Gran Meliá Colón Hotel embraces Seville as showplace of avant-garde, urban luxury (Spain)
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Gran Meliá Colón Hotel embraces Seville as showplace of avant-garde, urban luxury (Spain)
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Category: Europe - Spain - Industry economy
vRenovation / Addition
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2009-01-15
Sol Meliá, one of the world’s leading hotel brands and the number-one hotel company in Spain, announces the re-opening of the Gran Meliá Colón hotel. Located in Seville’s old quarter and considered part of the city’s architectural heritage, the hotel will officially open on February 3, 2009, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the original opening of the majestic Colón hotel. Preserving the integrity of the structure and façade of the original hotel, which was built in 1929, the building has been carefully restored and is an exceptional example of early 20th-century neo-baroque architecture.
Guy Hensley, Vice-President of Operations for Sol Meliá’s Premium Portfolio division, notes, “Following the success of the Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora in Tenerife, we are thrilled to restore this historic and beloved hotel to a renewed grandeur. We are delighted with the way the design team has handled this ambitious project, giving guests the opportunity to enjoy the city in a new and thought-provoking way, allowing them to experience the charm of the past, the pleasure of the present and the promise of discovery.”
The renovation’s design team, led by Álvaro Sans, Sol Meliá’s key architect, worked in tandem with interior designer, Chus Manzanares. The hotel’s 189 rooms have been transformed by the team’s innovative design concepts, making each space a work of art. As an important building in Seville’s old quarter, and historically known as a favorite hotel for bullfighters visiting Seville, the importance of tradition, history and culture was a priority for the team, playing an influential role in the design of the interior. With a focus on the Spanish Baroque, the hotels corridors are museum-like and designed to be enjoyed at leisure. In addition to an impressive modern art collection, the door to each suite is a painted replica of a masterpiece by one Spain’s most celebrated artists – including Goya, Murillo, El Greco and Velázquez – complete with lighting, a frame and a description, attributing the piece.
The Gran Meliá Colon’s lobby is open and airy – featuring a less formal reception area, modern dome and dramatic railing – and decorated with Damascus flowers, which appear in the design of the rugs and on the lacquered walls, in the Andalusian tradition of flower-filled foyers. Balancing old world details with the modern, Sans and Manzanares have filled the space with innovative furniture by Philippe Stark and Marcel Wanders. And, promising to be an all around sensational experience, guests will be teased by the alluring smells of “Burladero, Tapas & Tintos by Dani Garcia,” and by a menu of international cocktails and snacks at the Lobby Bar where white, resin bull heads adorn the walls as a tribute to Spain’s world-renowned bullfighters.
Refined taste and clean lines combine with 21st-century luxury in every service offered at the hotel. Each room is fitted with automatic lighting and curtains, which can be triggered upon entrance, while round-the-clock services – including baby-sitting service, superior room service, personal wake-up calls, and iPod, Playstation and Wii loans -- ensure guests’ comfort and relaxation. In a promise to ensure that each guest’s stay is not just enjoyable, but exceptionally different, the Gran Meliá provides the highest quality bedding, down pillows and comforters, and amenities from Clarins. A media hub is provided in every room, which includes computer and internet connections, an interactive 32-inch plasma television, iPod hook-up, mobile battery charger, and more. All rooms are also equipped with wifi internet and a radio-alarm clock.
For truly personalized service, Gran Melia hotels offer the “RedLevel.” With 43 luxury rooms, spread out across the seven floors, guests of the Red Level are welcomed by a personal concierge and private butler. Perks for RedLevel guests include VIP treatment when dining at the hotel or at the Spa, in-room Nespresso coffee machines, complimentary aroma-therapy products, private check-in, and access to the RedLevel Living Room, an intimate lounge. A step up from the RedLevel in luxury is Gran Meliá Colon’s “The Clothed Maja”, a Penthouse Master Suite located on the hotel’s seventh floor. The suite is more than 90 square meters and opens onto a spectacular 140 square meter terrace, designed with superior luxury and exclusivity in mind, and featuring a hydro-massage bath and a Balinese bed. Guests of “The Clothed Maja” suite also have the option of reserving an adjoining suite, with separate entrances, for an extended entourage.
Coinciding with the restaurant’s 50th anniversary, the Gran Meliá Colon introduces a new menu at the famed “El Burladero,” which re-opens after its brief closure for renovation as “Burladero, Tapas & Tintos by Dani Garcia”. Dani Garcia, known for his artful blend of traditional taste and modern presentation, has designed a menu which highlights Spanish cuisine deeply rooted in Andalusian tradition with an international atmosphere. Dishes like pescaito frito, croquets, savoury gazpachos, cherry gazpachos and foie gras are featured on a menu which offers both sweet and savoury tapas and prove to be a delicious, new take on an age old tradition.
Chef Dani García states, “El Burladero has always been a landmark restaurant in Seville; it has historically been a place where people gather to share thoughts and sentiments, and spend time with beloved family and friends. Tapas are more than a meal; they are a way of enjoying life and an art in Spain. It will be both a privilege and a challenge to lead a restaurant with such a longstanding tradition. I am greatly looking forward to welcoming my fellow Andalusians and international friends back to the Burladero.”
For breakfast, the ground floor also offers an a la carte buffet near the lobby, which boasts an international menu and becomes an a la carte restaurant after breakfast. For light fare, the Lobby Bar is an enticing option, and for the cigar enthusiast, the Cigar Bar is an ideal place to enjoy a superb cigar in a luxurious environment.
Guests are invited to wind down and enjoy the hotel’s “Wellness Spa”, designed to cleanse the body, relax the mind and purify the soul. Complete with sauna, Turkish bath and a myriad of massage facilities, the Spa is home to relaxation, mediation and release from modern day pressure. Guests will also appreciate the upscale seventh floor Fitness Centre and Solarium Terrace, complete with hydro-massage swimming pool, delightful Balinese beds and incomparable views of the city.
The Gran Meliá Colón boasts eight meeting rooms, which can welcome up to 220 people, and a business centre service with high-speed internet connection, computers and scanners. All meeting rooms are equipped with all the latest technology.
The Gran Meliá Colón lies in the heart of the city, within a short walk of the main historical sites, such as the cathedral, the Giralda, the Reales Alcázares and, of course, the famous bull fighting ring, the Real Maestranza. It is also close to Sierpes and Tetuán streets, known for being one of the main shopping and commercial quarters of Seville, where guests will have a wealth of opportunity to try the local food and drinks.
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