polo, although its management will now also pass into Meliá's hands.
The other great attraction of the Miranda de Pedralbes, Vidal assures, will be the rooftop, a terrace located at the top of the hotel that will offer privileged 360º views and can host events for 250 people. The hotel director also highlights that the reopening will mean "a revolution in the gastronomic offer," largely thanks to the inauguration of the Erre Barcelona Winery & Grill restaurant, which will be led by Basque chef and grill master Iñigo Urrechu, who in 2021 became the owner of the legendary Madrid restaurant Zalacaín.
Finally, according to Vidal, before reopening the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya in October, all the furniture will be renovated, the carpets will be changed, and the complex will be equipped with the latest technology to make it a prominent reference within the emerging sector of congresses and conventions in Barcelona. "We already have a good portfolio of confirmed events for October, November, and December," he assures.