{"id":22944,"date":"2021-09-30T09:20:33","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T07:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.riu.com\/blog\/?p=22944"},"modified":"2021-09-30T09:33:16","modified_gmt":"2021-09-30T07:33:16","slug":"riu-plaza-espana-news-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.riu.com\/blog\/en\/riu-plaza-espana-news-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Luis Riu: \u201cThe hotel Riu Plaza Espa\u00f1a represents a turning point in our history\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many of the most important things in life happen without much planning. Sometimes we make pivotal decisions because we get carried away by the situation and follow our intuition. That is exactly what happened with the hotel Riu Plaza Espa\u00f1a<\/a><\/u>. My sister, Carmen, and I decided to buy the Edificio Espa\u00f1a<\/a><\/u> in just over an hour. What came afterwards involved a lot of hard work and sacrifice, but above all an amazing sense of satisfaction.<\/p>\n

\"Luis

Luis Riu, in the middle, with his wife, Isabel, and his children Luis, Naomi and Roberto Riu, at the opening of the Riu Plaza Espa\u00f1a<\/p><\/div>\n

Today I want to tell you all the details of this operation, which resulted in us having one of the most emblematic hotels in Madrid<\/strong>. The hotel Riu Plaza Espa\u00f1a took RIU\u2019s brand awareness to levels that we had never seen before in our country. We are very proud, but it is also a great responsibility. In many ways it was our most ambitious project, but it was worth all the effort.<\/p>\n

Riu Plaza Espa\u00f1a, a project to rescue an emblematic building in Madrid<\/h2>\n

When the proposal to invest in Madrid <\/strong>landed on my desk, we weren\u2019t actively looking for projects in this city. We had recently lost the chance to invest in Barcelona, in a hotel with an excellent location between the Paseo de Gracia and Plaza de Catalu\u00f1a. It was 2013<\/strong> and I was really interested in that project. We submitted a good offer, but we had already been warned that our competition was another very powerful investor. In the end, our offer didn\u2019t win the auction. We later found out that it was none other than Amancio Ortega that had bought the building through his management team Ponteageda, and the hotel was subsequently managed by another Majorcan hotel company.<\/p>\n

So when our director of Expansion proposed visiting two buildings, we didn\u2019t have very high expectations when we went to Madrid. The first building we visited was \u201cLa Imprenta\u201d on the Cuesta de San Vicente, and from there we walked to Plaza de Espa\u00f1a<\/strong>. When I saw the imposing Edificio Espa\u00f1a, it brought back memories of trips to Madrid with my parents in the 60s. When I was little, the Edificio Espa\u00f1a was still one of the tallest buildings in the country. I remember how I was taken aback by its symmetry, harmony and sheer size. When we went inside, it was really impressive to see it completely empty, like a haunted house. I\u2019d even go as far as saying it was scary. But when we went up to the rooftop terrace it was clear that, with its privileged views, this was the most emblematic building in the city<\/strong>. During this visit, the offer on the table was to manage the hotel that was going to be built occupying 50% of the building, and I got behind it right from the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister and I were brave and fast\u201d in buying 100% of the building<\/h2>\n
\"Carmen

Carmen and Luis Riu, owners of RIU Hotels & Resorts, at the opening of the Riu Plaza Espa\u00f1a<\/p><\/div>\n

However, the process evolved. From managing the hotel we went to being investment partners<\/strong>, and just a few days before Grupo Baraka\u2019s right to purchase the building from the then owner Wanda expired, we faced the dilemma of whether to buy 100% of the Edificio Espa\u00f1a or miss out on this opportunity. That\u2019s when Carmen Riu and I acted fast and took a risk.<\/p>\n

After we signed the deal, we had to face months of lawsuits and a lot of media attention. As we had always kept a low, serious profile as both a family and company this situation was quite uncomfortable for us, but we were safe in the knowledge that we had done everything right, with the corresponding professionalism and advice. We devoted ourselves to getting the project off the ground so we could open our hotel Riu Plaza as soon as possible<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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