Sol Meliá to open a “ME by Meliá” hotel designed by Norman Foster in the financial and tourist heart of London (United Kingdom)
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Sol Meliá to open a “ME by Meliá” hotel designed by Norman Foster in the financial and tourist heart of London (United Kingdom)
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Category: Europe - United Kingdom - Industry economy
- Hotel projects
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2010-09-30
• The Spanish chain has acquired the emblematic building from Anida, a subsidiary of the BBVA bank, and the hotel will open before the 2012 Olympics
• The opening of the “ME London” Hotel near Trafalgar Square will consolidate the strong reputation of the Spanish brand in international markets
Sol Meliá has announced the acquisition from Anida, a subsidiary of the BBVA bank, of the City Bank building in London, redesigned as a cutting-edge contemporary hotel by the British architect Norman Foster, winner of the Pritzker Prize for architecture and the Prince Felipe of Asturias Award for the Arts.
The hotel is in the final stage of construction and is located in the tourist and business heart of London, next to Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square, in the district of Holborn. The building has 10 room floors and four underground floors and occupies a triangular piece of land which was previously the site of the famous “Casa Marconi” and the City Bank building. The hotel will provide 173 rooms in four different categories and its strategic location and characteristics – it will also offer a 730 m2 Convention Centre and spectacular restaurants and bars – will make the future ME London Hotel an icon of the London hotel industry for both business and leisure travellers.
The ME London is expected to open in 2012 and will become the second hotel for the Sol Meliá chain in the British capital, joining the Meliá White House, located next to Regent’s Park and which has enjoyed a decade of uninterrupted success.
The acquisition has been made for 133 million euros and Sol Meliá will take over responsibility for finalising construction and equipping the hotel, estimated in 52 million euros.
Strategy and Brand for difficult times
The operation supports the Sol Meliá strategy for growth in its hotel business through enhanced brand equity, one of the focuses of the company’s Strategic Plan in recent years, and thanks to which the company has been able to combine rigorous control over costs and investments while also taking advantage of the most attractive market opportunities which have arisen during the crisis, including assets which have become available due to the real estate crash.
As explained by the Vice Chairman and CEO of Sol Meliá, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, “this deal brings the addition of a strategic asset in a key destination, and also positions the brand in one of the most important feeder markets in the world travel industry”.
Sol Meliá is confident that the ME London, located in the heart of London’s social and business life, will further raise its brand awareness and reputation in international markets. The ME by Meliá brand is the most innovative and avant-garde luxury brand operated by Sol Meliá and currently includes two hotels in Spain, the ME Madrid and ME Barcelona, and two in Mexico, the ME Cancun and ME Cabo, with the addition also scheduled of the ME Vienna, occupying 22 floors of the tallest building in the Austrian capital.
Designed to be integrated like the other ME brand hotels within the fabric of city life, the Foster-designed hotel will have 2 destination restaurants and bars at ground level, a "The Level" floor, and a lounge providing an extraordinary setting for leisure and business travellers, astonishing urban views and distribution of internal spaces.
Built in line with the most rigorous standards, the ME London hotel is scheduled to open in 2012 with “Biosphere Hotel" certification, a social and environmental hallmark already granted to the ME Madrid, ME Cancun and ME Barcelona” hotels of the same brand.
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