Mstyle by Meliá Hotels International

T HE MELIÁ HOTELS INTE RNATIONA L LIFESTYLE M AGAZ I N E

S T Y L E

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

LA DÉFENSE PARIS WELCOMES A MELIÁ HOTEL TO THE FINANCIAL HEART OF THE CITY. HAVANA A NEW APPROACH. THE OBSERVATORY MELIÁ HOTELS INTERNATIONAL,THE RESORT'S LEADER. ME BY MELIÁ WORLD IN IBIZA, MILAN AND LONDON. ROMANCE IN BALI BEACHES,TEMPLES AND LOVE STORIES. HAUTE CUISINE IN BARCELONA, ROME AND XIAN.

IBIZA | MALLORCA | MENORCA | BALI

BEACH STYLE that’s ALL ABOUT the LOVE Desigual lends a stylish hand to Sol Beach House’s laid back, go-with-the-flow aesthetic.

Sol Beach House has partnered with Spanish fashion brand Desigual who will be bringing their signature chilled-out, vibrant design touches to everything from guestroom dĂŠcor to staff uniforms..

A match made in holiday heaven!

desigual.com

Dic.code SOLMELIA

sol-hotels.com

CREEMOS EN LA ENERGÍA

DE ESTE PAÍS Si algo nos caracteriza es nuestra energía. Aquí se camina hasta que no queda ni un paso por recorrer. Dejamos atrás las dificultades y a un lado el desánimo. Y si caemos, nos volvemos a levantar con una sonrisa. Porque sabemos que la mejor parte del camino siempre está al final. Un país como este se merece todo lo bueno que está por venir.

POR ESO ENDESA VA A CONCENTRAR SUS ESFUERZOS EN ESPAÑA

endesa.com

ESSENCE OF KNIGHT

10 years since the world launch of Solo Loewe In 1972, Loewe, a manufacturer of leather items, became a fashion firm. Two years later, in 1974, Loewe created its first fragrance for men – a dream captured in a scent, a fragrance of the Spanish and Mediterranean soul: classic, discreet and light, it transmitted – and still transmits – all of Loewe’s elegance, refinement and quality. The figures of gentlemen (present in paintings by El Greco such as The Nobleman with His Hand on His Chest) have always inspired this firm. With the arrival of the 21st century, a new concept of man was born, and with it came Loewe’s new product: Solo Loewe. A fragrance based on contrasts and on the balance that men, looking for serenity in their daily lives, need. Ten years after the launch of the firm’s male icon, Loewe is preparing its next idea for today’s Solo man. To be continued...

MALLORCA · IBIZA · MARBELLA · MADRID · VALENCIA · BEIRUT · JEDDAH · DUBAI

www.grupocappuccino.com

It’s love, it’s love, it’s love...

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ITA

PLANT EXTRACTS

PFLANZENEXTRAKTE

PFLANZEN -EXTRAKTE

ALL

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HEB

EDITORIAL

elcome to MStyle, Meliá Hotels International’s experiences and lifestyle magazine,

which as of today, you will find in our hotels all around the world. Because travelling is about experiences and dreams, we started this magazine to share our

dreams: those that we make come true when we open spectacular hotels in top cities and holiday destinations, always trying to surprise you with our architecture and design, our gastronomy, our leisure activities, well-being and entertainment offering and, above all, what we have in our “soul”: our passion for service. Meliá Hotels International is about to celebrate 60 years of devoted service to you: our Group operates in 40 countries and has over 42,000 employees from 130 different nationalities. We are already the third largest European hotel company, and worldwide leaders in the resort segment. All this is possible because as natural-born hoteliers, our clients are always our top priority. We hope that our pages – that will take you on a journey through Mallorca, Ibiza, Milan, Miami and Doha – are suggestive, informative and entertaining. We will also explore the streets of Havana and visit its famous Art Biennial at this very special time for Cuba – and for Meliá, as this is our 25th year in the country. And in Xian (China), Rome and Barcelona, we will visit some of our most celebrated hotel chefs. After crossing the oceans to destinations such as the Mayan Riviera and Bali – home to Meliá’s first international hotel – we will take a look, from our “Observatory”, at our project to transform our wellestablished Sol Hotels & Resorts brand, as well as at the huge renovation and transformation of Magaluf, a traditional destination by the Mallorcan sea shore with a huge potential, to which we are offering a second chance. By choosing us, our clients choose a destination, a passion, a lifestyle and a way to enjoy unique experiences. MStyle’s first issue aims to reflect the essence of a perfect trip – one that Meliá Hotels International hopes to keep sharing on with you. Many thanks for letting us accompany you.

STYLE

Gabriel Escarrer Jaume Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Meliá Hotels International

THE MELIÁ HOTELS INTERNATIONAL LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

S T Y L E MELIÁ HOTELS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS VICE PRESIDENT

María Umbert GLOBAL BRAND STRATEGY & MARKETING VICE PRESIDENT

Anthony Cortizas PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER

Pepa Olmedo CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Ana Rubio CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS & CSR EXECUTIVE

Gracia Vasco CORPORATE BRAND & MARKETING SERVICES DIRECTOR

Enric D’Abadal GLOBAL BRAND MARKETING MANAGER

Alba Bustamante CORPORATE BRAND & MARKETING SERVICES MANAGER

Mario Tirado GLOBAL PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT PUBLISHED BY EDICIONES CONDÉ NAST S.A. EDITOR IN CHIEF

Sandra del Río ART & DESIGN DIRECTOR

Vital García Tardón EDITORIAL STAFF

Rosa Marqués (DEPUTY EDITOR) Andrea Morán (PHOTO EDITOR AND FEATURE PRODUCTION) Andrés Acosta (FASHION EDITOR) CONTRIBUTORS

Marcela Cabal, Daniel Balda, Alex del Río, Ana Lorenzana. ILLUSTRATORS: Jaime Martínez, Jorge Arranz. FEATURE WRITERS: Chris Moss, Marco Malibran, Carmen Reviriego, Arantxa Neyra, Marisa Santamaría, Ángel Bermejo, Jessica Ocaña, José Forteza. TRANSLATOR: Paloma Gil COPY EDITOR: Monique Fuller. PHOTOGRAPHERS:

SYNDICATION DEPARTMENT

Reyes Domínguez (DIRECTOR) Irene Rodríguez, Eva Vergarechea. PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT

Francisco Morote (DIRECTOR) Rosana Vicente, Juan Ignacio Bocos, Fernando Bohúa. PHOTO LAB: Espacio y Punto. PRINTING: Rotocobrhi y AGS. BINDING: Felipe Méndez CATALOGUE No. M-17889-2015 Ediciones Condé Nast S.A. is in no way responsible for any opinion expressed in the features as these are the sole responsibility of their respective authors.

Inside the ME London's stateof-the-art lobby.The hotel was designed by architect Norman Foster and his team at The Strand.

THE MELIÁ HOTELS INTERNATIONAL LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

N o . 1 S P R IN G / S U M M E R 2 0 1 5

CONTENTS

S T Y L E

GOURMET

acclaimed chefs offer their incredible

essence of Meliá Hotels International.

SPA

Dying for a break? Disconnect completely on the Mayan Riviera at the Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Esmeralda.

SO COOL

FASHION

with your children.

146

MELIÁ FOR ADULTS

moments and the best resorts.

148

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

top to bottom.

Would you like to discover which of

AWARDS &

our hotels and resorts around the world

(for women) and eyewear (for men).

An ode to architecture from the new

Two very different destinations,

The best hotels and resorts to enjoy

the elegant Meliá La Défense from

NEW DESTINATIONS

MELIÁ FOR FAMILIES

we stroll through Paris and check out

Essential travel companions: perfumes

144

The pleasure of company, special

Accompanied by model Jose Toledo,

THE GOOD LIFE

Our latest news that showcases the

signature cuisine at our hotels.

COVER PHOTO: Meliá Salinas, Lanzarote, Canary Islands (Spain) Swimsuit by Eres and silk scarf by Hermès Photography: Alex del Río Stylism: Andrés Acosta.

143

Barcelona, Roma and Xian, four

ARCHITECTURE

have been awarded prizes?

ME Milan. We set out to discover what

150

the Quadrilatero della moda is up to.

The gastronomic experience at our hotels

FOOD & BEVERAGE

has a star: chef Martín Berasategui has

Doha and Miami, are Meliá Hotels

108

International’s new openings

The transformation of Magaluf and

for the perfect getaway.

the Group’s leadership in the holiday

154

resort segment have made Meliá Hotels

We have become a benchmark

International a world benchmark.

for sustainability in the hotel world.

unique destination to make your dreams

124

156

come true.

Who does not adore Ibiza? We discover

The new openings, collaborations and

how to experience it in the most exclusive

agreements that are helping us grow.

SWEET & SUITE

For hopeless romantics, Bali is a

IN THE CITY

We sound out the European City

THE OBSERVATORY

TRENDY

way: the ME Ibiza, a well-known secret.

par excellence – London – from a

132

vantage point: The Strand.

All eyes are on Cuba, an island where

ART

joined us.

162

SUSTAINABLE COMMITMENT

OUR PARTNERS

NEXT DESTINATION

Dubai, the city that will be home to the futuristic ME Dubai.

Meliá turns 25 and which celebrates its passion for art in Havana.

“As a family company with strong values and long-term vision, we want to maintain our commitment to all our interest groups.We thus need to keep on growing and consolidating, while at the same time providing value via responsible commitment.” Gabriel Escarrer (Page 122)

EL VINO SÓLO SE DISFRUTA CON MODERACIÓN

SO COOL

WOMEN’S FRAGRANCES

INTO THE BLUE

PRODUCTION: ANDRÉS ACOSTA PHOTOGRAPHY: MARCELA CABAL PROPS: OLGA MORENO

A gentle, scent-filled summer breeze blows, inviting you to lose yourself in the infinity of the sea. Dive into the revitalising perfumed waters and become as seductive as a true mermaid.

1 2

3 1 ELIE SAAB LE PARFUM, RESORT COLLECTION.A floral, fruity fragrance that is like enjoying the first rays of the sun on the French Riviera.

ANGEL, BY THIERRY MUGLER. Mugler’s new three-dimensional star contains his iconic rich Eastern essence, with notes of bergamot, soft fruit, vanilla and patchouli.

AGUA MAR DE CORAL, BY LOEWE. The 'Treasures of the Sea’ collection submerges you in the beauty offered by Nature: the sun’s rays pierce the water allowing you to discover a dreamlike coral reef.

CK ONE SUMMER, BY CALVIN KLEIN. An energising fragrance that transports you straight to a heavenly beach of white sand, turquoise sea and blue sky.

HALLOWEEN BLUE DROP, BY JESÚS DEL POZO. A sweet drop of fresh cologne encompassing perfumed notes of citrus, apple and lavender.

so cool Men’s eyewear

AVIATOR STYLE

Let your adventurous spirit free and choose the classic style and great design of these men’s sunglasses – perfect for optimal vision for those at the top of their game.

2 1 3 4

1 Questa sunglasses with acetate frame in Amber TorToise, by smiTh. 2 New Champion sunglasses with frame and lenses in the colour havana, by Carrera. 3 Dior homme black Tie 206 sunglasses, with tortoiseshell frame and metal arms. 4 Light acetate sunglasses in brown, model 8402 by Polaroid. 5 model 0635 with acetate tortoiseshell frame, by boss.

www.teka.com

NEW DESTINATION

DOHA

BREAK IN THE CITY

TEXT: JESSICA OCAÑA / PHOTOS: AGE, GETTY, D.R.

Located in the Persian Gulf, the origins of Doha are thanks to pearl diving. From a humble fishing village to a luxury, ultra modern city, visiting this Middle Eastern destination is a truly unique experience.

STYLE

8:00am: I have just woken up

than 15 minutes). The exclusive private

Qatari palate has an extremely high

in my luxury suite The Level in the

reception on the 8th floor of the hotel

tolerance to super-sweet foods, so I

Meliá Doha. The views of the bay

was very welcoming. Everything was

have come prepared to indulge in

from my bed are so spectacular that

quick and efficient and the care offered

all kinds of sweet teas, shakes and

I take my time, savouring a delicious

to guests was wonderful – I would

chocolate-covered dates!

coffee infused with cardamom. All

expect nothing less from this exclusive,

around I see the astounding urban

modern hotel.

9.00am:

As I expect I will put

silhouette of this futuristic city. They

I chose my pillow from the extensive

on a few extra kilos over the next

say that the Level Royal Suite of

pillow menu and fell asleep almost as

few days, I have decided to go for a

this modern hotel is among the five

soon as my head fell onto it. I am here

swim in the heated pool on the 3rd

largest on the bay. I close my eyes and

on business and have already booked

floor before going down for breakfast

try to imagine for a moment what it

a meeting room for two hours next

– they say there are great views of the

must be like to stay on the 39th floor

Monday (a service which is included in

city from here, too. Afterwards, I will

in that wonderful suite.

The Level). I am really excited about the

have a light breakfast at The Level

I arrived yesterday afternoon (from

idea of getting to know the new face of

and check my emails before heading

the airport to the hotel took no more

the Middle East. I have been given two

out to get to know the city a little.

pieces of advice: to never refuse Arab hospitality, which generally centres on food; and to learn a few words in Arabic, something my excellent hosts greatly appreciate. They say that the

Left, night-lit façade of the hotel Meliá Doha, a five-star hotel on Doha’s western bay, 20 km. from the airport and a few minutes from the Corniche waterfront. Opposite, the contrast between tradition (with fishing origins) and the avant-garde (its changing skyline) of this new Doha.

STYLE

Left, a view of the Corniche waterfront and its futuristic buildings, the local Waquil Soug market, in the old city, and artisanal products at the souk.

10.00am:

Before the mercury

rises too high, I enjoy a relaxing walk along the Corniche waterfront,

MORE TO SEE AND DO If you would like to see what the future of Qatar has in store, visit The Pearl, a manmade island that connects to Doha via a bridge. On The Pearl, you will find a variety of restaurants and high-end shops. If you have got time and would like

while I am here). The view of the port and the buildings in the financial district along my walk are excellent. Two things are worth noting: I have

from the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, to the mosques of Cairo, India, Turkey and Iran, the museum also houses textiles and manuscripts from the 7th to the 19th century – there really is so much to see!

1.00pm: During prayers, I walk

recommended. Here, numerous cultural events are held and there is also a

small oases, where I stop to relax.

towards the old souk, the local Waquif Soug market, in the old town. My

11.30am: I have been told that

perception of Doha as a place only of contemporary luxury changes at

the Museum of Islamic Art is well worth a visit (it is also free of charge),

every step, as just a few minutes walk from the waterfront I find a maze of

even if only to see the building itself, and as I am on the Corniche, I decide

little back streets, shopping galleries, craft stores and dozens of outdoor

to stop by. The fishermen in their traditional dhows and their wooden

eateries – the old souk is truly lovely! I choose somewhere to eat that is

fishing boats provide a striking contrast against the backdrop of this

away from the intense glare of the sun, which is fierce at this hour. Next

modern building. I take a few photos. The lovely palm-lined entrance and

to me, local Qataris smoke shishas (water pipes) and enjoy a refreshing

views from the patio are wonderful. There is an exhibition on animal

glass of tea.

selection of restaurants and a pleasant beach.A desert safari is also highly recommended; these can be arranged through a number of local agencies. Off-road, 4x4 type vehicles will pick you up from your hotel and drive you out to the impressive dunes and to your base camp. If it is the season for it, camel racing is another unique experience and must-see. Camel racing in one form or another has been part of Arab culture for generations and some historians 22

of Art to the city’s financial centre (I hope to do this walk again at sunset

The exhibits have also whet my appetite for more. From examples

WIFI and along my walk there are beautifully-kept garden areas, like

to experience a bit of culture, Katara is

STYLE

which stretches in the shape of a horseshoe from the Islamic Museum

is astounding and is the work of American architect Leoh Ming Pei.

say it dates back to the 7th century.

fables in Islamic art, depicting real and mythical animals in ancient Islamic literature. The architecture of this building

Clockwise from top to bottom: the hotel’s lobby; interior of one of the two presidential suites (measuring 250 m²); a view of Le Pool Club; detail of the main bathroom of a suite; below, the hotel’s main entrance.

MELIA DOHA The Melia Doha is just 10 minutes from Hamad International airport. It boasts 280 rooms and 37 suites, including the Executive Suite and the spectacular Royal Suite. Its excellent location also gives guests easy access to the financial, commercial and diplomatic areas.The hotel is also close to the Corniche waterfront. In addition, Melia Doha boasts a sports club, which is equipped with cardiovascular equipment, weights and a gymnasium with the services of personal trainers. Furthermore,

3.00pm:

the heated pool on the third floor (with its spectacular views

I set off back to the

building through a separate door.

of the city) is another fantastic place to exercise or relax.The

hotel to relax a little and drop in at

The sound of prayer echoing through

hotel also offers fine dining restaurants, such as Sanjeev Kapoor’s

Noir, a cocktail bar in the hotel where

the mosque is quite something.

Signature, restaurants offering international cuisine, a cocktail

I will do a bit of socialising.

5.00pm:

bar (the place to be seen in in Doha) and a relaxing poolside

Night-time has fallen

As the sun begins

on the city, so I make the most of my

to set, I get the hotel to book me a

taxi to visit the financial centre. I love

limousine taxi so I can visit Doha’s

the architecture here; giants of glass

mosque, which among other things

and steel tower above me, beautifully

is renowned for its panoramic view

illuminated against the night sky.

of the bay. As we approach, the vast

STYLE

7.00pm:

marble structure becomes more and

9.00pm:

more impressive. Inside, from one of

day, I decide to dine at Signature, the

the mosque’s many gazebos, the view

restaurant of award-winning chef

of the city skyline is fantastic. Veiled

Sanjeev Kapoor – I know I will not

women, dressed in black tunic-style

be disappointed. The succession of

dresses called chadors, enter the

Indian dishes are served with a special

To end this amazing

modern twist and are all delicious, and the excellent waiting staff give me a full description of each of the recipes and how they have evolved. It is a feast for the senses!

lounge bar called Le Pool Lounge. West Bay, Zone 61, Doha; www.melia.com.

A first-class sleep for Very Important Dreamers. Those who dream big can't stay in just any hotel. Those who wake up each morning with ideas as big as their dreams can't sleep on just any mattress. That's why the rooms in the Meliรก International hotel chain are fitted out with exclusive Dreamaker sleep equipment from Pikolin, the exclusive, highperformance brand from the leading manufacture in the sleep industry in Spain, and the second in Europe. Dreamaker sleep products are where your dreams are born. The range of luxury mattresses chosen by the world's best and biggest hotel chains, and where very important people, like you, know how to appreciate excellence in sleep. Because for the Pikolin Group and the Meliรก International Group, offering supreme comfort for highly restorative and healthy sleep every night is not a privilege. It's a necessity. And it should meet the standards of exquisite quality our guests expect from a superior hotel.

www.pikolin.com

NEW DESTINATION

MIAMI

THE NEW TROPICAL MANHATTAN A dynamic and cosmopolitan city, Miami has experienced a significant transformation in recent years, beginning in the lively epicentre that is Downtown Miami. New museum openings, the development of exclusive residential housing projects, culinary ventures and hotels such as the ME Miami are all contributing to the transformation of this exciting, vibrant city.

area. In addition, the hotel boasts two rooftop swimming pools, a spa and the all-new steakhouse restaurant

TEXT: JESSICA OCAÑA PHOTOS: ISTOCK PHOTO / DR.

STK. Located on Biscayne Boulevard,

A panoramic view of Miami’s downtown skyline, from one of the sightseeing cruises that sail in the bay. Right, an exterior view of the ME Miami.

economic hub, the ME Miami hotel lends itself perfectly to whatever plan you may have, be it culinary, business oriented, cultural or an indulgent shopping spree. Miami’s Downtown Renaissance came about after years of success of

the

international

Miami

Art

Basel, which will be held this year from the 3rd to 6th December. This yearly happening in Miami Beach

n the sexiest city in the Caribbean,

of which have their head offices

attracts both local and international

things have been hotting up for over

based Downtown, are at the core of

jet setters and has put Miami in the

a decade. Miami has matured and,

the area’s development. In addition,

international spotlight. Above all, the

despite its fame as one of the world’s

geographically, the area is located

event shows the city’s magnificent

most exciting beach destinations

in an unbeatable and exceptional

potential

(Miami Beach has traditionally been

position between the busy financial

However, Downtown is also known

its main focus), the idea of Miami as

zone of Brickell, the beach and the

for financial prowess and has become

an urban centre to rival other great

mainland.

one of the world’s leading financial

the

world

stage.

In order to feel the pulse of Miami’s

capitals. Needless to say, its iconic

Downtown Miami is currently

new beating heart – a social and

skyline of vertiginous skyscrapers is

at the centre of this tide of change.

cultural revolution, known already as

also a sight to behold.

It is here that business, finance

the Downtown Renaissance – there

With regard to its cultural offer, it

and culture have come together to

is no better way than to experience

is fair to say that the Adrienne Arsht

create a neighbourhood known for

it for yourself. At least, this is how

Center is the area’s main attraction.

its enviable lifestyle and nightlife.

Meliá Hotels International perceives

In fact, it is one of the most rapidly

it, as this year will open the doors

Cesar Pelli, it is one of the world’s

changing areas in the city. The

to their new hotel, ME Miami. This

largest, ultramodern performing arts

exciting offer of old and new art as

is a place to see and be seen in, it is

centres. The centre comprises the

well as cultural institutions, many

the perfect addition to this vibrant

Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera

metropolises has now come true.

STYLE

America’s new cultural, social and

neighbourhood. Indeed, few hotels in the world can boast such affinity with their location. The 129 luxury rooms of this stunning hotel emulate the cool, cosmopolitan vibe of the

STYLE

The ME Miami building, with 129 rooms and two top-roof swimming pools. Right, a model showing the future hotel’s entrance on 110 Biscayne Boulevard. Below, interior of one of the hotel suites and its view.

HOTEL ME MIAMI Hotel ME Miami is urban, exciting and cosmopolitan, and the first ME by Meliá to arrive in the United States. Opening its doors on december, there could be no better location than one whose Latin soul has, as Meliá Hotels International’s President Gabriel Escarrer said “made us feel at home”. Providing its clients with 129 luxury rooms, two rooftop swimming pools, a Yhi Spa, as well as numerous culinary options (including STK, a steakhouse already up and running at ME London). In addition, the hotel includes the unique service of an Aura Manager, who will offer clients a completely personalised service. Occupying the building where the old hotel Casa Moderna once stood, the ME Miami is perfectly located in the heart of Downtown, which, thanks to the development of Zaha Hadid’s new architectural project and the Miami World Center, will be the place to see and be seen in the city.

Theatre,

the recently opened Museum Park,

museum – an impressive 215-metre

Carnival Tower, a beautifully restored

which replaces the old and little-

skyscraper.

Art Deco building used as its entrance

used Bicentennial Park, and is home

and almost skeletal-like structure,

hall, and a main stage, which hosts

to the Perez Art Museum, as well as

ascending 60 floors, will look out onto

Broadway shows and other major

the Miami Museum of Science and

the city and bay, providing spectacular

productions. Indeed, a pre or post-

Planetarium.

views from its private balconies. On

House,

STYLE

Carnival

Studio

The

tower’s

sensual

performance drink in the Bombay

If anything is to make its mark on

its summit there are also plans for

Sapphire Lounge on the ground

Miami’s skyline, however, it will be

a swimming pool, solarium, movie

floor of Carnival Tower is highly

the new Miami World Center (www.

theatre and heliport. Such exciting

recommended. In fact, the entire Arsht

miamiworldcenter.com), which will

developments will transform the area

Centre complex is worthy of a trip in

spread across more than 25 hectares

and will help make Downtown the

itself as it stands as one of the most

and will include select retail and

most exclusive area in Miami, not to

important artistic centres in the world.

hospitality offerings as well as some

mention one of the most desirable and

Cultural Downtown is unstoppable.

of the most exclusive residential

enthralling places to live in the world,

Great news for lovers of the Arts is

properties in the city. The entire

or at least to visit!

project will be set against a vibrant backdrop of world-class amenities. Ultra-modern in design, this city within a city will also boast Iranian architect Zaha Hadid’s One Thousand

The most exclusive flooring program dedicated to Hotels Luxury Vinyl plank and tiles • Click Installation • Loose Lay Installation • Traditional Installation (Adhesive) Laminate flooring Wood flooring Carpets designed Flooring for leisure and operational areas

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Síganos en redes sociales

BALI SWEET & SUITE

Morning of the world

STYLE

With its fascinating mixture of art, spirituality and beaches, Bali is still one of the world’s quintessential romantic destinations. We explore the island following in the wake of its coastal temples. Text: ÁNGEL MARTÍNEZ BERMEJO. Photos: ALEX DEL RÍO

STYLE

very one of those days, I got up early. The

moment I noticed the daylight entering through the large window of my suite (I never pulled down the shades), I went out for a walk on the beach which was completely

and life start anew. I loved to experience the sunrise right

deserted at that magical hour. I loved swimming alone

there, on the island that is like the world’s daybreak, and I

while waiting to see the sun rise directly from the sea.

was grateful for the idea which induced me to come here

Then I walked on the sand up to a small temple close by

and feel these emotions.

and watched some girls making their morning offering.

Seen on the map, Bali is only one of the 17,000 islands

At times like this, you feel as if you are emerging from a

that make up the Indonesian archipelago – of which little

purifying bath. India’s Prime Minister Nehru inadvertently

more than a third have a name. However, it stands out

presented the island with the best tourist slogan of all time:

above all the others for a fact which dates back to the

“Bali, morning of the world.” The world’s daybreak… the

beginning of time and defines the lives of its inhabitants:

precise hour when everything is cleansed – when day

Bali’s Hindu culture and religion makes it the only enclave in an almost entirely Muslim country. It is said to be the largest centre of Hindu culture outside India – and perhaps the farthest territory of India’s past empires.

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Balinese legong dancers on a beach close to the Uluwatu Temple. This dance of intricate finger and foot movements and facial expressions originally had a religious meaning..

This way of life impregnates every single spot on the island, everything its inhabitants do. This exceptional culture, along with the beautiful landscapes, tropical beaches and exceptional climate, has fascinated the world since the first Dutch vessel arrived at the island more than 400 years ago. A number of sailors deserted, refusing to leave what they saw as a Garden of Paradise. Of course, Bali is no Eden – the innocence encountered by European travellers seventy or eighty years ago is now certainly lost. But, from both a cultural and a spiritual viewpoint, it is one of the most enriching places on the planet. The Balinese are happy to show visitors their way of life, their art and their religion, and if you take just a little interest in them, you will feel like a lucky witness of a world so utterly different from the West. Each day I would choose a new itinerary to discover different places in Bali, and I was invariably surprised by the vitality of its people to overcome the challenges posed by our modern world. To get about the island, I suggest

HOW TO GET AROUND BALI

you hire a private, local driver who is familiar with the

The Meliá Bali The Garden Villas hotel will provide information

local driving style. I started by exploring the south of the

and answer any questions you may have.You will get the most

island so as not to get too far away from my hotel in Nusa

freedom if you hire a car. Local companies are much cheaper

Dua – the best beach in Bali.

than multinationals.All details concerning insurance should be

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Dotted along the island’s southeast coast are some of

confirmed.Also remember that this is a left-hand drive country

the temples that the Balinese most value. According to

(you must have an international driving licence, obtained from

their tradition, from any of them you should be able to

your particular local authority).The best option is to approach

see the next one. Apart from their religious significance,

the drivers who offer their services at tourist places, bargain for

they are excellent spots to enjoy the sunset. The most

the price in advance and agree on a time for your return. Special

famous is Tanah Lot, built on top of a rock connected to

buses connect the main tourist resorts and they are advertised

the mainland by a tombolo. Its elegant structure, with

everywhere.The usual means of transportation for the Balinese

multiple small roofs, is one of the highlights of the island.

are bemos – vans that travel on set routes.And of course, there

So sacred is this temple that access to it is restricted, but I

are organised visits to the island’s major tourist sites.

actually preferred to go to another temple by the sea, the remote Uluwatu – located on the westernmost point of the Bukit peninsula – to admire the sunset. On my way, I lingered in secret coves that emerged at the bottom of gorges, at the foot of immense, rocky peaks. The Uluwatu temple itself is on the edge of a 70-metre high cliff over

Above these lines, rice terraces in Tegalaland, to the north of Ubud. On the left, the Tanah Lot Temple in Tabanan, to the south.When the tide is high it is completely surrounded by the sea.

Nuestros clientes son exigentes, por eso son nuestros clientes

Our customers expect a lot, but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why they are our customers

En Banca March apostamos por un modelo genuino de banca para clientes exigentes. Un modelo que busca establecer relaciones duraderas para poder crecer conjuntamente.

At Banca March we have chosen to pursue a genuine banking model for demanding customers. A model that seeks to establish long-lasting relationships and allows us to grow together.

At night, the Melia Bali The Garden Villas has a magical atmosphere. On the left, the lobby; palm groves at the entrance of the hotel’s premises, and a view of this sustainable resort, fully integrated in its natural surroundings. Below, a lagoon-shaped swimming pool.

HOTEL MELIÁ BALI THE GARDEN VILLAS Tropical gardens dotted with colourful exotic plants and a swimming pool shaped like a large snaking lagoon all around the area go perfectly with Bali’s architecture and decorative elements. Located in the secluded and sustainable area of Nusa Dua, right by the Indian Ocean, the resort has 494 elegant rooms, with 54 Meliá rooms on the ground floor,

which the sea’s waves pound, and the place looked like an

247 premium garden rooms, 50 junior

enchanted spot far from the rest of the world.

suites, 60 family rooms, 7 The Level suites

mountains. If you are staying by the sea, you should get

access to the lagoon from the ground

to know the other side of Bali.” So I went to Ubud, as it

floor, 9 luxury family suites and one

is in the mountains and is also the cultural capital of the

executive suite. In addition, if you seek an

island. At first, Ubud looked like a series of streets flanked

even more exclusive service, there are

by an uninterrupted succession of cafés, restaurants,

ten private villas set apart from the rest,

shops, travel agencies and Internet booths. However, as I

surrounded by lovely, well-tended tropical

started to delve into it, I soon discovered its treasures and

gardens, with private swimming pools,

the reasons for its fame.

spaces for outdoor eating, magnificent

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One morning someone advised me: “Go towards the

with access to the lagoon, 56 suites with

In Ubud and its surroundings are temples – such as Pura

submerged bathtubs and open-air

Saraswati, with ponds, altars and statues – and palaces. In

showers.This hotel, fully integrated

the museums, I immersed myself in the world of Balinese

into its surroundings, supports different

painting, both traditional and the modern, that embody

programmes that promote conservation

a different way of looking at the world. I learned that in

and all food served at its restaurants is

the Balinese language, the word “artist” does not exist,

supplied by local farmers.The Meliá Bali

because they consider everyone to be an artist – it would

The Garden Villas is the first hotel in Asia

therefore be tautological to call someone an artist, and

– and one of only fourteen worldwide –

for them the word “person” is just enough. At the Puri

to be awarded the EarthCheck Platinum

Saren Agung palace, I saw a dance show and listened to

certification for its environmental

gamelan music – whose liquid percussion sounds have

management and social sustainability.

accompanied me ever since in one of the most pleasurable feelings that I have ever experienced. As soon as I left the last houses in Ubud behind me, I was in rural Bali which can be found a few steps away from the Internet cafés and the Prada or Armani boutiques. I saw girls making their offerings, peasants protecting their crops from birds and

BALINESE FESTIVALS One of the best ways of absorbing Balinese culture is by attending the anniversary festivals at the temples.They usually last three days and are celebrated either every Balinese year (210 days) or every Saka year (365 days).As there are 20,000 temples on the island, it would very unlikely not to coincide with one.Visitors are welcome, provided that they show due respect, dress properly (a sarong and a sash are mandatory) and take care not to walk in front of the worshippers. Festivals are usually held late in the afternoon. In addition, there are always other festivals on holy days. Other ceremonies are often private, although sometimes, as in the case of the cremation of a prominent person, they are big public events and a perfect occasion to witness the ways of a completely different culture.

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Ceremonies and rituals are continuously being held at Baliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s temples.This island is synonymous with spirituality.

evil spirits, and women who were

field. Very close by is Pura Ulun

taking their afternoon bath in the

Danu Batur, the second most

river as they have always done.

important temple on the island, where the crater’s lake goddess is

In Bali you have to constantly cross the mountains, delightfully seesawing between the

worshipped – she shares her power over Bali with the god

relaxing beaches and the adventure of discovery. The

of Gunung Agung. By the banks of the lake is the village

road that crosses the island from south to north – from

of Trunyan, home to the Bali Aga, the island’s original

Denpasar to Singaraja – leads directly to Lake Bratan,

inhabitants, who maintain many of their ancient customs.

surrounded by mountains. At a height of 1,200 metres,

I will always remember these landscapes and the temple

there is a stark difference in temperature compared to the

ceremonies that I witnessed. But

lowlands and it feels as if you have travelled to a faraway

also the gentleness of the Balinese

SHOPPING

place. The goddess of the lake is venerated at the Pura

as I watched them make their

Few places in the world can compete

Ulun Danu Bratan temple: one of the most photographed

offerings in the rice fields, on

with Bali for the title of “buyer’s paradise”

because some of its structures sit on small islets, appearing

the roads and even in the hotel.

given the range of products on offer and

to float on the lake. A delicate and suggestive atmosphere

During those dawns when the

the low prices. In Ubud and Kuta you

emanates from the place. When I began to descend

gardens were almost mine, I would

will find the widest range of products.

towards the coast again, I crossed paddy fields, coffee and

see the hotel employees fulfil their

There are excellent woodcarvings,

clove plantations.

small morning rituals. I would see

fabrics, painting, ceramics (from Lombok),

On the way back, I took another road to look over

them going back and forth in the

wickerwork, batiks (printed fabrics

the edge of the Batur volcano. For many, this is the

garden and among the villas. I

from Java), etc. Countless shops with

most spectacular landscape of the entire island: a 12-km

even saw them taking a tray with

quality items have emerged in recent

diameter crater inside which are Lake Batur and a lava

different offerings to the beach

years – bargaining is usually accepted. Bali

temple, laying them one by one in

Collection, the main shopping centre on

their proper place.

the island, is a few metres away from the

On the last morning someone

Meliá Bali The Garden Villas hotel.

confided in me: “The gods, when they come down to earth, go to Besakih.” This is why this temple – nestled on the hillside of the Gunung Agung volcano, which in turn is the highest and most sacred mountain on the island – is the most venerated in all of Bali. I had to visit it, of course, and despite all the guides, street-sellers and guards offering me their services, I was

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Above these lines, the private swimming pool and romantic bathroom of a Garden Villa. On the right, a spacious and bright interior (350 m²) in the Garden Villas and, above, exclusive access set apart from the rest of the resort.

On the right, a private beach at the Melia Bali The Garden Villas. Below, the terrace by the sea of the Sarteria restaurant (one of the five culinary offerings of the resort). Below, the entrance of the Yhi Spa and a relaxation area inside. On the right, everything ready for a Balinese wedding at the hotel.

ROMANTIC PLACES For a truly unforgettable stay in Bali, wake up every morning among the floating veils of a four-poster bed in a The Level Suite Romance.You can even celebrate a traditional Balinese wedding here, in a pavilion specifically designed for a wonderful ceremony. But the whole area is full of romantic places for you to share with your partner. One of the most special experiences is enjoying a sunset together in the cool breeze while listening to the sound of the waves and watching the sea birds in the tropical sky.You can have dinner by the sea at

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able to see an endless series of ceremonies that I could

from today with its rampant

the recently opened terrace of Sateria –

not decipher, but in which I felt that life and beauty were

international tourism, desperately

serving international food by the beach

being honoured.

searching

– where your dinner will be transformed

for

place

called

On the southern slope of the volcano, I passed through

Paradise. If something of the sort

into a magic moment (the resort has

some of the most stunning rice fields in the world. The

ever existed here, they say that it

four other restaurants).The hotel’s

mountain slope makes life difficult for farmers, forcing

disappeared some time ago. That

leafy gardens are full of places to take a

them to create a wonder that is as gorgeous as it is useful:

may be so. But on my last night

delightful walk at night. Don’t miss the

a very complex system of terraces and irrigation canals.

there, while watching a traditional

relaxing and spiritual spaces at

This man-made, masterly carved, artificial landscape was

dance, the final revelation came.

the Yhi Spa – the only one on the sea

irresistible for some of the most prominent European

The almost animistic Hinduism

in Nusa Dua – or the private spaces of

painters who settled on the island.

that reigns supreme in this land

Sakura, its Japanese restaurant.

These European artists, who arrived before the

believes that life is a war between

Kawasan Wisata BTDC Lot 1; Bali, Nusa

Second World War, found in Bali an island very different

the spirits of light and darkness,

Dua; www.melia.com.

and the dance I was watching was actually a representation of that eternal battle. The clash between timeless Bali and the forces of global trivialisation is just another episode in this perpetual struggle that the Balinese know full well how to win.

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ME London ‘OneToWatch’

IN THE CITY

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In the entertainment and theatregoing area, but also opposite Somerset House, famous as the hub of London Fashion Week, the ME London reinterprets the idea of luxury hotels in London with a cutting-edge, sensorial approach and with design as its hallmark. Text: CHRIS MOOS Photos: FRANCISCO GUERRERO / GETTY / AGE

he day it opened its doors, all eyes were set on it. Not only because it was designed to “be

admired”, as all the local media had pointedly said – from the building’s shell to the bathroom fittings designed by Foster + Partners – but also because the ME London had “the best possible location for the West End crowd”: a walk away from Covent Garden, Leicester Square, and Piccadilly Circus. The media agreed on pointing out the obvious, i.e., that this historic building (once the site of the popular Gaiety Theatre) and whose triangular shape is next to Marconi House, the BBC’s old

The ME London hotel occupies a triangular plot which was once the site of the Gaiety Theatre. Its 10th-floor terrace has the best views of London.

headquarters (today, luxurious flats), was returning some lost glamour to the heart of the West End. In addition, the General Manager of the ME London, Guillaume Marly, confirmed our impression that this hotel had become, right from the beginning, one of the must-visit places in London. Its fabulous terrace with 360º views, the Rooftop Bar Radio (on the building’s 10th floor) has become an exclusive must-visit in the city. One of those “Sex and the City destinations” (wrote Time Out): “No other terrace on The Strand and in Aldwych can offer such wonderful views of the London skyline” (taking in Tower Bridge, the Shard, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, the Tate Modern, Somerset House, Southbank, the London Eye, Parliament and the theatre district of Covent Garden). In addition, this is the only rooftop bar, lounge and terrace in the area open until this late (Mondays to Wednesdays, from 12.00pm to

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1.00am; Thursdays to Saturdays, 12.00pm to 2.00am; and

by a glass cupola – a contemporary reinterpretation of

Sundays, 12.00pm to 12.00am).

the Edwardian-style domed roof across the street – that

But the interior of the hotel is also surprising and makes

houses the living space for the impressive ME penthouse

an impression on everybody. The theatrical feel of the

suite, with its 360-degree panorama of the city. Arriving

building is the common trait throughout all its spaces.

guests pass through the ground floor lounge, public

David Nelson, Head of Design at Foster + Partners,

restaurants and bar, and ascend to a dedicated hotel lobby

explains: “Our intention has been to make sure that the

and champagne bar on the first floor, housed within a nine-

hotel will be a unique experience, efficient to run and

storey high pyramidal space, clad entirely in white marble.

appropriate to the level of service that the ME hotel wishes to deliver. We put ourselves in the guests’ position

DO THE STRAND

to make sure that their experience would be exceptional

If London has a centre, then it is to be found somewhere

– we extensively prototyped the rooms and made many

off the Strand. For first-time visitors, it is probably Trafalgar

changes to improve design and to stay within agreed

Square, with the slender Nelson’s Column at its centre

budgets. The result combines a high level of functionality

and the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery on

with a simple, refined aesthetic.”

its northern side. For shopaholics, Covent Garden – which

Design is everything here. The corner tower is topped

evolved from a vegetable market into the present-day hub

IN THE CAPITAL OF CULTURE AND COOL We talked with the European Aura Manager, Claire Jones, a woman who represents the essence of the ME brand, that in this hotel embodies its full relevance and meaning: “At ME London, we pride ourselves on the bespoke service we offer each and every one of our guests. Our team of Aura Hosts’ ensure guests are offered a bespoke blend of sensorial encounters and customised activity to make their stay an unforgettable experience on every level: professional, social and personal. It is the job of the dedicated Aura Manager team to know the

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The lobby of the ME London hotel: black and white and traditional and contemporary styles complement each other.

city back-to-front and use this knowledge to make the hotel’s service truly unique.The Aura Managers will orchestrate each guest’s stay, connecting with each individual to ensure their wishes are met. From leisure travellers to A-list celebrities, the team is always on hand to go the extra mile.The Aura Team will closely monitor the scents, music, lighting and service experience on a one-to-one basis; everything that contributes to the ambiance of the hotel. Guests will see a visible shift in mood in the hotel from day to night and between seasons.”

of flagship brands – is the focal point. For lovers of the

here classic bacon and eggs are served on naan bread for

London stage, the Adelphi, Lyceum, Savoy and Vaudeville

breakfast, while the dinner menu is a banquet of curries

theatres exert a pull, as do the Royal Opera House and the

made with lamb, chicken or Asian bass served with paper-

Coliseum, home of the English National Opera.

thin roomali rotis.

FROM FRUIT AND VEG TO FASHION Covent Garden,

THEATRE MENUS A lot of drinking and dining takes

a thriving fruit and vegetable marketplace since the 17th

place pre and post-theatre. The Opera Tavern (23 Catherine

century, has been the scene of major regeneration in

St, 020 7836 3680, operatavern.co.uk), opposite the Drury

the last decade. Openings by Farrell, Y-3 and Opening

Lane Theatre, serves some of the finest tapas in London.

Ceremony have turned the district into a fashionistas’

The Hawksmoor Seven Dials (11 Langley Street, 020 7420

favourite. Flagships such as MAC’s three-floor cosmetics

9390, thehawksmoor.com) – close to the Cambridge Theatre

emporium and Orla Kiely’s one and only store on

– tailors menus of sea bream, burgers and steaks to suit

Monmouth Street - in Seven Dials, just north of the

theatregoers. For late drinking, Cellar Door (0 Aldwych,

market proper – are major draws. South of the market is

cellardoor.biz) is a sharply-designed bar housed in a

a concentration of ski, outdoor and sports clothing shops,

Victorian, men's public toilet that draws a cool clientele.

Top, clockwise, The Strand, a Westminster street that gives its name to the area; Trafalgar Square; the Royal Opera House; Covent Garden and The George pub.

and all travellers should make a pit-stop at Stanfords (12-14 Long Acre, stanfords.co.uk, 020 7836 1321) one of London’s leading bookshops specialising in atlases, travel guides, maps and travelogues.

TOWER OF LONDON REDUX The seven landmarks below make for an enlightening walk around an area that can seem impenetrable to

FROM ROAST BEEF TO ROTIS Strand – usually called

visitors – walk them on a Monday and you’ll be in the

‘The Strand’ – is best understood as an axis, a thoroughfare

thick of the commerce and chaos; see them on a Sunday

joining the political centre of Westminster to the financial

and there is an almost surreal tranquillity to the old City

centre of the City of London. Grandly decorated pubs

of London.

such as the Coal Hole (91-92 Strand, 020 7379 9883) and

1. The Shard – At 309 metres, this 87-storey glass-walled

the old-fashioned restaurant Simpsons-in-the-Strand (020

spike designed by Renzo Piano is the tallest building in

7836 9112, simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk) – famous for its

the European Union.

roast beef – have long serviced the passing trade. Foodies

2. 122 Leadenhall Street aka “The Cheese Grater”.

after new ideas are spoilt for choice around Covent

Labelled after the kitchen gadget because of its distinctive

Garden. As Modern British cuisine has boomed, clever

wedge shape, this tower was designed by a firm headed

chefs have taken old standard dishes and given them an

by Richard Rogers, famous for Paris’s Pompidou Centre.

original twist. Battersea Pie Station (28, The Market, 020 7249 9566, batterseapiestation.co.uk) serves what Time Out magazine describes as “the best pie in London”. At the other end of the city’s cosmopolitan spectrum is Dishoom (12 Upper St. Martin’s Lane, 020 7420 9320, dishoom.com),

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3. One New Change. Architect Jean Nouvel’s retail space

5. 20 Fenchurch street aka Walkie Talkie. This top-

– sixty shops and a clutch of new restaurants – is the only

heavy tower made headlines during its construction

shopping mall in the City. The complex has been dubbed

when its shiny walls reflected the sun down onto parked

“the Stealth bomber” because of its slick, low-slung form.

cars, damaging their paintwork. Since completion in April

4. 30 St Mary Axe aka The Gherkin. After St Paul’s

2014, the glass has been covered with a protective film.

– which critics say it detracts from – Norman Foster’s

6. The Willis Building. The first of the new wave of

sensuously curved skyscraper is one of London’s best-

tall buildings, completed in 2008 – the stepped design is

known landmarks.

meant to mimic the shell of a crustacean. Check out the “bowellist” Lloyds Building next door.

7. Heron Tower aka 110 Bishopsgate. Home to the largest private aquarium in the UK, and studded with 48,000 photovoltaic cells, this is arguably the City’s best attempt at being green. The Duck & Waffle, on the 40th floor, is the highest restaurant in the UK.

Above these lines, the ME London’s avantgarde style and design: 157 rooms, of which 16 are exquisitely designed modern suites. Right, the STK London restaurant, offering the most delicious meats.The interior of the Duplex ME Suite, on the 9th and 10th floors.

HOTEL ME LONDON Well connected via London Underground and with links to Heathrow Airport and several major train stations such as St. Pancras, Euston and Waterloo, its 157 rooms have spectacular views, fun extras and is tech-friendly.The Apivita products in the bathrooms, a selection of drinks and snacks, plus the Love Kit and the Hangover Kit round off the delightful extra touches. In addition, lights and temperature can be adjusted from an interface beside the beds.The Aura Team offers guests a unique experience of true enjoyment with fragrances, music and lightning, in the common spaces.Access to the very popular Rooftop Radio is sometimes difficult, as it has become a compulsory

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place to visit. But hotel guests are always given preference (modern, casual chic dress is required). In addition, ME London has two restaurants: STK, with incredible meats from all over the world and a sophisticated atmosphere; and Cuicina Asellina, serving authentic, rustic Italian food that has a wood-fired oven and homemade flatbreads); you can also have a glass of perfectly chilled champagne in the Marconi Lounge, in the hotel’s lobby, and in the nine-storey Atrium bar, a cathedral-like atrium with a skylight over 24 metres above it. 336-337 The Strand; London WC2R 1HA; www.melia.com.

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THE BEST DESTINATIONS

3 1

lub Meliá offers its members the “Home Resort

Meliá Hotels & Resorts, Innside by Meliá, Tryp

Collection”, with 14 breathtaking resorts in the Mexican

by Wyndham, Sol Hotels & Resorts.

Pacific & the Carribean, Puerto Rico, Panama, Dominican

Destinations by Club Meliá is focused on generating

Republic or the Canary Islands as well as Andalusian

maximum flexibility through a Travel Club concept .

shores, and also, a “Resort Collection” spread in Mexico’s

Members can decide where and when to book their

and Spain’s most acclaimed destinations, and of course,

holidays a year in advance or enjoy a weekend getaway

a jaw-dropping “Urban Collection” with hotels in Paris,

at short notice. Destinations by Club Meliá also offers

London Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Munchen, Buenos

members important discounts when they make their

Aires, Lima, Milan, and Orlando, among others.

bookings, as well as access to the Meliá Rewards loyalty

All the properties belong to one of the Group’s portfolio

programme which provides members with exclusive

of premier brands: Gran Meliá, Paradisus, ME by Meliá,

benefits and special services.”

1 Paradisus Palma Real, Golf & Spa Resort, Punta Cana. 2 Paradisus Cancún, Mexico. 3 Meliá Gorriones, Pájara, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. 4 Meliá Salinas Lanzarote, Canary Islands.

DOS CIELOS RESTAURANT

GOURMET

Vertiginous cooking by theTorres brothers From the 24th floor of the Meliá Barcelona Sky hotel, you can touch heaven with your fingertips – almost, literally, but also metaphorically, thanks to the cuisine of the Torres brothers at their restaurant, Dos cielos: a truly sky-high experience. Text: ARANTXA NEYRA.

heir grandmother – apart from inspiring the brilliant

name for their restaurant (“Dos Cielos” [Two heavens], as she used to call them when they were children) – passed on to them her love for good food as well as a very fine culinary touch. Sergio and Javier, the Torres brothers, decided to study catering and then went on a pilgrimage to the best restaurants in Europe, working under the orders of the best chefs of the day in order to complete their training and make their dream come true: to work together, and keep learning from each other. With their grandmother Catalina always in mind, and obsessed with only the most exquisite ingredients, either grown in their own garden or brought from overseas, you will be served at their tables “a memory-based cuisine, made with ingredients from the soil and with a strong personality of its own”. Its personality, the best views of Barcelona – the sea, mountains and the city – and the Meliá Barcelona Sky hallmark have turned Dos Cielos into one of the most interesting restaurants not only in Barcelona, but in the whole world… and the brothers, into some of the most renowned chefs. A TV programme and their book entitled "From Earth to Heaven" (50 recipes using the best Spanish culinary produce) confirm their popularity. The 24th floor of the Meliá Barcelona Sky hotel, home to the restaurant, is like a metaphor for the dazzling success of these two brothers. But they do not suffer from vertigo, and their motto is “Keep working hard each day”. A Michelin star and, above all, their customers’ satisfaction, are the rewards of their efforts.

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PHOTOS: D.R.

STYLE PHOTO: CARLOS RONDĂ&#x201C;N.

Winter tomatoes, summer consommĂŠ, blue whiting, pickles and salt-cured fish, one of the dishes on the tasting menu at the Dos Cielos restaurant.

Just twins. We share different tasks, although it is true “ that each of us has our own strengths. For example, Sergio uses vegetables very often, while Javier has a passion for bread… ” In general terms, it has been years since it was usual to go out

that each of us has our own strengths. For example,

for dinner to a hotel in Spain.

Sergio uses vegetables very often, while Javier has a

However, Dos Cielos has one

passion for bread…

of the longest waiting lists in

well-travelled – who embrace technology and look

this doubly admirable?

towards the future.The ‘Culinary Sensograph’ you

Admirable… in fact, it means

have at your restaurant, your “gastrovac” cooking

lots of work, effort, dedication,

method, new uses for produce grown in your own

passion…

organic garden, your ‘Espacio Ilusión’ in which you

both of you a love for cooking. Later on, you worked at the best

attach to innovation in your cooking? A great deal because innovation is a part of evolution, and we like to evolve gradually day to day to enhance

together here, at Dos Cielos.Was

the essence of the different ingredients.

working together a planned strategy, a goal you had from the start of your careers? Or did it just happen? Yes, obviously: we’ve had this plan for a long time. We wanted to learn, and then to work together, combining our talents. Siamese twins, or just twins? Do each of you –your respective strengths or weaknesses – or are both of you multi-taskers

create new culinary ideas… What importance do you

restaurants... and then came

have well-defined tasks in your kitchen

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You are 21st-century chefs – global, media-oriented,

Barcelona, and even in Spain. Is

Your grandmother instilled in

A photo of the Dos Cielos restaurant and its open, perfectly integrated kitchen. Below right, the first pea flowers with Iberian ham.

Just twins. We share different tasks, although it is true

Your cooking has roots and is based on memories… However, it’s not just about your own origins or past memories, but also about faraway roots and memories yet to be discovered and this, plus your ‘Kilometre Zero’ produce, is the reason why your dishes include raw ingredients from other places in the world.What elements from your trips have you included in your cooking?

and share all the

Every time

various jobs?

we travel

w w w.ro s a g re s .c o m

Right, interior of the restaurant and its terrace on the 24th floor of the innovator Meliá Barcelona Sky. Below, A 360º view of the city’s skyline from a table at the Dos Cielos.

somewhere and see an interesting ingredient (whatever its origin), that’s exciting for us, it’s a challenge… and we try to bring it to our restaurant. Each country has its riches with regard to ingredients. We find it really exciting to translate the trips we have lived into our dishes. Talking of trips, you fell in love with Brazil and then decided to open a restaurant there (and then another one).Are there any other places that you loved so much to make you think you wanted to do the same thing? Is there a new challenge waiting for you with Meliá Hotels International? A destination that we would love is London, but there are many countries where we would like to open new restaurants. We are sure that this will happen one day.

THE MEDITERRANEAN SOUL The Dos Cielos restaurant lacks nothing: it has contemporary interior design by Dominique Perrault, panoramic views of Barcelona, a spectacular terrace and an open kitchen... and it all combines perfectly with this memory- and feeling-based cuisine created by the Torres brothers. In their 29th-floor organic garden, they grow many of the vegetables they use at their restaurant – these are the staples of their traditionally Mediterranean dishes with added hints of faraway trips and games that transport us to remote destinations: from their steak tartare to a rice dish of sea cucumber in a cassava cream with sago caviar. However, every gastronomic experience at the Dos Cielos restaurant goes beyond the dishes themselves as each diner can have a visual interpretation of all the feelings felt at the table thanks to a culinary ‘sensograph’ – an interface that assigns different values to certain criteria, converting them into visual shapes that are later posted on the restaurant’s website under the diner’s name. STYLE

For instance, their gastrovac (a vacuum-sealed, low-pressure, oxygen-free cooking technique, developed by Javier jointly with chef Javier Andrés and the Valencian Polytechnic University) cod can be 99% caress and 18% spiritual fulfilment for a particular diner; whereas their Forest of Chocolate and Truffle dessert can evoke 77% enjoyment or a 49% feel of the mountain. Address: Hotel Meliá Barcelona Sky, Carrer de Pere IV, 272 - 286, 08005 Barcelona; www.melia.com Type of food: signature Mediterranean with exotic touches. Average price: €130. Tasting menu: €120.

Banana surprise with mango, passion fruit and chocolate.

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GOURMET

VIVA VOCE

Alfonso Iaccarino

Italy squared and served on a rounded plate A recipient of two Michelin stars, Alfonso Iaccarino transports the essence of the Mediterranean to his Trastevere restaurant Viva Voce, at the Gran Meliá Rome Villa Agrippina.

A general view of the Gran Meliá Rome surrounded by the spectacular landscape of the historic Villa Agrippina which belonged to emperor Nero’s mother.

omato, basil, fresh fish, olive oil… A dish by Alfonso

Iaccarino is almost like waving the Italian flag. And not only visually – given the variety of colours – but also because of the provenance of almost all the produce used by this chef. He was way ahead of today’s Km 0 and Slow Food trends, as for over three decades now, Alfonso has grown all the vegetables used in his dishes in his garden in Sant’Agata family-run restaurant, Don Alfonso 1890, where he lives with his wife and children whenever he is not travelling around the world learning or teaching, or cooking in the capital. With Viva Voce, Iaccarino has stepped into the Eternal City – none other than the birthplace of Nero’s

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mother: an ambiance that is as exciting as his food.

PHOTOS: FRANCISCO GUERRERO, ANDREA DI LORENZO, D.R.

sui Due Golfi, on the Amalfi Coast, the location of his

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La parmigiana di melanzane, one of the traditional dishes of authentic Italian food served at the Viva Voce restaurant.

“

Certainly, Viva Voce is also influenced by Roman cooking, but we search for suppliers who can guarantee the quality of the raw materials.

”

In the kitchen of Alfonso 1890,

Above these lines, view of the Villa Agrippina where the hotel is located – a five-minute walk from St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, and 15 minutes from Piazza Navona. Right, interior of the Viva Voce restaurant.

on the Sorrento peninsula, you mostly use ingredients from your own vegetable garden.What about in Rome, who are your suppliers in the capital? How different is your cooking in both places? Do you try to include Roman culinary roots in your Viva Voce dishes, too? Certainly, Viva Voce is also influenced by Roman cooking, but we search for suppliers who can In some ways, you are an icon of fine Italian

Are there any recent additions to the menu?

selling its country’s brand around the world?

At the moment, my most exciting dish is pasta and

I firmly believe in my country, Italy, but I think we do not do enough to defend and promote the biodiversity of

There’s the lifelong image of Italian ‘mamma’s’ cooking. But who in fact cooks in Italy? Is still there a

work to do.

marked difference between housewives that cook at

a city like Rome, and especially in such a historic and exceptional location? I am very proud to be in Rome with my restaurant Viva Voce and to promote my message of typical

beans with lobster.

each region. With regard to this we still have a lot of hard What does it mean for you to have a restaurant in

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guarantee the quality of the raw materials.

gastronomy.As such, how good do you think Italia is at

home and men as big chefs? Undoubtedly the history of our grandparents and of our mothers is an integral part of our DNA – which is why we draw inspiration from them every day. Everybody loves pizza or pasta, but there is a

Mediterranean cooking here, as this city is a historic and

widespread belief that all Italian gastronomy is about,

exceptional place.

and so it doesn’t reach the level, for example, of Spanish or French cuisines.What do you say to this? I am proud to tell Spanish and French people that our cooking is done with extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, vegetables, fruit, pulses… Many years before the ‘green revolution’ you had

already started growing your own vegetables for Don Alfonso at L’Azienda Agricola Biologica Le Peracciole. Do you think that people today are more

An Italian version of Beef Wellington by Alfonso Iaccarino.

appreciative of the raw materials you use in your dishes? Has your public changed over the last year (is it, for example, younger?) People always need more organic products; for this reason, 30 years ago I thought that the only way to guarantee excellence would be to grow the vegetables ourselves. Apart from your restaurants, you are also a consultant and you give cooking classes. Can you tell us something about that? After China, Morocco, and Rome there are two

AUTHENTIC ITALIA

important projects abroad… The first one regards Japan

To get to the entrance of the Gran Meliá Rome hotel, you have to walk up the steep

and the second, New Zealand – where organic food is

hill of the Gianicolo: a little Rome away from Rome that has more than its fair share of

considered very important.

history.The building, pure traditional luxury with the addition of a cutting-edge touch,

Is there anything that you haven’t already done that you would like to do? Looking back, I would go to University to study Anthropology or Art History. There is an absolute craze about Michelin Stars. What would happen if you lost one of yours? It would not be a tragedy for me, because over these

is the perfect setting for the simple, genuine food that Alfonso Iaccarino serves at Viva Voce – a style of cooking deeply rooted in the Mediterranean, with the produce being of prime importance: homemade pasta, fresh fish and seafood, artisanal cheeses from different places and the ubiquitous extra virgin olive oil that he himself produces and uses so much.There are such dishes as Pontelandolfo potato gnocchi stuffed with scamorza cheese from Lucania on a tomato sauce scented with lemons from Alfonso Iaccarino’s farm, or red king prawns from Mazara del Vallo stuffed

years I have won the loyalty and respect of my guests.

with Provolone del Monaco cheese on chicory sprouts and horseradish with a

They arrive from all over the world, and they always

passion fruit sauce.A Mediterranean diet to pamper both the palate and the heart.

come back!

Address: Via del Gianicolo, 3; Rome; www.melia.com Tasting menu: €85-€95

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GOURMET

DÚO RESTAURANT, GRAN MELIÁ XIAN

When three-delight rice is paella.

Abel López

In Xian – the city that was at the easternmost point of the ancient Silk Road and where the famous terracotta warriors of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang are on show today – Meliá Hotels International has opened a new Gran Meliá, Gran Meliá Xian. Its gourmet restaurant, Dúo, takes Spanish haute cuisine to that faraway land, thanks to Abel López.

in the city. Apart from this delicacy, Abel López, an

experienced chef who has already worked at a thousand Asian stoves and has been in China a long time, offers ating a good rice dish is easy almost everywhere in

Spanish specialities from several regions, such as boned

Xian. However, when it comes to soupy rice with lobster,

confit suckling pig prepared Segovian style with morel

comparable to any such dish served at any Mediterranean

mushrooms, or 70° 12’ cod a la vizcaína. A choice of “mini

place – you will only find it at the Dúo restaurant, in

tapas” are also available so that beginners can sample a

the Gran Meliá Xian hotel: the only Spanish restaurant

wider range of them. Tradition is captured in these recipes and the modern way they are cooked and presented are the two pillars of the food created by López, a chef who does not stray from authentic Spanish food. Spiciness is what Chinese diners will miss the most but rice, in all its varieties, is the chef ’s main ally. Returning to well-known flavours is what this Spaniard loves the most. You were involved in the opening of the new and cozy Gran Meliá Xian hotel’s restaurant, and now have been its chef for over a year.What does this project mean professionally to you? Professionally, it was a challenge that attracted me very much. As I already knew China, I was aware that it was not going to be easy, and that you need to work really hard to prepare truly Spanish cooking in Xian – but I also knew that it would be very rewarding if we achieved it. It’s not been easy, but looking back at what we’ve done in such short a time, I feel more motivated to keep on working hard to take Dúo to the very top.

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I would define it as traditional Spanish cooking with some “ avant-garde “touches”: traditional cooking with painstaking

presentation, new culinary techniques such as vacuum cooking, and a bit of molecular cuisine – with airs, soils and foams.

”

Paella is on Dúo’s extensive seasonal menu, the only Spanish restaurant in Xian.

PHOTOS: D.R.

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A large part of your experience as a chef has taken place abroad – and for some years now, specifically in different places of China. How is Spanish food perceived and appreciated there? Bearing in mind that everything related to eating is completely different here, A combination of elegance and good taste at the Dúo restaurant, on the first floor of the hotel Gran Meliá Xian, a large, yet cosy, space in an atmosphere of Mediterranean warmth.

How would you define your food at Dúo?

most of our diners like Spanish food, are interested in

I would define it as traditional Spanish cooking with

discovering new dishes, and find them flavoursome…

some avant-garde “touches”: traditional cooking with

but not hot enough. This is cultural, as spiciness is a pillar

painstaking presentation, new culinary techniques such

of Chinese gastronomy.

as vacuum cooking, and a bit of molecular cuisine – with airs, soils and foams. What does the restaurant Dúo offer to a foreigner? And to a Spanish diner?

Is there any cultural element that prevents you from serving certain dishes here? And do you have particularly popular dish? People here are quite open-minded and are willing to

What Dúo offers is genuinely Spanish food – food

try everything, but they are not big lovers of rare meat,

that allows you to travel, carefully prepared food about

or cheese. Having in mind the origins of rice in Spain,

memories, that with just one bite you are transported

it is only natural that the most popular dishes here in

to your summer home, to a trip you once took, to your

China are certainly the rice-based ones.

village, your home… We have typical dishes from almost every Spanish region, and we aim, within our possibilities, to fully respect traditional flavours in order

Where do the ingredients you use in your dishes come from? Basic ingredients are local, but almost all the other

to offer and show Chinese people what true Spanish

produce is imported. If you want to offer genuine cuisine

cooking is all about.

you have to use genuine ingredients, such as olive oil, Spanish paprika, saffron, cheese, ham, seafood… We import all these from Spain. We use organically farmed

THE WEST IN THE EAST

vegetables, veal from Australia, very good lamb from

The Gran Meliá Xian in China hotel is

Mongolia. The fish is from Hong Kong: it is brought here

located in the district of Qu Jiang, next

alive and kicking and then we keep it in special tanks.

to Tang Paradise – the theme park on Tang culture – and a stroll from the Giant

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Veal sirloin prepared Australian style, is one of the dishes on the menu.

If we placed ourselves in your hands, what would we have for dinner at Dúo?

Wild Goose Pagoda – a centre that held

You would start with some “mini tapas”, as this

7th-century Buddhist writings and is now

illustrates our Dúo concept: “One for you, another

a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is

to share”. These mini tapas are based on the dishes

also in front of Nanhu Lake. Dúo is the

included in our menu and two of each are served. You

first Spanish restaurant in this city with a

would then have soupy rice with lobster, followed

population of 3,200,000 inhabitants:“It is

by a choice of either cod or suckling pig, ending with

100% per-cent authentic cooking, with no

our spectacular cheesecake with soft fruit, all of it

ingredients from Chinese cuisine”.

accompanied by a good wine and live music performed

Some of its star dishes are soupy rice with

by two Spanish guitarists. Not forgetting the excellent

lobster, suckling pig prepared Segovian

service in our dining room, supervised by Ignaci.

style, and a cheese hemisphere with soft fruit. Address: Gran Meliá Xian, 1666, Qujiangchi West Road, Qu Jiang New District, Xian 710054. www.melia.com. Type of food: Traditional Spanish. Average price: 300 RMB per person, around €46 (drinks not included).

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Playa del CarMen

spas

Among

legends pleasures and

If you are looking for the usual beach crowded with hordes of tourists happy to post the typical trite, stale selfies on social media, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come to this emerald green Mexican Caribbean. But, if you seek a genuinely laid-back, glamorous paradise of the kind that can only be found at a natural spa, then coming to Playa del Carmen is a great idea. Text: JosĂŠ ForTeza Photos: aGe, GeTTY, FoToTeCa 9X12, D.r.

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Crystalline, warm waters by the hotel Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Esmeralda (for families) and Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Perla (for couples), one of the gems of the Mayan Riviera. On the left, an aerial view of the private bay of this all-inclusive resort.

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his gem on the Mayan riviera enjoys a wonderful climate offering

more than 300 days of sun a year and an average year-round temperature of about 25 ºC, with only a little rain from June to october. Just two decades ago, Playa del Carmen was a small, picturesque village with only 100 inhabitants – which makes it easy to imagine the days when it welcomed Mayan pilgrims who came here bound for a nearby island. Beaches with transparent, warm waters, sand as fine as gold dust and vibrant colours shine here in a burst of passion, just like Frida Kahlo’s clothes. even though it still maintains the old charm of its early days, Playa del Carmen is now an ideal holiday destination to enjoy with family, friends, partner, or even a solo getaway. The nearest international airport is Cancun and in less than an hour’s car ride, Playa del Carmen will warmly embrace you with its radiant sunshine and its exclusive accommodation. Its ambience is its unmistakable first welcoming sign; the modern architecture, the casual chic of the interior design and the friendliness of the people at the Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Perla will enchant you as soon as you lay your eyes upon it. everything is special and sophisticated here: from its royal service in the Welcome Lounge – a private check-in and concierge area – to its heated pool, comfortable suites and range of spa treatments. It’s hard to find a better place to feel that perfection is not a mirage.

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Above, two images of the Welcome Lobby. On the right, Ecohall, and below, the swimming pool at the hotel paradisus playa del Carmen La perla. Opposite, a cave diver in the Chac Mool Cenote, near playa del Carmen.

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That perfection is reflected by the sea, one of the main attractions of this part of the world. The beach, located at the

Ancient Mayan beauty rituals

end of Calle 28, is the busiest and most cosmopolitan and has

used the power of rice – rich in

places where you can enjoy the best margaritas, live music and

proteins and amino acids that

a fun atmosphere. a more spacious and tranquil alternative is

increase the skin’s suppleness.

Playacar. But if what you are looking for is a non-stop party,

Yhi Spa, by the Mexican Caribbean,

one of the local favourites is Mamitas’s Beach (a good beach

offers a treatment inspired by this

with not great food – but perfect for having breakfast with a

ancient wisdom: Rice Delights. But,

view of the sea). The best beach bar for its delicious food and

if you prefer to revitalise your face

superb music is Canibal Royal (try their shrimp-and-chilli

after sunbathing, then try Fruits

aguachiles and their shrimp tacos).

of the Forest – with extracts of

any knowledgeable local host will recommend a visit to

From top to bottom, thermal spa circuit, treatment cabins and relaxation area at the Yhi spa, at the hotel paradisus playa del Carmen La Esmeralda. STYLE

A MAYAN SPA

strawberry, raspberry, redcurrant

Akumal (“the place of the turtles” in the Mayan language), 20

and blueberry – which is among

minutes away towards the walled Mayan town of Tulum. Its

the most popular facial treatments

calm waters are like an immense, crystalline swimming pool,

as it moisturises the skin and

perfect for snorkelling all the way to its coral reef… escorted by

balances its pH levels. For men,

docile giant turtles, manta rays and exotic multi-coloured fish.

the anti-stress facial treatment is

The Mexico’s Caribbean nature never stops surprising –

highly recommended: its plastic

so much so, that it goes beyond the sea to take you to huge

facial mask based on a range

cavernous holes that are home to small underground lakes:

of products that contain beta-

the closest description of the indescribable cenotes. according

carotene has anti-aging effects.

to Mayan tradition, these are the favourite shelters of the aluxes – sprightly pixies or elves born from the moon and who seek magic hideaways where they get up to mischief and play tricks on humans. Don’t forget to visit the beautiful and imposing Cenote Dos Ojos. as its name suggests, it is actually two connected cenotes. Nestled in the heart of the jungle, and with crystalclear water, they are accessed via the road that connects Cancun and Tulum.

MALLORCA I COSTA DEL SOL, MĂ LAGA

What happens on a Sol House holiday stays on your camera phone Information and reservations at SOL-HOTELS.COM

Right, various views of the YHI spa. as you come into this sanctuary, you feel that you are entering a very Zen-like space with delicate fragrances, surrounded by mellow mystical music.The gentle touch of expert hands will linger in your memory as an unforgettable moment of well-being.

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YUCATECAN CUISINE Playa del Carmen is a real showcase for the best Yucatecan food. Its hallmarks are the freshest seafood and fish as well as its touches of lime and local spices, used for both cocktails and its particular version of the popular ceviche. But it does not stop there.You can’t leave without trying a dish of cochinita pibil – pork seasoned with achiote and wrapped in banana leaves; salbutes – fried tortillas with chicken or cochinita pibil served with lettuce, tomato, red onion and avocado; panuchos – similar to salbutes, but the tortilla is filled with frijoles [beans]; Poc Chuc – grilled pork marinated in sour orange juice; papatzules – tortillas filled with pumpkin seed sauce, hard-boiled egg, onion, tomato and habanero chilli; and chilmole, a Yucatecan black mole (ground and mashed Yucatecan dry red chilli pounded with garlic, cumin, oregano and vinegar). Drinks also have

Payment is made at the entrance: basic fee without

their own special names: Chaya water is prepared with lime and

a guide, 200 Mexican pesos; guided snorkelling

marinated chaya, a highly nutritious local plant, perfect for alleviating

tours for beginners, 400 pesos. Just one suggestion:

the burning effect of enchilados [any food seasoned with chilli];

leave a small bowl with honey or pozole (a soupy

Balché is a local wine prepared with the homonymous tree bark; and

stew of fresh maize, meat and chillies) for its small

Saká is a drink made with semi-cooked nixtamal (maize dough).

guardians; these are treats they love and will make them send good vibes to visitors. Cenotes are perhaps where today’s health clubs originated. The Yhi Spa, on the premises of the Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Perla, hints, in its beauty and health treatments, to a connection with traditions which begins in its very name – inherited from an australian aboriginal legend about a river spirit who longs for the warmth and light of the sun goddess Yhi. she turns the river spirit into water drops that purify the body, balance the mind and energise the soil and the soul. That same energy must be what is felt on the excursions to some of Mexico’s most impressive ruins

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and archaeological sites, all of them relatively close to Playa del Carmen: Tulum (63 km away; entrance fee: 57 pesos), Coba (42 km from Tulum; 57 pesos) and Chichen Itza (222 km; 190 pesos). as they close at around 5 pm, the best thing to do is visit the two first in one day, and the third another day – or stay the night in Valladolid, a small colonial town 41 km before Chichen Itza, and visit it the next morning.

Above, clockwise: interior of The Market restaurant (fresh salads; pizza wood-oven and grill during the day, and snacks at night); Bana restaurant (asian food); Fuego restaurant (south american cuisine, open only for dinner and exclusively for adults) and Mole restaurant (contemporary Mexican food, open only for dinner). Below, making guacamole.

Tea time is Mmmm timeâ&#x20AC;Ś

Make time for tea with the Lipton pyramid experience.

Looking back towards the sea, a short ferry trip takes us to an island to which the goddess Ixchel sent thousands of swallows to thank the local people for their splendid generosity. Cozumel is the island that dazzled none From top to bottom, clockwise: the entertainment offered by mariachi musicians adds to the hotel’s atmosphere at avenida 5, in playa del Carmen; view of the Mayan ruins of Ek Balam and the Mayan show Day at the hotel.

other than Jacques Cousteau with its fauna, seabed and starkly contrasting natural environment. on this emerald-green dot on the map, nature has an otherworldly beauty. Moreover, it has everything to satisfy today’s sybarites, including excellent golf courses. With such a profusion of journeys and sports, this tropical life is likely to require some additions to your wardrobe – as well as indulging in the tradition of returning home with a souvenir. Playa del Carmen is also about enjoying shopping and art. With their creative spirit in perpetual movement, galleries, small

workshops

and

artisans

provide the city with a special flavour as they alternate along the famous Quinta Avenida with exclusive international designer boutiques and jewellers where spectacular Mexican designer silver pieces are on offer. For example, contemporary creations in exclusive materials by designer Daniel espinosa (Ground floor, ‘Quinta alegría’ shopping Mall, av. 5 Centro, solidaridad); or upmarket accessories, and modern silk and cotton clothes inspired by

WHERE TO EAT

aztec and Mayan traditions, at the

For antojitos [snacks], soups, thick soups, salads and seafood, go

Pineda Covalín boutique (av. 5).

to la Cueva del Chango (Av. 38 Norte, Zazil-ha). Chilmole,

Just like the aluxes in their ancient caves, so much hustle and bustle

either with turkey or fish, is a must-eat. If you want to try Poc Chuc, a local speciality, el Faisan y el Venado (Av. Benito Juarez 781) is the perfect place. Pre-Hispanic food – for those who dare to try chapulines (small fried grasshoppers) and maguey worms – is served at la Perla Pixan (Calle 34 between Av. 5 and 10). One of our all-time favourite Yucatecan restaurants is yaxche (Calle 22 with Av. 5). Don’t miss the alambres [shredded meat with onion and cheese au gratin] and homemade tortillas at la Parrilla Playa del Carmen (Av. 5 with Calle 8 Norte).We highly recommend the shrimp, fish, octopus and oyster cocktails, Mayan kingfish fillet with avocado sauce, and shrimp with tamarind – shrimp sautéed with butter and a fiery tamarind sauce – at el Oasis (Cancun-Tulum Federal Highway Mza 7 Lote Col.; Ejidal).Try the delicious rice a la tumbada (a Yucatecan relative of paella): rice, shrimp, octopus, crab, fish, lime and parsley at la Bamba Jarocha (Calle 36),

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and fish, seafood and different kinds of meat prepared Yucatecan style at el Caminito (Av. 10 between Calles 6 and 8).Also try boquinete [hogfish] with garlic; conch ceviche; and octopus and conch cocktail at el Pirata (Calle 40 between Av 5 & 10), as well as the delicious Yucatecan seafood and the traditional desserts at la Casa del agua (Av. 5, Centre).

Embrace the world’s most luxurious all-inclusive resort experience. Offering exquisite cuisine, award-winning spas, lavish accommodations and utterly pampering personalized service in the world’s most spectacular oceanfront locations.

The Pure Freedom to Just Be • Royal Service (exclusively for adults) • Life enriching activities (tango lessons and wine tasting) • Private Pools & Beach Areas with Bali Beds & Valet Service • Family Concierge (personalized vacation experience for families) features a full compliment of VIP services and amenities including private beach and pool areas with valet service.

For more information contact your travel agent, or visit MELIA.COM CUBA

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

MEXICO

CO S TA R I C A ( CO M I N G S O O N )

A Meliá Hotels International Brand

during the day will whet the appetite of modern visitors. Today you can choose among 14 restaurants at the Paradisus Playa del Carmen. one very special place is the Restaurante Passion – with dishes by spanish signature chef Martín Berasategui from san sebastián – and one of the few that falls into the 5-Diamond category in the americas. Without leaving Quinta Avenida, every possible choice of international cuisine is available. For the most genuine Mexican flavours, explore avenida Constituyentes and av. 30, with eateries offering homemade food and the best mole dishes are prepared all day long. as for the nightlife, the atmosphere after the sun has set can be defined in two words: energetic and extensive. If during the day the action is to be found by the sea, night-time in the town is an ultra-diverse mix of sounds, tastes and styles. The antros, as Mexicans call their discos and bars, tick all the right boxes for any night owl – whether they seek the refined atmosphere of a romantic lounge, dancing to Cuban rhythms, the melody of reggae from the neighbouring islands, or live retro, electronic or rock music at a terrace to end the night on a chill-out note. Coco Bongo (Calle 12 and av. 10) is a favourite

From left to right, and from top to bottom: interior of a swim Up room (53 m² with views to the private terrace or private access to the swimming pool; the heavenly bathroom of a suite; terrace with views to the garden in a swim Up room, and aerial view of one of the hotel’s two lagoonlike swimming pools (there is also another; the heated Family Concierge swimming pool, as well as one for pool activities).

and has the best music, live shows, an open bar and themed parties that vary according to the time of year. Mandala (Calle 12 and av. 1), an exclusive venue with very stylish oriental interior design. This also goes for Playa del Carmen, a compulsory stop for those who appreciate exclusivity with the added value of Mexico’s legends and stories: a delightfully understated place that offers life-loving devotees a healthy approach to healing and beautifying both body and mind.

HOTEL PARADISUS PLAYA DEL CARMEN LA ESMERALDA This all-inclusive five-star resort is in fact two hotels – one for adults and the other for families: la Perla and la esmeralda, respectively. Here, everything is about absolute relaxation. Highly recommended, if you are staying with your family, is the Family Concierge option – which pays extra detail to everything imaginable and offers a truly bespoke service via a private mobile phone. But if you come with your partner, La Perla offers total privacy. STYLE

The hotel’s location, just in front of Playa de Carmen, is perfect: five minutes away by car from the Playa Coco beach and the town of Playa del Carmen. Shopping, snorkelling tours, excursions... a wide range of activities is available at this resort surrounded by mangroves.All of its 394 elegant suites have a balcony or terrace, sensorial and/or hydro-massage bathtubs and amenities designed by Thierry Mugler. In addition, the culinary choices are endless: from local Mexican food (the Mole restaurant won an award for its good food) to international and multi-ethnic cuisine.The crown jewel is Passion – a restaurant managed by chef Martin Berasategui. Quinta Avenida, Playa del Carmen. Mexico. www.melia.com.

TAKING SPANISH LUXURY TO THE WORLD Into the realm of luxury emerges a bold new shade of hospitality, rendered one unforgettable moment at a time through the impassioned touch of our signature RedGlove Service. Book online at melia.com

C H I N A • I N D O N E S I A • I TA LY • P U E R TO R I C O • S PA I N • V E N E Z U E L A granmelia.com

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FASHION

Paris

ALWA YS STYLE

With a gleaming façade, an interior design created by well-known designer Jean-Philippe Nuel and surprising panoramic views, Meliá Paris La Défense opens its doors in the vibrant business district.

Styling: ANDRÉS ACOSTA Photos: MARCELA CABAL Make-up & Hair: RAMÓN RÍOS

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Financial heart Located on the Esplanade de La Défense, between the two large avenues stretching from the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysées to the Grande Arche de La Défense, this recently-built hotel is right in front the Takis pond, offering a direct connection with the city centre by metro. Shopping Opposite, in the lobby of the Meliá Paris La Défense hotel, and just about to go out, Jose Toledo wears a bicolour striped jumpsuit by Escada. Sandals are by Massimo Dutti and the vintage handbag is a Chanel. Previous page, on the Esplanade de La Défense, Jose Toledo in an outfit by Massimo Dutti. Chain with pendant by Carrera y Carrera, sunglasses by Jimmy Choo.

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Savoir faire Clockwise: Le Miroir restaurant, a modern casual brasserie; the Skyline Lounge & Bar Restaurant, on the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 19th floor, is the perfect place for a glass of champagne; views from the SkyLine Lounge & Bar, and a variety of dishes at Le Miroir restaurant. Casual atmosphere At The Place, a fast casual restaurant, Jose wears an outfit by Massimo Dutti. Sunglasses by Fendi.

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A room with a view Clockwise, from top to bottom, spectacular skyline from a Premium Double Room; the spacious bathroom of a Presidential Suite; the bathroom of a Junior Suite, and below, interior of a The Level

Presidential Suite (80 mÂ˛, on the 18th floor). In this suite you can relax with a hydromassage and enjoy luxurious bathroom amenities. It includes free access to the gym and to The Level Lounge, with private check-in.

Privacy and relaxation In The Level Presidential Suite, Jose wears a nude dress with floral print by Cristina PiĂąa. Rings by Carrera y Carrera.

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Paris’s sky Next to one of the largest shopping centres in Europe – Les 4 Temps – and the Esplanade de La Défense metro station, you can get from the hotel to the city’s historic centre, to the famous ChampsElysées, Porte Maillot Palais des Congrès, Garnier Opera House and other places of interest in just 5 to 10 minutes by public transport.

Bali, Kyoto, Marrakech... and also anecdotes, but I would pick a family pleasure trip to Egypt, and another to Hawaii where we spent six hours walking at night on hardened lava to the place where the molten lava meets the sea, with our child as well – who behaved amazingly. Botswana on horseback was fantastic, too. What are your favourite destinations? And is there any new destination on your list of dream trips? I like the sea and skiing, and as I come from the Canary Islands, I know there are few destinations that can offer me the incredible qualities of these islands without having to travel for 12 hours. So, my homeland is my favourite destination, and I never tire of going there and rediscovering it – anyone who knows the islands knows what I’m talking about. For skiing, I love the Dolomites. As dream trips, Southeast

QUESTIONNAIRE

JOSE TOLEDO

A catwalk model for Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, and Versace she travelled with them to all the big fashion capitals. Also a TV presenter, this time she accompanies us to Paris to visit the Meliá Paris La Défense. We are sure that Jose Toledo

has a wanderlust spirit.What does

That nomadic life changed

Do you devote a lot of time to choosing your hotel? What features do you appreciate the most? Well, if it’s not me who chooses it, I leave it up to the agency to advise me. Or if we are a group of friends, there is always one who is a specialist on the matter.

travelling mean to you? My work as

drastically when I became a mother

I particularly appreciate a well

a model entailed leading a nomadic

and started my TV career. But

soundproofed room, as I am used

life that gave me the opportunity

whatever the reason, I love travelling

to silence. I also like sunny rooms.

to travel all over the world and that

and, even if it’s on business, I try to

It’s important to have a choice of

meant a lot to me. Not only was it

stay for a number of hours or a whole

pillow, as well as change the room

the discovery of truly interesting and

day to discover the city I am in.

temperature. I prefer a room with

spectacular places, but it also gave

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and of whom I have fond memories.

Asia, Africa and South America.

Travelling means knowledge,

a balcony, and – although it’s not

me the opportunity to grow, enrich

enjoyment, growing, becoming

really necessary – I‘m thankful if I

myself and meet big professionals

aware of new things, sharing…

can have a massage after a hard day

from whom I learned a great deal

I love travelling, and those of us that can travel are very lucky. Is there any unforgettable trip or anecdote that you would like to share with us? There have been many unforgettable photo shoots:

of sport – or tourism – which can be

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On business Above, two meeting rooms with different capacity (the hotel has 8 conference rooms with capacity for 400 people). Below, the hotel’s gym, on the 19th floor, with spectacular views to the city. Right, a massage room at the gym. With elegance Next to one of the paintings that decorate The Level Presidential Suite, a smiling Jose poses sporting a blue dinner suit by L. K. Bennett.

even more exhausting. And manners

card for me and suggested a city tour

Would you recommend it? To

are essential – the personnel should

that I could take. They want your

what kind of people in particular?

be pleasant.

stay to be the best possible, and I’ve

A very good feeling. I didn’t know

been surprised at how good their

the city’s financial district and this

Spanish is.

place is full of young people having

What was your first impression on entering the lobby of the Meliá Paris La Défense? The light it has,

We are in Paris.What is Jose

lunch outdoors… it makes a beautiful

how spacious the lobby is, and that

Toledo’s personal itinerary for

picture. I believe it is apt for anybody

while its interior design is very

the city? This time I’ve only had a

who comes to Paris, either as a tourist

modern, it is still very warm and it‘s

couple of hours to visit the Louvre.

or on business, as in addition, with

really cosy.

the day to have a cocktail at the

outside the hotel – you can be in the

Skyline Paris Lounge & Bar, when

heart of the city in just 20 minutes.

you say is its real strength? I have

would it be? And what would you

not entered the kitchens, but I have

recommend having?

found the food to be incredibly good: my congratulations to the chef! The welcome area is really cosy,

the underground so close – just

you like the most, or what would

Which is the hotel area that

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If you had to choose a time of

At sunset, with a glass of good

Any essential accessories when travelling? Comfortable shoes for walking and for discovering many

champagne just before going out for

places, and a great curiosity for new

dinner, letting yourself be seduced

things.

and the personnel are all incredibly

by the illuminated Eiffel Tower.

pleasant, always smiling and

What about your room – interior

would like to share with us? Keep

prepared to help you with anything

design, view, amenities...? Perfect: it

on doing my work, which I really

you need. They got my boarding

has light, views and everything else

love!

I might need. Nothing is missing… but I’d stay for another three days! What is the feeling you will remember from your stay, generally speaking, of the hotel?

Is there any project that you

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WHAT TO DO IN

LA DÉFENSE

Ten minutes away by tube from the Champs-Elysées Avenue stands La Défense, France’s main financial centre.

two big shopping centres. These, like

Serra and Alexander Calder among

dances to the energetic pace of the

two lungs, successfully invigorate

others.

world of business, but also to that of

the area and keep it going non-stop.

Parisian Manhattan that

its lively bistros and cafés scattered

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La Défense also represents 50 years

We have chosen the ten top, notto-be-missed places at La Défense.

around the large Place. A temple to

of bold architecture that spreads

Shops, monuments, restaurants,

shopping that rivals, hands down,

out like a forest of skyscrapers, one

art galleries… Discover the most

any other in the capital thanks to its

more impressive than the other. It is

modern side of this best-loved city:

an extraordinarily modern project of urban planning whose spaces are home to a veritable museum of outdoor sculptures, with work by artists such as Joan Miró, Richard

PHOTO: GETTY.

1SKYSCRAPERS. At La Défense,

l'œil effect creates the illusion of them

and concerts held throughout

more than a hundred towers reach

being separate, when in fact they are

the year, such as the well-known

up to the Paris sky in unison – a glass

linked by three low buildings. The

La Défense Jazz Festival (www.

and steel mountain range that rises

peculiar shape of the Exaltis tower is

ladefensejazzfestival.hauts-de-seine.

like a witness to half a century of

also remarkable, as is the sober, dark

net). From the elevated area of the

a passionately urban adventure of

elegance of the Areva tower.

Place, you can enjoy a superb view

contemporary architecture: a complete view of the history of architecture for

2 LA GRANDE ARCHE AND THE

of the financial centre, and the large Historical Axis that spans Paris

PLACE DE LA DÉFENSE. La Grande

from the Louvre. La Grande Arche

Arche, dedicated “to the glory of

features the Mural (1989) fresco,

Défense. Distinguished by its two

Humankind”, is an absolute colossus

painted by the French artist Jean

elegantly curved towers, its trompe-

of white marble, glass and steel, and

Dewasne on its interior walls.

the second half of the 20th century. Don’t miss the “double” Coeur

is a modern version of the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysées. A true architectural feat presiding over the Place de La Défense, it provides the setting for extraordinary events

A view of the lake in the financial district, and, in the background, the Grand Arche de La Défense surrounded by buildings thar are icons of modernity.

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3 AN OUTDOOR SCULPTURE MUSEUM. Since its creation

in 1958, La Défense has implemented an ambitious policy of artwork acquisition. More than 67 monumental sculptures interspersed among the skyscrapers, squares and fountains make up an urban set design offering passersby unusual aesthetic and sensorial experiences. Outstanding among them all are Characters by Joan Miró – a colossal sculptural duo created by the Catalan artist’s wonderfully colourful imagination – and the Agam Fountain by Yaacov Agam, a great example of kinetic art: a fountain that creates an illusion of movement with its shapes, colours and use of sound, light and water. Also worthwhile is a visit to Defacto La Gallery of contemporary art, access to which is free.

4 THE CNIT. This shopping centre rises like a silver wave from one side of the Place de la Défense.

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This modern undulating pyramid

5 ALAIN FIGARET. Don’t forget

6 QUATRE TEMPS. This is one of the

has two floors of select shops and

to pop into the Alain Figaret shop

biggest shopping centres in Europe,

restaurants. Worth visiting are

(www.figaret.com), located on the

with nearly 360 shops distributed

the Lavinia wine shop, offering

Cnit’s first floor. This French brand,

over six floors. At night, the building

over a thousand French and

specialising in men’s and women’s

is completely transformed as it is

international wines for both experts

shirts, offers a diverse and refined

lit in the colours of its four areas

and amateurs to choose from

collection with different sleeve

(raspberry, mandarin, blackcurrant

and taste at its 260-square metre

lengths, types of collars and cuffs

and kiwi). A real show!

premises. Two more shops to take

which can be made in a choice of

a look at are Smuggler and Emling.

over two hundred fabrics including

huge shopping citadel, but there are

The former sells quality suits for

Egyptian cotton and linen. In this

two iconic shops of women’s fashion

executives who do not want to look

shop in the Cnit de la Défense you

that should not be missed: Comptoir

like one, and offers both classical

can also find jackets in different

des Cotonniers and Claudie Pierlot.

and more daring designs; the latter,

cuts and colours, hand-finished

In the former, you can find real

comfortable shoes with refined,

silk or wool shawls and scarves,

Parisian style, distinctive for its sober

modern finishes.

pyjamas, socks and even fun,

colours and elegant lines, while the

stylish swimsuits. Take advantage of your visit, as they make bespoke suits in the shop itself: the perfect opportunity to walk out looking very elegant and stylishly French.

It is easy to get lost inside this

9 SAPERLIPOPETTE. The young, fashionable chef Norbert Tarayre designs and oversees the FrenchRussian menu that is all the rage among the most daring gourmands. A chic bistro on two floors, it has a huge terrace and a large dining room. Saperlipopette’s menu (24 rue Mars et Roty, Puteaux; tel. +01 41 37 0000; www.saperlipopette1.fr; average meal price from €25) changes every month, but its creative food is always surprising, and fresh, quality products are guaranteed. To awaken your palate, imagine these dishes from previous ILLUSTRATION: JAIME MARTINEZ

menus: foie gras with apple and beetroot chutney; creamy salmon with cauliflower; cod with fennel and curry emulsion; vanilla-scented magret of duck with celery mousseline; and gilthead bream with Parmesan risotto… Let yourself be surprised!

10 L’ESCARGOT 1903. A true HOTEL MELIÁ PARIS LA DEFÉNSE 2 Esplanade du General de Gaulle www.melia.com

culinary experience awaits all lovers of good food! Just a stone’s throw from La Défense, L’Escargot (18 rue CharlesLorilleux, Puteaux; tel. +01 45 75 03 66;

latter is perfect for those who are

you to late winter days when the

www.lescargot1903.com; average meal

looking for casual, urban yet chic

sun shines warmly on the streets

price from €25) offers genuine French

designs.

after a night of rain.

food that skilfully blends modernity

7 AIGLE. If you like outdoor

8 UNIQLO A Japanese brand

activities, you can’t leave without

with a wide range of colourful and

fishmonger and the fruit and vegetable

visiting the French brand Aigle

original garments to play around

markets. In addition, the place is,

(www.aigle.com), whose concept

in the changing room for hours,

to say the least, evocative. An old,

is the return of man to Nature. Its

Uniqlo is a leader for its modern,

popular cabaret dating from 1903, it

shop, located in the Quatre Temps

practical and urban models at

maintains the spirit of a good country-

shopping centre, offers items of the

good prices. After having worked

style restaurant. If you are lucky and

best quality suitable for windy, rainy

together with Inés de la Fressange,

the weather is fine, choose a table on

and cold weather. Best of all is that

Uniqlo (www.uniqlo.com) has just

one of its two charming south-facing

this functional style will let you wear

hired Christophe Lemaire, a former

terraces. This is a restaurant that never

these clothes every day. In addition,

designer for Hermès, and they have

fails to impress.

their beautiful colours will transport

just launched a capsule collection which will be out this spring. Its shop at the Quatre Temps shopping centre, with two floors for clothes, is a mandatory visit on any shopping tour worth its salt.

and tradition. Local dishes prevail and rely on what is available at the

Text: MARCO MALIBRAN

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ARCHITECTURE

aura

Milanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Constant change is one

of Milanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s permanent qualities: a city where fashion, architecture, design and gastronomy have an important international operations base. This year Milan is home to a Universal Expo devoted to food, with pavilions that have been designed by major architecture firms. The ME Milan Il Duca hotel joined in this passion for architecture and restored a building by STYLE

the great architect, Aldo Rossi.

Text: MARISA SANTAMARÍA Photos: MARCELA CABAL / ALEX DEL RÍO

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A view from the terrace of the ME Milan Il Duca, on the hotel’s 10th floor – the only rooftop bar a with lounge and terrace in the area of Piazza della Repubblica..

Just a few minutes from the quadrilattero della moda and the modern Corso Como, the hotel has become a meeting point (to see and be seenin) for the fashion world. Its innovative design, cosmopolitan ambience and contemporary music make this hotel very unique.

his versatile and contemporary city has

not lost the imposing appearance of the city where prominent Italian families, such as the Visconti, or the Sforza, have lived since the Middle Ages. These families share the honour of having contributed to the history, architecture and culture of the early days of the city right up to today. The Duomo marked the outset of the city’s splendour and everything happens, everything revolves, in unending cycles of time around this cathedral. THE FEEL OF MILAN CHANGES several times during the year – its streets, its churches, its cafés… they all calmly witness the bustle and hustle of people and celebrities from all over the world who crowd the city and shake it up with their comings and goings for a few days, and then it returns to its ageless peacefulness again. Milan Fashion Week (fechas) blazes onto the scene twice a year – fashion being one of the country’s economic engines –, and attracts thousands of international visitors who are keen to attend its exclusive presentations and its much awaited fashion shows and glamorous parties. Another of Milan’s big annual events should also be highlighted: the Salone del Mobile, showcasing all the new developments in design for interior spaces, furniture and the objects that surround our daily lives. This event, held once a year in midApril, literally floods the city with visitors from all five continents: designers, architects, businessmen, publishers, salespeople… They come and go to and from the Fiera, a major exhibition centre designed by the architect Fuksas. But the power of the new

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LIFESTYLE ALLA MILANESE If you want to feel like a Milanese local, you should experience some of the most typical things in this city such as seeing the view from the Duomo rooftop, listening to an opera at La Scala, visiting the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, the Brera Art Gallery and admiring The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci. Don’t forget to go into Sant’Ambrogio Church, a 13th-century wonder, or see a temporary exhibition at the Palazzo Reale. You can then focus on the modern era and return to today, venturing into the well-known Villa Necchi – a villa from the 40s with a remarkable collection of contemporary art. Visit the Triennale and the new Novecento Museum in the heart of the Piazza del Duomo or – alternatively – the Hangar Bicocca, Above, Milan’s Cathedral’s beautiful profusion of finials and tracery. Right, the lively atmosphere of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, and below, window display at a Pirelli shop.

the old Pirelli factory and now a contemporary art centre. If you want to go shopping just like the locals, first visit the Vittorio Emanuele Gallery and then get into the swing of things by going to Via Monte Napoleone or Vía Sant’Andrea, without forgetting to walk down the pedestrian street of Corso Como, where the famous eponymous “Concept Store” is located. Milan embodies the search for what is new, for talent in art, photography, books, magazines, for the latest music, objects and fashion from all over the world, and all this can be found in this “active and vibrantly decadent” city.

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creations and their innovative quality radiates throughout the whole city via a parallel event called Fuori Salone. Every piazza, every building – both historical and modern – every art gallery, theatres, courtyards – and even many private homes – host presentations by designers, new brands, installations by artists involved in the field of design. The whole city throws itself into this expo and opens itself up. Generally speaking, these are not exclusive events with a guest list at the door. You can wander around the city and come across design projects as well as designers everywhere. In addition, this year, and for the first time, another big international event is to be celebrated in Milan: the Universal EXPO 2015 (www.expo2015.org), focussing on gastronomy, another of the driving forces that attracts visitors to Italy. Its motto is “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.” TAKING THE BATON FROM SHANGHAI, this year Milan hosts this second Clockwise from top to bottom, the hotel’s main façade (with has kept the classic design by architect Aldo Rossi), entrance to the building and lobby (the hotel has become an urban haven in the heart of this cosmopolitan city).

edition that will be open for six months, from 1st May to 31st October, and expects to welcome 20 million visitors. One hundred and forty-four countries will gather here to discuss, among many other topics, the entire planet’s right to healthy and nourishing food, and the best ways of communicating and making people aware of the pressing need to eradicate the hunger, thirst and child malnutrition suffered today by 850 million people worldwide. All participating countries have agreed to give priority to the need to guarantee everybody quality food and agricultural products that respect local farming traditions while incorporating scientific and technological innovations. In addition, an incredibly wide range of culinary specialities from all over the world will be available for the public to enjoy. Another highlight of the Expo is certainly the ephemeral exhibition of contemporary architecture and design that it showcases. Architects Jacques Herzog, Mark Rylander, Ricky Burdett, Stefano

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Boeri and William McDonough have designed a

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master plan consisting of a biodiversity park; an area devoted to cultivating different varieties of Below, a drawing by well-known Italian architect Aldo Rossi of the building’s façade (on the left). Bottom, architect Álvaro Sans – designer of the new ME Milan Il Duca hotel. On the right, clockwise, from top to bottom, inside the ME Milan's lobby; STK restaurant; a coktail at the hotel's bar; terrace inside the hotel; the rooftop restaurant.

edible plants in which the pavilions of the different countries each have their own space. The biggest pavilion of all will be that of the host country, Italy. Designed by architecture studio Nemesis, it covers 13,000 square metres. A fully sustainable building, it is wrapped in an intricate design of shapes resembling branches. This reticulated, six-floor structure was built out of 900 “i.active BIODYNAMIC” cement panels that “capture” the pollutants in the air, turning them into inert salts. While it purifies the surrounding atmosphere, the pavilion also generates energy thanks to its glass solar panels. Visitors can find details about the Expo and practical information to prepare their trip at www. wonderfulexpo2015.info. Milan and all of Lombardy will offer over 60,000 events with concerts, operas, culinary meetings, plus Alla Vita!, the Cirque du Soleil show designed exclusively for the 2015 Expo Milano. Among all these expressions of creativity in which Milan shows off its most innovative side, the recent opening of a great hotel in the heart of the city centre – the ME Milan Il Duca – was another architectural dream. The refurbishment of the ME Milan, the work for which was coordinated by architect Álvaro Sans, was carried out with absolute respect for the design of the outstanding Italian architect, Aldo Rossi: a benchmark project that

the

architect

himself

qualified as poetic. ALDO ROSSI died suddenly in 1997, leaving behind this masterpiece of modern architecture for the city. Rossi, born in 1931, was awarded a Pritzker Prize in 1990 for his important professional career, STYLE

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and he is often described as a poet who became

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an architect by chance. Moreover, he was also an industrial designer and created interesting items of furniture for Artemide and for Molteni & C. “For this restoration project, we wanted to collaborate with Arassociati, the studio of the late Rossi, bestowing each room with the classicism of Italian design. In the end, it has become a true museum of the history of Italian design. Each floor features a designer and some of their most representative pieces: Aldo Rossi, Gio Ponti, Caccia Dominioni, Achille Castiglioni, Franco Albini, Ignazio Gardella, Vico Magistretti, Joe Colombo, Marco Zanuso, Guglielmo Ulrich,” comments the coordinator of the whole project, architect Álvaro Sans.

Above, a view of the hotel’s façade. Opposite, one of the hotel’s 34 suites with fantastic views of the Piazza della Repubblica. Below, another view of the suite (there are six types of suite) with a luxurious bathroom.

THE HOTEL’S FAÇADE respects the design of the well-known Milanese architect Aldo Rossi (the old Duca di Milano hotel, refurbished and converted to the current ME Milan Il Duca hotel) and is a masterpiece of modern architecture. Rossi, born in 1931, acquired great international acclaim and received a Pritzker Prize in 1990, when he was described as “a poet turned architect”, because he was also a designer, theoretician, lecturer and creator of different works. Above all, he was one of the great ideological and aesthetical renovators of today’s architecture, thanks to his metaphysical

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poetry and his passion for geometry.

HOTEL ME MILAN IL DUCA The ME Milan Il Duca, a new icon in Milan, has 132 rooms – of which 33 are suites and one is an exclusive ME Suite.There are two bars – a lounge bar and the one at the rooftop-terrace-penthouse of the “Suite ME” – a restaurant, and meeting and conference rooms. Inside, guests will find a peaceful haven.The hotel has an “Aura Manager” that highlights its concern for the wellbeing of its guests, and provides a variety of sensorial experiences.A veritable showcase for Italian design, it reflects the atmosphere of a big, dynamic city.The rooftop bar is the heart of the entertainment offered by the hotel. It has spectacular views of the city – including the Garibaldi Towers. It will be called Suite ME and will be a bar to enjoy some the best aperitivo Milano. According to popular custom, when leaving work at around 7 or 8 pm, instead of heading straight home, the locals stop off at a bar or hotel where great aperitivi are served, along with a delicious cocktail.This meeting point for friends and colleagues is a classic stop for the Milanese – a custom that is easy to acquire to feel like a local. From this rooftop terrace, with a Martini or a typically Milanese caffè shakerato, enjoy delicious specialities such as antipasti, canapés, cheeses, salads, vegetables and all types of bread, delight in your aperitivo and feel like – at least visually – the king of the city. STYLE

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From left to right: the Me Mallorca; the nikki Beach at the Me Mallorca, the sol wave House, the sol Katmandú Park & Resort and the sol antillas Barbados hotel.

The Observatory Meliá Hotels International

sol

a new is RisinG STYLE

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"adapting to changing times like a chameleon, Meliá Hotels International launches an innovative project to transform their quintessential resorts brand – Sol Hotels & Resorts – to meet the expectations of new 21st-century clients. Calviá Beach, the Group’s macro-project for renovating and repositioning a traditional destination with a huge potential, called Magaluf in Mallorca, where Meliá Hotels International has over 3,500 rooms, has become the perfect testing ground for this successful transformation".

Text: ArAnTxA neyrA Photos: DAnIeL BALDA / Dr Illustration: JAIme mArTInez

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verything started in Palma de Mallorca

in 1956, when Gabriel Escarrer rented his first hotel, the Altair, never imagining that his family-run business would become a huge multinational company. Back then, the winds in Europe were favourable for Spain: the peseta offered a competitive exchange rate, and the bright sun and pristine beaches of this fledgling destination would turn Mallorca into a fashionable holiday place for tourists from Northern and Central Europe. Escarrer, with his good nose for business, was soon able to see the new possibilities. That was how the first and succesful expansion of the Sol Meliá brand began in the 60s: first, modestly in Mallorca, followed by the Canary Islands, and then on the coasts of peninsular Spain. As the company grew, it developed other brands that emerged to satisfy the new needs of travellers who demanded services different from holiday resorts, such as urban hotels (which today represent as much as 39% of the group’s portfolio). The next obvious step was the company’s international expansion. That happened in 1986, with the first opening outside Spain: specifically, on the island of Bali. Almost thirty years and 370 hotels later, Meliá operates on four continents and is the indisputable leader in Spain. It is also now consolidated as one of the world’s major hotel groups. In addition to Escarrer’s entrepreneurial flair, the success of Meliá Hotels International can be attributed to

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its chameleonic ability to adapt: to “all that agile ducking

Right, photo of the ME Mallorca taken from the Antillas Barbados hotel. Above, the hotel’s beachfront location, on Calviá Beach.

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Above, various views of the Nikki Beach, one of the best beach clubs in the world, next to the ME Mallorca. Right, the swimming pool at the ME Mallorca, and the interior of one of its rooms.

and weaving” at the right moment that has led it to always know how to adapt and anticipate the wishes of its clients – to, in a nutshell, be clearly and firmly committed to innovation that has enabled it to maintain its leadership.

Calviá BeaCh:the laBoratory

n a move that was a clear call for expansion, the Sol Meliá brand issued a powerful statement of intent in 2011 when it changed its original name

to Meliá Hotels International. A year later, and in line

The Project began in 2012, when the Company

with the globalisation of tourism and with the changing

realized that the reality of Magaluf ’s tourism was based

habits and expectations of present and future clients, it

on an obsolete and unsustainable model. Despite its

decided to embark on a total renovation of Sol Hotels &

natural beauty, its wonderful location in the south-

Resorts, its doyenne and the group’s most classic brand

west coast of Mallorca, and its enormous potential, the

– its holiday hotels par excellence. The challenge was to

destination´s reputation and its profitability has suffered

adapt the sun-and-beach concept to today and, just as

from a sustained decay for the latest years. Only Meliá,

the company has already achieved with its urban hotels,

as the dominant player in the area, could jumpstart the

offer more distinctively differentiated, attractive and competitive brand characteristics for these seaside locations, also trying to diversify its source markets and its sales channels. Calviá Beach, a completely global and innovative project whose goal was

all local players. For the company to exit this dead-end an agreement was necessary among the many players involved (local taxi drivers, hotels, restaurants…) as well as dealing with a sea of red tape;

Magaluf a second youth, was the perfect

this could only be achieved through a

with the transformation both of the hotels owned by the chain in this area under the Sol 112

achieved the necessary social consensus from

to offer a traditional product such as laboratory with which to experiment

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necessary process of change, and then the company

Hotels & Resorts brand, and of the destination itself.

partnership between the public and the private sectors. Meliá Hotels International and its partners provided the capital, and the Government of the Balearic Islands granted

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were the project’s main goals. To promote its personality, to embrace a contemporary design and offer bespoke experiences were the goals of the Sol Hotels & Resorts. In 2012, the opening of the Sol Wave House, strongly geared towards the client and with a surfing atmosphere, marked the project’s beginning. In order to adapt to all types of 21st-century travellers, four different concepts of hotels and resorts were created under the umbrella of the Sol Hotels & Resorts brand. While the Sol House niche was aimed at the growing sector of millennials – who want affordable holidays that include design and lifestyle experiences and interaction with technology – Sol Hotels are the new version of the traditional holiday resort for the general public, and in particular for families. The Above, the Sol Katmandú Park & Resort, comprising its theme park, and two amusement park rides. Right, the ME Mallorca’s swimming pool.

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the Calviá Beach project the label of “Of interest to the

Sol Katmandú Park & Resort is fully integrated within a

Autonomous Community” – which was a crucial step that

theme park and focuses on the innovative ‘play & stay’

guaranteed legal certainty, legislative stability and the

philosophy which puts experiences above everything

incentives needed to attract investment.

else. Lastly, the Sol Beach House, designed to be “your

The integration of Magaluf into its surroundings, its

beach home”, caters for people over 16 who seek a

repositioning as a cool resort destination, its economic and

relaxed holiday with a hippie-chic style that combines

environmental sustainability, the improvements offered

modernity with a vintage touch. Away from Mallorca,

to residents and the extension of the holiday season

the Sol Ibiza has become the new Sol Beach House Ibiza,

A resort thAt generAtes revenue And employment The loss of hundreds of jobs was another consequence of the decay experienced by the destination of Magaluf.The new CalviĂĄ Beach project turned this situation around. More than â&#x201A;Ź100 million were devoted to the renovation and adaptation of the hotels that make up the project and its leisure centres.The group of CalviĂĄ Beach hotels and other businesses employs 829 people during the holiday season. In 2013 alone, it generated 100 jobs, improving the professional level of staff and levels of service, labour stability and salaries. In all, 200 companies were involved in re-building and fitting out the entire resort. Furthermore, the revenue increased for all the properties, average room rates grew by over 20%, and the tourist source have diversified, as well as on-line bookings.

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Different views of the Sol Wave House, the resort that marked the Calviá Beach project’s beginning. If offers a holiday concept based on design and lifestyle.

and the Sol Menorca is now the Sol Beach House Menorca. All share a number of common elements: they are located on the beach front, have lagoon-shaped swimming pools, a programme of leisure activities for each segment and culinary options: new buffets, snack bars, drinks, menus, and also share a lifestyle and the aim to offer unique experiences to its clients, which has been unprecedented so far for traditional seaside hotels.

as being the first hotel in the Balearic Islands to become one of the Leading Hotels of the World), appreciated

InternatIonal Investors

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greatly in value with an increase of 300% on the average

he power of these brands, the projection of this

room price. In turn, Avenue Capital Group is involved

innovative project and the solvency and expertise

both in the Calviá Beach project and the ownership of

of Meliá Hotels International have attracted

other hotels with repositioning plans.

major international investors such as London & Regional

Starwood Group bought 80% of seven of the company’s

Properties, Avenue Capital Group and Starwood Capital

largest resorts for 176 million euros, with Meliá owning the

Group which, for the first time have entered the business

remaining 20% and which also has kept the management

of holiday hotels – a market niche that had not been of

of the hotels. This is just the beginning of an important

interest for these companies until now.

partnership as, over the next two years, this joint venture

British London & Regional Properties and Meliá created

will invest a further 30 million euros in the renovation

a joint venture to transform Ibiza's former Sol S'Argamassa

of resorts and the rejuvenation of the Sol Hotels &

hotel – now the new ME Ibiza – which over the past year,

Resorts brand. This affords both companies an excellent

apart from obtaining important prizes and awards (such

opportunity for expanding into other markets. Meliá Hotels International once again demonstrates, via this project, its groundbreaking character and its commitment to innovation, consolidating itself as a pioneer in the transformation of the resort segment in which it has always maintained its leading international position.

Profits all around The modernisation of the brand, and the whole Calviรก Beach project, not only addressed matters of non-sustainability, but also the quest for product profitability. Evolving towards segments with higher purchasing power and attracting new types of clients was essential.The transformation towards a higher quality segment (4 stars) gave the hotels themselves a boost with local businesses benefitting too. The improvement of the urban and social surroundings thanks to the creation of pedestrian areas, the new infrastructures built and the offer of quality hotels increased the value of the real state and resulted in a rise of visitors to the area from tourist source markets such as Scandinavia, Germany, Russia, France, etc.

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The Observatory / I n T e rv I e w

Gabriel escarrer vIce chaIrman and ceO of melIá hOTels InTernaTIOnal

“Thanks to Calviá Beach, Magaluf has begun to receive a new, more demanding and profitable, type of clientele.”

abriel Escarrer Jaume (Palma, 1971), head of Meliá Hotels International’s intensive plan for international expansion, has managed to position the Mallorcan Group as the third hotel group in Europe and the 20th on a

global level, with 370 establishments all over the world. CEO of a family-grown company, listed on the Stock Exchange since 1996, in his youth he spent the summers working as an intern in different departments of the Group's hotels and after graduating from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, he gained experience in investment banking in Wall Street before joining the company. Hence his in-depth knowledge of the business. In 2014, Gabriel Escarrer was recognised as Best CEO of the Year by both the European Hospitality Awards and Condé Nast's Traveler Reader's Choice Awards. Text: ARANTxA NEYRA Photos: DANIEL BALDA

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The Vice President and CEO of Meliรก Hotels International, at the designer terrace of the Sol Wave House hotel.

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The Observatory I n T e rv I e W

You are the youngest of six siblings. However, you are the only one who followed the path of the Meliá Hotels International’s founder. How do you remember your childhood, immersed as you were in the world of the hotel industry?

For me, this calling was almost unavoidable. I remember spending every Sunday with my father, visiting hotels, and even as a young child, I could not imagine a more fun way to spend the weekends. When my friends told me that they had been skiing or had been to the countryside, I proudly told them in great detail about my visits to hotels. They say you have a real love for your profession. At what moment in your life did you feel that this was really your calling?

I believe that I’ve always felt a passion for the hotel industry and our family business. For us, it’s much more than just a business: it’s also a long-term family project. In fact, the years I spent working in investment banking on

tourism model has been a great strategic success. It has

Wall Street provided me with the financial acumen that

also enabled us to address similar processes for other

was a very important part of my training, and at the same

well-worn products, positioning ourselves, once again,

time it also confirmed my passion for the hotel industry.

on the cutting edge of the holiday sector.

The transformation of the Sol brand and the creation of Calviá Beach have been very clever moves.

required bringing together many elements.And it worked

What does this challenge mean, both professionally

largely thanks to a public-private formula. How did it all

and in personal terms, for you?

start? What elements were taken into account?

Personally and in family terms, a project like Calviá

concentrated in this area, but even so, a single company

with a responsible and sustainable business approach

cannot achieve the transformation of a destination

– has been a dream come true: we have given back to

like Magaluf which is such a complex type of tourist

Magaluf, the destination where our family began to grow

business. As we were also aware that it was not a good

50 years ago, the role it deserves in the world of tourism.

moment for either public or private investment (in the

In addition, the re-launch of the Sol brand, the doyenne

midst of the economic recession), we opted to promote

of our holiday hotels brand, has been successfully

a close partnership with public authorities: we provided

implemented adapting a sector such as holidays hotels

the innovation, the investment and the assets, and

– the most important on an international level – to new

sought international investment partners, while the

travel and shopping habits and demands, and to a new

Government of the Balearic Islands and the Council

profile of clientele.

of Calviá established the legislative, regulatory and

In professional terms, I can proudly say, on behalf restructuring of Magaluf making the most of it by

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Exactly, Meliá had a large number of hotels

Beach – aimed at restructuring a well-worn destination

of my team as well, that our decision to launch the

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Besides requiring serious investment, the transformation

administrative measures to guarantee the necessary legal security and to incentivise investors. I must say, it has not been easy, but the result has been

innovating and diversifying our product and by

extremely successful. When the authorities contributed

implementing Sol’s new brand concepts to improve

to generate trust to make easier for us to obtain

the hotels themselves to change a somewhat obsolete

investments, we were able to generate projects that were very attractive. How have the Mallorcan people and the island’s authorities taken this restructuring – which affects even the landscape?

I think that Mallorcan people in general are proud

Mediterranean or in North Africa. With regard to environmental sustainability, the hotels that were renewed and refurbished in Magaluf are already fulfilling the new

The view from a balcony of a room at the Sol Antillas Barbados hotel, overlooking the Bay of Palma de Mallorca.

environmental, building, energy management, and waste management standards, etc. This has positive effects on the environment, such as emissions reduction. In addition, the Calviá Beach project has substantially improved the management of the beaches in collaboration with the public authorities, and we support all actions aimed at preserving and recovering the sea’s diversity. We also collaborate in the joint cleaning of the beach – one of the best in Mallorca. of the project, especially as they see it as a pioneering example that can be applied to other well-worn destinations. In particular, the residents living in the area

How did you attract well-known international brands to join the project? Was there a “snowball” effect?

On the one hand, we believed from the start that our

welcomed us with open arms: the open-door day, when

initiative would generate a “snowball” effect, and in

we presented our project was very warmly received.

Calviá Beach it is evident that many small businesses

Today, four years on, people notice the improvement

were committed to the restructuring and they invested

in the area, the change in the type of tourist – with an

to a small or medium extent – and also, unarguably,

increase in their purchasing power – and they can be

profited from it. We believe that this “positive contagion”

proud once again of living and working in a wonderful

effect should be spontaneous, and in fact businesses very

Mediterranean community like Magaluf.

quickly showed their willingness to get on board this

The new Magaluf has already shown a much more

idea of quality and hope for the future… Today there

beautiful and welcoming face, even in newspapers

are plans to build new hotels and quality developments,

like the Financial Times or The Daily Tlegraph, Bild,

and Magaluf ’s new promenade is almost finished. It will

etc. Furthermore, the change can be noticed in the

afford harmony to the seafront and beyond it too, thanks

destination's clientele, its image, profitability; we can

to quality surroundings, etc.

proudly say that we are indeed giving this beautiful destination a second chance. What role has economic sustainability played – how

On the other hand, our search for international partners and prestigious brands for the fields of leisure, restaurants, fashion, etc., has been – and is being –

important has it been? What about environmental

very satisfactory and select, never losing our focus on

sustainability?

the quality and the product diversification offered by

Obviously, a crucial role: the project started at a critical

Magaluf, in particular for market segments such as

time after several years of economic recession, so we

families, adults and young tourists. Top brands have

had to "renovate or die". Thus, it was very clear that we

established themselves in the area for each of these

had to “renew or die”. For us, hoteliers with a dominant

segments, like the Nikki Beach, Mallorca Rocks, Wave

position in the area, it was evident that adding quality to

House, Katmandú Park, Desigual, Quicksilver, famous

this destination would yield good revenue for businesses

concert organisers, etc.

and would enable the conservation and management of the destination – which was essential if we wanted our business in the area to be a sustainable one, and no longer threatened by the more or less aggressive competition posed by other emerging beach destinations in the

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The Observatory I n T e rv I e W

Universities are studying this phenomenon.What has

our group has already renewed the hotels in the south

Group on an international level?

west of Ibiza – the ME Ibiza and the Sol Beach House

The project has revolutionised our group, not only due

“virtuous circle” for these islands. Moreover, we never

because for MHI, Calviá Beach has a threefold meaning:

stop planning to renovate and adapt our hotel to the

back into depreciated assets and making them leading products again. Secondly, a very important personal and familyoriented meaning, as Magaluf was where my family spent the summers and where my father built his

new clients' demand, to add value to our assets and to our clientele. In the transformation of holiday resorts, in which you are leaders, what successful elements from urban hotels have been taken into account?

The transformation is based on evolving the resorts

first big hotels which were very well received by tourists

and offering service geared towards our clienteles’

from Central and Northern Europe and had a great

expectations so that they no longer make their choice

reputation; Magaluf was a leading destination for

with only price in mind. By personalising our holiday

decades.

hotels we can cater to guests whose profiles and

Thirdly, a sense of social commitment and

aspirations we know today, and we can thus maximise

responsibility towards the community: if the trend had

their satisfaction, their loyalty and our products’

continued, the hotels would have gradually closed, and

profitability.

the spiral of loss in quality and prestige, plus the drop

It is a similar evolution to that experienced by urban

in price, with the “all-inclusive low-cost” model, would

hotels where brands have been created for very defined

have led to a total loss of profitability. Investing in other

clients' profiles who seek and freely choose their own

destinations would certainly have been safer, but we are

experience, and not a mere “stopover” in a given city.

Mallorcan, and we are aware of Magaluf ’s beauty and

The Internet has made this personalisation easier and

potential so we decided to bet on this destination.

allows us to get to know our clients, knowing that they

Today we are glad to say that we are winning this

will choose us if we meet their expectations. Within this

bet, and our hotels have not only remained open but

very great change, we’ve also been able to create a new

their categories have improved and they have hired

“urban resort” concept based on expanding travellers’

more staff. The source markets of our clientele have

experiences so that they also enjoy the leisure and tourist

diversified – also diversifying the risk – and the “vicious

offerings of the cities they visit.

circle” has been replaced by a “virtuous circle” where investment attracts brands, which in turn attract clients, which in turn add prestige to the destination and

Where does the path for the MHI group lead? What are its goals?

As a family company with strong values and long-term

expand its profitability, as well as improving the quality

vision, we want to maintain our commitment to all our

of life and the expectations of the entire community

interest groups. We thus need to keep on growing and

for the future.

consolidating, while at the same time providing value via

Can this model for optimisation from Mallorca be used in other parts of the world to make other tourist areas more pleasant, sustainable and liveable?

Certainly. The project has precedents such as

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Ibiza – and in Menorca, generating the same type of

to the extraordinary innovation that it represents, but Firstly, a sense of business; of putting value

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destinations in our country. Thus, on a lesser scale,

your leading role in this transformation meant for the MHI

responsible commitment. Our strategy aims, among other things, to continue to progress in our fast-paced internationalisation, positioning ourselves ever more in upmarket and

the renovation of Miami Beach in the ‘90s – a tired

premium sectors, reinforcing our international leadership

destination that has become one of the coolest and most

in the resort sector. We also aim to consolidate our

sought-after places to live in and to holiday in in the

reputation and position as a benchmark hotel company as

United States. And it is also applicable to other tired

well as becoming the ideal option for the management of non MHI-owned hotels worldwide based on our knowhow and excellent systems, drawing from the strength and values of our hotel brands: Paradisus Resorts, Gran Meliá, ME by Meliá, Meliá Hotels, Innside by Meliá, Tryp by Wyndham and Sol Hoteles & Resorts.

“By personalising our holiday hotels we can cater to guests whose profiles and aspirations we know today, and we can thus maximise their satisfaction, their loyalty and our products’ profitability.”

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TRENDY

For one year now, the top star of this magic island has been the stunning beaches close to Santa Eulalia.We visited the ME Ibiza hotel and discovered why it has become the new international must-stay. STYLE

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cult

THE NEW IBIZA

Text: SANDRA DEL RÍO Photos: ALEX DEL RÍO, DANIEL BALDA, D.R.

360º-views to the bay from the exclusive The Rooftop swimming pool at Hotel ME Ibiza. Fresh seafood, delicious cocktails and live music will be perfect company for you. In addition, it offers SkinC – the most refreshing spa experience.

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“ME by Meliá is a reputed brand – a brand that pays total attention to the smallest details, starting with our guests’ privacy. We don’t allow photographers

biza is in fashion, and this is an already well-known fact by most

people. It is no longer a secret that it is a favourite summer destination for clubbers and worshippers of the night. As a meeting point for the world’s most beautiful jet-setters, it has also been a magnet for photographers. But its new value, now starting to bloom, is the side of Ibiza that – without forgoing music or nightlife – involves the beauty of its places, the intoxicating magic of its coves and paths. Santa Eulalia is an inviting village, starting with the Puig d’en Missa, a white church perched on a hill – lit at night, it is suggestive of the start of a voyage towards the true spirit of Ibiza. The essence of this part of the island is the union of the sea with soft hills dotted with pine and juniper, its cultivated fields, and the small flocks of sheep. The Santa Eulalia’s beaches are coves where the green of nature gives way to the sand, creating a balanced landscape. Santa Eulalia also has nightlife – but it is gentler, more elegant. The most iconic hippy street-markets in the world – Es Canar and Las Dalias – are here, as

at our parties and events: we don’t make use of the celebrities who stay here: we do not want that kind of publicity. We are a first-class international brand. ”

well as good restaurants and the man who can explain the phenomenon of

RENÉ HOELTSCHL GENERAL MANAGER

diving school.

the ME Ibiza – a new venture that has made the trendiest people dream of coming to a pristine and fun-filled Ibiza. René Hoeltschl is the General Manager of this hotel, located at Urbanización S’Argamassa. Surrounded by the gorgeous sea of the Cala Martina, it is one of the least built up areas on the island and the cove has three beach bars and a The ME Ibiza hotel is impressive while being delicate. Imposing but trendy. It emanates a feeling of solidity and good design. Its structure, after a complete renovation of the original hotel – a Sol Hotels & Resorts establishment and iconic in Ibiza in the 70s – combines efficiency with a modern look for both the public and private areas. Glass affords spaciousness and light. Large areas

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were devoted to two swimming pools: one with a chillout area, and another

On the left, two views of the real Ibiza: the church of Santa Eulalia surrounded by pines and a rustic image of life on the island.

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Above these lines, a one hundred-year-old olive tree. Left, terrace of an ME Suite, and above, terrace of a Passion Suite Room.

In the Suite Chic (right) design is the star. From its private terrace, it has magnificent views of Nikki Beach and the marina bay. Below, different details of a Suite Chic, such as the large-sized rain shower, and toiletries by Apivita.

for children. On the rooftop is its Skinc Spa, as iconic as its restaurant – which is devoted to signature cuisine and allows you to dine while listening to live music and gazing at Ibiza’s wonderfully endless horizon. White on white. A taste for a kind of minimalism that does not equal emptiness but leaves room to feel free. The latest thing in good taste. And all of it very close to the peace of Santa Eulalia. “ME by Meliá is a reputed brand – a brand that pays total attention to the smallest details, starting with our guests’ privacy. We don’t allow photographers at our parties and events: we don’t make use of the celebrities who stay here: we do not want that kind of publicity. We are a first-class international brand. The ME Ibiza has been, right from the start a year ago, a Leading Hotel of The World. It is a luxury five-star hotel set to become a resort – which we have already achieved, as our results show. We want to offer understated luxury. Our guests can linger by the pool while a DJ plays live music and, if they feel like hearing more, there’s our Nikky Beach, where music, performances and the good life all go hand in hand.” Together, but separate, ME Ibiza and Nikky Beach make a good pair on an island where, even though electronic music might not be the first thing to come to mind, in the end it becomes an option to consider. STYLE

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The beaches in Santa Eulalia are gorgeous, and the hotel

WHAT TO DO IN MAGICAL IBIZA The second city on the island discovered its secrets only bit by bit. First came the Es Canar markets (every Wednesday of the year), and even before these, there was Can Anneta, a small restaurant frequented by hippies in the 60s and 70s (in the plaza of San Carlos, a charming little typical village), and where you can still get the best fried eggs and potatoes on the island. Later came the Las Dalias market, today a world benchmark and that has already celebrated 25 successful years (every

be a magical island, and its pure clay was believed to ward

Saturday of the year.At Easter and Christmas for the whole

off venom. (Roman emperors had their wine jars made of

week). Sant Joan has its own market every Sunday where

clay from Ibiza to avoid being poisoned.) At the crossroads

antiques and organically grown food are sold side by side.

of Sant Joan and the road to Ibiza are the headquarters of

To eat, try the beach bars of Cala Martina; those in Cala

a very special fashion brand, World Family Ibiza. It

Boix; and in Pou des Lleo, try the excellent eatery called

is worth the while stopping to have a look: these are

Salvador that serves bullit de peix. Many artists have

garments that define a unique feeling. La Paloma, an

settled in Santa Eulalia and there are always private

Italian restaurant on the road from Sant Joan to Ibiza

exhibitions by painters and sculptors, as well as potters

Town, is always a very pleasant place to enjoy dinner in

and glass craftspeople.There is always a good chance

its gardens.And on the same road, Hierbas de Ibiza sells

of finding a unique piece of art at a good price. Going

the best salts, creams and colognes on the island, and is

towards the faraway beach of San Vicente, you should

already famous half-way round the world.

stop and walk (an ascent of over one kilometre) to Es Culleram, a Punic sanctuary devoted to the goddess Tanit.They say that this sanctuary, situated in a cave, was a pilgrimage site where people in ancient times came from all over the Mediterranean. Ibiza was thought to

Clockwise, Ibizan jewellery designs by Elisa Pomar; a bust of the Ibizan goddess Tanit, of Carthaginian origin; stones to mark energy points; archaeological remains from Phoenician and Punic Ibiza; the atmosphere at the Las Dalias street market, and almond blossom. Below, a delicious Ibizan herb liqueur.

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carefully designed the accesses to the pier and the gardens. Both are so close that you can lie reading with your feet almost in the water. Gastronomy, which was never much of a priority in Ibiza, has found in the ME Ibiza the perfect foodie world. Light brunches and lunches are served by the swimming pool, and the rooftop restaurant offers romantic dinners, signature cocktails and a menu of Mediterranean inspiration. In the ME Ibiza everything is designed and done with respect for the private space Very cool lightning for sunset at The Rooftop of the ME Ibiza hotel. Far right, the shisha corner. Below, a view of Nikki Beach. Right, a detail of a Bali bed at The Rooftop and a general view of the hotel.

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of each guest. Some of them are young people who want action. Others are couples who search for total privacy. Or families who meet here for a fun getaway after the winter is over. Executives can find the relaxation and detoxation they need here. “All this in a well-kept setting, part the extremely perfectionist brand that ME by Meliá is. Another, different side to our hotel is that we want to extend the season: we will open from April to October. Ibiza’s climate is perfect for getaways and weekends outside the peak summer months. Most hotels ignore this – we will count on it.”

HOTEL ME IBIZA With 179 rooms and 26 suites decorated in a minimalist Ibizan style, ME Ibiza offers a luxury experience.The hotel is designed to live exclusive experiences right from the moment you are preparing to leave your point of origin: if you need a fully-equipped first-class private jet, the ME Ibiza has a crew that will collect and take you to your destination.The hotel’s white Range Rovers will take you from the airport to the hotel. In addition, anything you wish for can come true thanks to the Aura Manager (a service available for guests staying in an ME Suite). If you feel like visiting another island, you can go to Formentera by motor boat from the hotel’s pier, returning in the evening after a wonderful day.And, if you are travelling with a pet, it will also have a unique experience at this hotel, as everybody at the ME Ibiza, whether human or animal, is considered a VIP. Finally, don’t leave without enjoying the rooftop Skinc Spa, with exclusive treatments and massages and 360º-views. Urbanización S'Argamassa; Santa Eulalia del Río; www.melia.com.

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25YEARS

OF MELIÁ IN CUBA

In 1990, Meliá Hotels International decided to start operating on the so-called “pearl of the Caribbean”, a courageous decision that, according to his players, was one of the best they have ever taken.

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Above these lines, a view of the paradise-like beach of Paradisus Rio de Oro, a luxury resort located within the Bahía de Naranjo Natural Park, in Playa Esmeralda, on the north coast of the Holguín province. A five-star, all-included eco-resort with 354 rooms and excellent service. Designed to be adults-only, it offers its Royal Service for a fantastic, exclusive experience. Right, from top to bottom, the Paradisus Princesa del Mar, gardens and swimming pool; façade of the hotel, and restaurant by the swimming pool of the Meliá Cohiba.

wenty-five years ago, Cuba, once known

as 'The Pearl of the Caribbean' already understood the importance of the tourism industry for the country's future and it decided to adopt a sustainable tourism development model. Meliá Hotels International –formerly Sol Meliá– with its impeccable track-record and exprience, was able to guarantee the necessary quality hotel structure for the country. The company’s president, Gabriel Escarrer, successfully conveyed the values and strengths that it could provide to Cuba’s tourism. And that is what happened. Today, twenty-five years on, this relationship still bears fruit. Meliá Hotels International is the leading hotel company operating in Cuba and has 27 hotels, 13,000 rooms and over 10,000 employees. One of its most emblematic hotels, and one which represents this love story like no other, is the Meliá Cohiba, close to Havana’s Malecón.

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Above, the vast beach of Paradisus Varadero, a destination where Meliá Cuba offers a wide range of hotels. Below, Meliá Jardines del Rey in Cayo Coco, whose design recreates a sugar cane plantation combined with the contemporary style of the main building and a tree-lined path that goes from the lobby to the beach.

It is now turning 20 and still a true benchmark. MHI also operates hotels of its Sol, Meliá and Paradisus brands in destinations such as Los Cayos, Varadero, Holguin, Havana and Trinidad.

NEW OPENINGS The hotel Group has also enjoyed its 25th anniversary in this Caribbean country, and celebrated it with the opening of two extraordinary hotels:

five-star resort in Cayo Santa María received the 2015

the Meliá Marina Varadero, the only one on the island

Condé Nast Johansens Award for Excellence for Best

with a marina for leisure yachts and with apartments for

Service in the Caribbean. The Yhi Spa at the Royal

long stays; and the Meliá Jardines del Rey that,

Service Paradisus Río de Oro, in the province of Holguín,

since its opening, has become the company’s largest

and the Royal Service Paradisus Princesa del Mar also

resort worldwide.

won awards.

MHI is celebrating the beginning of this new era of the normalisation of relations with the USA. In fact, it

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In addition, the Royal Service Paradisus Varadero was given an award by the same prestigious travel

is from there where some of the

guide. All these awards coincide with the fact that Meliá

latest awards for Meliá Hotels

Hotels International has a bright future on the island and

International’s work in Cuba have

foresees the upgrading of the the country’s hotel offering,

come: the Meliá Buenavista All

adapting it to the needs and tastes of its new clientele

Inclusive Royal Service & Spa, a

with new products and services.

Left below, the Meliá Buenavista (and Royal Service of this resort), in the natural surroundings of Cayo Santa María. Below, two views of the marina of the Meliá Marina Varadero, a five-star hotel for lovers of the sea, also located in an eco-friendly reserve.

A LASTING FRIENDSHIP The President of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, and the Vice President and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, travelled to Cuba to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the company on the island (photos below).The President highlighted this 25-year relationship, and added:“This country has been able to implement sustainable tourist development and now – following the normalisation of its relationship with the United States – faces the new opportunities and challenges of the future from a very strong position, as Cuba’s touristic future – simply put – is glowing with promise”. Regarding the future, he pointed out, “Meliá is keeping its focus on and commitment to Cuba and continues to complement its hotel offering by progressively increasing quality and innovation, as well as adapting to the new demands of international tourism.”

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NiNa MeNocal

art

The doyenne of cubaN arT With her "crazy" heart - as she herself calls it - divided between Cuba and México, this extraordinary woman, born in Havana, maintains her deep love for Cuba via its modern art and through permanent contact with the island: she is one of the undisputed stars of the Havana Biennial, and she talks to us about art, life and her dearest Cuba.

ome time after, i met nina, i

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had the

i know it sounds a little bit twee, i would call her “the

opportunity of accompanying her to mexico’s great art

bridge-woman”. Let me explain myself. When, a few days

fair: zona maco. You should have seen her: she looked

ago i saw how the crème de la crème fell from a footbridge

like a teenager, invariably surprised as she went from

– that had suddenly broken – into a venice canal during a

one gallery to the next, discovering works at the most

visit to the opening of the Prada Foundation’s impressive

unexpected moments. She took notes, asked for prices…

space, i could not help thinking “nina wouldn’t even

it was impossible to take ten steps without a collector,

have touched the water: she moves at such speed that

a gallerist, an artist approaching us to greet her. nina

she would have reached always reached one side or the

menocal’s work consists in presenting works by Cuban

other”. She is the bridge. and that’s nothing to sneeze

artists to collectors under the ninart-Habana label.

at. moreover, she’s been like that for a long time. if there

nina has three loves: her family, her friends and artists

is anything that defines this woman i will meet up with

– and, she insists, “in that order” (she’s never been one to

in a few days as one of the protagonists of the 12th La

mince her words). and then there are, of course, her eyes,

Havana Biennial, i believe it is that the past does not tie

as albita – the singer from Havana who made armani fall

her down, but drives her. it is almost impossible, when

in love in miami – would say: “Stars that escaped from

looking into those all-Cuban eyes – voilá – and hearing

your face, with a tender and pleasant gaze on them”. no,

that soft Havana voice, despite her deep love for her

this is not affected: just descriptive.

second country – mexico – where she lives and has her

everything about nina is a connection: even though

gallery, to imagine how painful her life has been at times.

Text: Carmen reviriego Photos: ana Lorenzana

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The marks the pain has left behind

emperor for his reductionist definition

are hers alone, and she takes great

of sex as the “rubbing together of two

care not to show them. The past, as i

bits of skin” – i am quoting by heart

say, drives her, fills her with life.

– since such expression was similar,

i believe that art is one of the few

the emperor explained, “to reducing

things capable of causing the same

music to the brush of a finger over the

intoxication in human begins as love

strings of a guitar”. nina’s “brush”

does. “For me, art is beauty – she

with art is a sort of promiscuous love

says – and hence, life. Celebrating life

of artists: creatures able to extract from

through art. art has been a material

life the substance with which others

and moral gift for me. my cuban

fall in love. nina's crazy hearts loves

grandmother used to tell me: ‘in

FROM CUBA TO THE WORLD

this highly diverse Cuba as much as

every circumstance, you must learn

Menocal has a degree in Universal

the art that reflects that diversity. Her

to live beautifully.’ That’s why i value

History from the Iberoamericana

legacy, the product of immense effort

flowers at home, a properly set table,

University (UIA), Mexico City, 1988,

and tireless work, tells us that there

candles

where she was a lecturer in

are not two Cuban types of art. There

all, contemporary art: installations,

Contemporary History of Mexico

is a single, diverse Cuba, and a single

paintings, sculptures, photographs.

(1986-1987). She heads Ninart-

art that reflects that diversity.

Contemporary art that comments

La Havana where international

on the feelings of the world in which

collectors visit and get to know the

in mexico exhibited its first solo and

we live, abstract art whose colour,

work of Cuba's greatest artists.

commercial shows, and produced the

everywhere

and,

above

first catalogues of the Cuban artists

shapes and spaces move me.” But hold on, there is more to it, and it is what i believe is the

belonging to “The generation of the 80s” movement:

key to nina’s other side – her executive side – something

artists who had been born, had grown up and lived

shared by all Cubans, everywhere in the world, as ortega

exclusively in the post-revolutionary Cuba. They were

said: making, making, making. “my mom told me –

Tomás Sánchez, José Bedia, arturo Cuenca, glexis novoa,

those magic things of past generations – ‘il faut souffrir

rubén Torres Llorca, rené Francisco y rodríguez… among

pour être belle’, which meant beauty: taking care of your

others. almost immediately afterwards, she organised “15

weight, your skin, exercising – 50 squats every morning –,

Cuban artists”, which was literally a historic exhibition, as

eating well and healthily, brushing your hair 100 times a

it brought together, for the first time in mexico, artists from

day. over time, i learnt that beauty is life, art and culture,

the island and the iconic Cuban-american Félix gonzález

humanism, philanthropy, giving and knowing how to

Torres. in 2004, Denise Dresser named her in gritos y

receive, smiling, being natural and gentle, simple while

Susurros [Shouts and Whispers] as one of the 38 leading

sophisticated. Beauty is a way of looking, of seeing: it is

women in mexico. Four years later, in 2008, german expert

the right way to feel and the right way to love. Beauty is

insider Claudia Herstatt – in her book Women gallerists of

the right way to think; it’s what god has ultimately given

the 20th and 21st Centuries – included her among the 30

us. For me, all beauty is contemporary art; the artists,

most important contemporary art gallerists in the world.

each artist with whom i have worked, i work and i will work; universal culture, and finally, beauty is that which transcends.” “Beautyisthatwhichtranscends.”Thosewhofeeltempted to reduce nina menocal’s activity as a gallerist to that of buying and selling artworks are as wrong as the disciple STYLE

138

Between 1990 and 1993, her gallery

of Hadrian who, said Yourcenar, was criticised by the wise

Do gallerists have a mission?

gallerists don’t exist: what do exist are people in love with their mission – in my case, promoting the art and culture of my two homelands, Cuba and mexico. With the country’s recent opening up… will it lose a little of its freshness?

Cuban artists have always had a brilliant future, just like mexican artists. it’s a story about love and art. A passion.

Well, it’s passion that increases our knowledge, our ability to love, and gives us hope for the unbearable pain and suffering in our world. How can one endure the

pHOtOs: gettyiMages / ageFOtOstOCk.

deaths of Syrian babies? and the earthquake victims in

why an art lover will know where to proceed from there

nepal? How can one live without losing hope, without

very well. To the exhibition by arrechea at Cuba’s national

stopping believing, unless through art, through beauty,

art museum; to the books at the Fayad Jamís book shop,

through all that makes people human.

Calle obispo, of artists Yornel martínez, elizabet Cerviño,

And the question of withstanding the passing of time…

eduardo Ponjuan, glenda León, miler Lagos, Leonardo

What is it that sets that dividing line when it comes to

roque and Sandra Ceballos; to walk along el vedado to

artists?

the University of Havana and the napoleonic museum;

For an artist’s work to withstand the passing of time, it

to the baroque Cathedral in the heart of old Havana

takes an artist with a warm heart and ideas, apart from

and to La merced Church on Calle Cuba – a neoclassic

talent. artists should know that their talent is at the

church where my parents got married; to artist Lidzie

service of others. art as an act of giving oneself to others,

alvisa’s workshop on Calle 64 nº 15 and 17, in Havana’s

giving oneself to people in the deepest sense, giving one’s

Playa neighbourhood; to the morro-Cabaña, to see the

talent by expressing feelings via their art. That is to say,

view of the City of Havana and to exhibitions of work by

artists should be generous with themselves by devoting

Duvier del Dago, Frank martinez, aimée garcía, agustín

themselves to their talent, exerting it, expanding, aspiring

Bejarano, José mesías, rigoberto Díaz martínez, Dayana

to and loving it.

Trigo, ernesto garcía, adislán reyes and mabel Poblet.

The Biennial, Havana… This question is like hand to hand combat: tell me about the essentials.

my favourite place in Havana is the sea. el malecón: if you look up, you’ll see that clouds in Cuba are different from any other clouds that you have ever looked at. That’s

Above, a view of Old Havana. Below, Havana’s baroque cathedral; façade of the Fine art Museum and Church of la Merced.

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ART IN CUBA

A completely new breeze is now blowing over Old Havana’s hundred-year-old Malecón. However, everything is now new in Cuba for the first time in decades, even the 12th edition of Havana’s Art Biennial, a traditional event held last May and organised by the Wilfredo Lam Center for Contemporary Art.

f art galleries have been multiplying on the

Aimée García’s disturbing figurative painting, Carlos

island… now a boom is expected! An example: developer

Montes de Oca’s vibrant abstraction, and the suggestive

and constructor Ron Pizzuti, at 74, owns about 100 works

work by Atelier Morales (Teresa and Juan Luis) – whose

by Cuban artists. Last year he opened a private museum in

tribute to Monet in Venice is unforgettable.

Columbus (Ohio) and its opening exhibition was devoted to Cuban art. “Prices go up as artists exhibit their works more

CARMEN REVIRIEGO is a consultant on collecting and art investment. President of Wealth Advisory Services and Callia Art Fund, she is the author of El laberinto del arte [The Labyrinth of Art], published by Paidós.

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A HOPE-FILLED BIENNIAL

extensively,” he explained to Bloomberg in his statements

One of the most acclaimed works from a former edition

for an article entitled “Wealthy American collectors turn

– prior to this one in May 2015 – was Fly Away, by Arlés

their eyes to the new hot art market of Cuba”.

del Río (Havana, 1975) showing the silhouette of a plane

Art lovers now need to travel to Cuba more than ever

cut out of a chain-link fence. Only a few months later, del

as despite the fact Cuba will always maintain its spirit,

Río held a new exhibition in Times Square, New York:

uniqueness and serene beauty, not

Nearness, another chain-link fence

everything has changed on the

series, this time with more or less

island, nothing will ever be the same

life size human silhouettes that were

again, either. Just like that other island

outlined with an orange, plastic halo.

called Manhattan, Cuba is also a State

In 2014, talking about his work Fly

of Mind, a place where people from

Away, the artist set a clear difference

all over the world come and go, and

between the “idea” – flying – and

that has proven to be an incredibly

the “experience” – cutting the chain-

fertile terrain for quality art.

link fence, thus leaving the way

In 2012, according to Artnet magazine, Sotheby’s sold a

open for others. He could not have guessed the future

1944 piece by Wilfredo Lam – who died in 1982 – for $4.6

role of this comment, as coincidentally, “Between the

million. Lam is the Cuban artist whose work has fetched

Idea and Experience” was the title of the 2015 Biennial –

the most at auction – a market in which six of his works are

an international coming-together exhibiting the best art

among the ten most expensive. Eduardo Roco (“Choco”),

– that has been organised for decades by the Wilfredo

represented by Galería La Habana, is one of the island’s

Lam Centre for Contemporary Art Centre, headed by its

most stable and consolidated talents.

Director Jorge Fernández Torres.

The movement of artwork is also important as proved

Neither the organisers of this 12th edition of Havana’s

by galleries such as Nina Menocal’s, which has exhibited

Biennial knew, when they chose the title (literally taken

from a letter by Goethe to Schopenhauer), that the idea of the “embargo” on the island would give way to a new “experience”, unknown for generations, thanks to the normalisation of flights and people’s freedom of movement to and from the island following Obama and Castro's announcement of the reestablishment of diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba, and the meeting in Panama between Raúl Castro and the American president. Thus, things have turned out this way by accident. Just like the fact that Fly Away was the image chosen by The New York Times to illustrate a travel article for a previous edition of the Biennial. The current curators’ intent, under the art direction of Margarita González Lorente, has been to approach the Biennial as a process in which everything is done in the streets and together with the people. “It is important to delve in the Biennial of today to understand what future challenges might be,” they stated. Some find this approach rather elitist – a criticism repeatedly made about significant contemporary art events. But it is a mistake. Contemporary art can be “dark”, as proven by the controversy aroused by a piece by Wilfredo Prieto exhibited at Madrid’s Arco: Glass Half-full. The Cuban artist, also present at the Biennial, was still surprised – he said – that so many decades after Duchamp, people still “question conceptual art”. The career path of Cuban artists, together with their conceptual work, is in general very profound and it usually comprises drawings, processes, residual or auxiliary art pieces which are art per se and able to please both the most demanding collectors as well as aficionados with more modest budgets. Thus, Map of Silence by the brilliant Alexandre Arrechea, shown at this last edition, is a group of pieces based on recomposed and reordered photographs of buildings made to look like atavistic and African? masks. However, despite their size (some were hung on the façades around the National Museum), they are affordable works, both in emotional and intellectual terms, and for their prices. Buying art at La Bienal is always a party. Professionals and lovers of the art world

Above, Extacionatomía (2015) by Yunier Hernandez, a photograph made up of 25 fragments of text taken from a Cuban coin; Gente y Bandera (2005) by Eduardo Roca; LCEDP (2014) by Los Carpinteros, with a billboard format. Across the page, La Pasta Verde (2003), by Roberto Fabelo, which alludes to the power of money, with the dollar sign on the tips of the fork’s tines. Opposite, Fly Away (2012) by Arlés del Río.These artworks can be seen until 3rd July at Crack, a group exhibition at Havana’s 12th Biennial, at Galería Habana.

attend this event unfailingly. Well-known gallerist Nina Menocal, a true benchmark for Cuban art, never fails to attend and – incidentally – she always stays at the classic Meliá Cohiba (close to Havana's Malecón).

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IMAGINE A DESTINATION. WE ARE ALREADY THERE. Where you would like to be right now? Close your eyes and we’ll be there to offer you a unique and unforgettable experience. You can choose between more than 100 hotels in 30 countries around the world. We offer hotels and resorts in the world’s most desired destinations, with gourmet restaurants and exquisite local cuisine, comfortable and spacious rooms, exclusive service at The Level, treatments from the YHI Spa and Meliá’s signature service. It’s not our job, it’s our passion.

Argentina Bahamas Brazil Bulgaria Cape Verde Croatia Cuba Dominican Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Indonesia Italy Luxembourg Malaysia Mexico Panama Peru Portugal Spain Tanzania United Arab Emirates UK USA Vietnam

Information and bookings

melia.com

Meliรก for faMilies Meliรก for adults food & Beverage ConCepts passion for golf awards & aCknowledgeMents sustainaBle CoMMitMent our partners

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MeliÃ for faMilies Left, the KALANTIS Splash Park attraction. Below, The House, where you can meet the Yeti “Boro”; the entrance to the theme park and, right, another attraction – for adults, too: the K3 Climb.

SoL Katmandú ParK & reSort, awarded by triP adviSor

ocated 250 metres from Magaluf Beach, on the island of Mallorca, this

4-star family resort (with free access to Katmandú Park) recently won a Traveler’s Choice best value for money in Europe award by Trip Advisor. Its free pass for guests, the Sol Katmandú PLAY PASS, offers a selection of fun attractions including the great Kamp Katakidu, with its Baby Club (for children aged 8 months to 4 years) and Mini Club (5-12 years), activities for teenagers and breakfasts with Katmandú Park characters. In addition, there is the House KATLANTIS Splash Park, a fun aquatic park (also included in the pass).

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Meliá for Adults Adult-only Meliá del MAr resort hAs A new signAture restAurAnt

n the island of Mallorca, five minutes from the

luxurious Puerto Portals marina, in Palma de Mallorca, this hotel has opened Arrels, a new à la carte gourmet restaurant: romantic dinners by the beach, fresh seafood, traditional dishes with a contemporary touch and a spectacular tasting menu. Some of the hotel rooms have an exterior terrace and views to the sea (THE LEVEL Royal Suite includes hire car rental). You can also enjoy the exclusive treatments at its Yhi Spa, play tennis on the artificial grass court (perfect for playing this sport), and play golf at the Bendinat Golf Club – only 1 km away.

Right, the hotel’s Sky Pool swimming pool, with Balinese beds and the beach in the background. Above, the laid-back atmosphere of the Meliá del Mar, one of the most charming hotels in Mallorca thanks to its contemporary design by architect José Antonio Coderch.

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AwArds & Acknowledgements Gran Meliá roMe, chosen as the Best international UrBan hotel By Condé nast traveler spain The Gran Meliá Rome hotel, located in one of the most exclusive spots in the Eternal City, Villa Agrippina – once the home of Emperor Nero’s mother – was chosen by the readers of the prestigious travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler Spain as the best urban hotel in the world. Opened in 2012, the Gran Meliá Rome offers travellers exceptional service, complete with impeccable architecture in harmony with its surroundings, impressive gardens and cutting-edge facilities.

the aizian restaUrant, at the Meliá BilBao, oBtains its first Michelin star The work of José Miguel Olazabalaga, chef at the Aizian restaurant – opened in 2003 – has received a Michelin star. This modern, sober restaurant is a good example of contemporary Basque cuisine. Aizian is a Km-0 restaurant and is committed to embracing the eco-friendly Slow Food concept. Good raw materials from local suppliers in a five-star ambience: the Meliá Bilbao hotel.

Meliá hotels international is rewarded for its enerGy efficiency and diGital developMent Organised by the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial in collaboration with the KPMG global network of financial services, the “Prizes for the Best Business Practices” recognised Meliá Hotels International as a leading company in the categories of “Eco-efficiency” and “Digitalisation”. The SAVE STYLE

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Project for energy efficiency, implemented in more than 200 hotels (such us Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora in Tenerife island, in the image above), and the launch of the Meliá Digital project for technological transformation and new digital tools such as Meliá PRO and Business Travel by Meliá, were instrumental in leading this group to receive this recognition as a Leading Company in both areas.

MeLIá TorTuga beach, naMed The besT hoTeL In cape Verde for a ThIrd consecuTIVeYear The World Travel Awards once again distinguished the work and leadership of the Meliá Tortuga Beach hotel as the Best Hotel in Cape Verde. Located on the island of Sal, a heavenly destination with sandy white beaches in West Africa, this resort comprises magnificent villas whose quality was again consolidated by this prize.

The Me IbIza,The Me London and The MeLIá VILLaITana, wInners of The InTernaTIonaL hoTeLs awards The Meliá Hotels International ME Ibiza, ME London (in the image above) and Meliá Villaitana hotels were the winners at the International Hotel Awards celebrated in Spain for the categories of Best Renovation, Best Hotel in

MeLIá VIenna,“besT openIng of TheYear” aT The european hospITaLITY awards

the United Kingdom and Best Golf Resort, respectively.

The first Meliá Hotels International hotel in Austria received this prize

granted at this event. In addition, the ME Ibiza obtained

awarded for the innovative structural and interior design of its newly

the same recognition at a European level.

constructed building. Located in the DC Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Austria, the Meliá Vienna is 250 metres high and offers impressive views of the Danube and a 360º-panoramic view of the city. Parisian architect Dominique Perrault was entrusted with its interior and exterior design, the latter resembling a geometrical waterfall.

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FOOD & BEVERAGE Haute cuisine by Martin berasategui at tHe Paradisus Playa del carMen la Perla resort

assion, Martin Berasategui’s adult-only restaurant

opened its doors at the Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Perla resort, thanks to a partnership between the renowned Spanish chef and Meliá Hotels International, which, over recent years has consolidated its gastronomic and restaurant offering with innovative concepts designed to enhance its guests’ experiences. Winner of 7 Michelin stars and considered one of the best chefs in the world, Berasategui has designed an exclusive, first class culinary experience for Paradisus Resorts: a tasting menu consisting of seven dishes that combines haute cuisine

Photo: José Luis LóPez de zuBiria.

with local ingredients.

Left, the restaurant Passion by Martin Berasategui. Above, lightly pickled warm oyster with K5 txakoli wine granita and spiced apple.

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Passion for Golf

Trump InTernaTIonal Golf Club, four TropICal Golf experIenCes for every level

his golf course, designed by PGA Tour

professional Tom Kite, that boasts being Puerto Ricoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first course of legendary proportions (1,000 acres), has two meticulously designed 18-hole courses: the Championship and the International courses. In a gorgeous location, the Championship course starts among spectacular artificial lakes and stretches towards the ocean with views of the sea. The International course flows through stunning hills to nestle among green mangroves

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PhoTo: geTTy imAges / DR.

in a challenging and dramatic landscape.

The legendary American golfer Tom Kite in Puerto Rico, the latest Caribbean golfing mecca.

New hotels added to the Meliá hotels iNterNatioNal Golf CirCuit

eliá Atlántico Isla Canela,

in Huelva (Spain) and the Tryp Estepona Valle Romano Golf, in Málaga (Spain) are added to the thirty or so hotels that the Meliá Hotels International group has overlooking, or very close to, a golf course. These hotels are very different, but both offer the most pleasurable rest to round off a day of sport. Above, Isla Canela golf course, 6 km from the Meliá Atlántico Isla Canela resort, in Huelva (Spain). Left, golf course in the residential are where the Tryp Estepona Valle Romano Golf resort is located.

the PGa CataluNya resort, CaNdidate for the Costa BravaBarCeloNa 2022 ryder CuP

he Ryder Cup Selection Committee visited this

course, one of the best in Europe and in the entire world, to get to know first-hand the specifics of the Costa Brava– Barcelona 2022 Candidature for the organisation of the most important golf tournament between Europe and the United States, which would take place – if this course were selected – at the PGA Catalunya Resort (Girona). Set among lakes and pines, and designed by Ryder Cup star player Neil Coles, this course poses constant challenges for golf lovers, as it demands great accuracy.

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SuStainable Commitment Meliá Hotels international, in tHe top five international Hotel groups coMMitted witH carbon footprint Registered with the Carbon Footprint Registry and CO2 Compensation and Absorption Project (an instrument created by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment), Meliá Hotels International has analysed and published its progress in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) since 2010. In the three last years, it has positioned itself in the top five hotel Groups that are committed to this cause. This trend for reducing CO2 is photos: gettyimages.

also carried out with regard to water and energy consumption, both in absolute terms and per guest stay.

Meliá roMa aurelia antica participates in a project witH people witH down’s syndroMe “A 6-star hotel” is a project created by the Meliá Roma Aurelia Antica hotel in collaboration with AIDP (Italian Association of People with Down’s Syndrome) and with the support of Magnolia Production Company and the

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tHe Meliá Hotels international’s coMputers,at tHe service of two researcH projects

Italian public television channel

Meliá Hotels International joined the World Community

Rai3. For three months a total of

Grid, which together with IBM and a group of over 450

three young men and three young

companies, associations and international academic

women aged between 18 and 31

institutions devote their computers to humanitarian

participated in work at the hotel,

research projects. Specifically, this innovative formula

each of them with an assigned job

consists of the installation by IBM of free software for

and with a member of the hotel team

the group’s computers. The software is activated only

as their tutor. During the project,

when the users’ computers are on but are not using their

all the activities were filmed by the

processing capacity. The application does not harm the

Magnolia team and broadcast by

equipment’s operative capacity, nor does it jeopardise

Rai3 to great audience success.

the confidentiality of the information. So far, it has been installed in 939 devices of the corporate offices in Spain. Applied to environmental and social projects (Clean Water and Help Fight Childhood Cancer), today it is being used by Mapping Cancer Markers, The Clean Energy Project and Fight AIDS.

Meliá joins init to create tHe first centre for touristic innovation Meliá Hotels International and the company Init have set up the La Ronda Innovation Centre in Zaragoza, Spain, with up to 10 different projects whose work will be conducted on a collaborative basis. Moreover, it has the space and materials needed to create or improve photos: ingimage.

business projects that are “incubated” – in other words, what today is known as co-working. Specifically, the initiative has been implemented at the Meliá Zaragoza hotel and was launched as an incentive to generate innovative responses to a variety of areas within the hotel business, with the aim of extending it to other hotels and regions. The space packed to capacity at its opening, and is already “incubating”

tHe save project surpasses tHe 2012-2014 goal to reduce eMissions

companies from different fields, such as digital design, travel and

This pioneering initiative for energy saving and efficiency

professionals work on projects regarding nutrition and well-being,

aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the

tourism as well as business schools linked to tourism, innovation and

activity carried out by Meliá Hotels International was

home automation. For Meliá La Ronda, this has become a project for

implemented in 2007. Today, more than 200 hotels in the

strategic innovation that is expected to grow and become a distinctive

group are involved in the project – a fact that consolidates

trait of the chain’s urban hotels. As pointed out by Alfonso del Poyo,

its commitment as an eco-responsible and sustainable

the Group’s Vice President for Spain: “We are lucky to house this

company, and underlines the profitability of efficiently

Centre, which is opening a new path for the hotel to be involved with

managing tourist destinations. Thanks to this effort, Meliá

the city and its entrepreneurs, and at a time when innovation is so

Hotels International saved 3.5 million euros in 2013;

important”. For Init, this project is an opportunity to create the first

achieved a reduction of 7.3 kilograms of CO2 and 7.9%

“vertical incubator” within a hotel chain, a centre for innovation from

m3 of water per room compared to the 2007-2011 average.

which Meliá can launch specific incentives within the scope of its own

These figures surpass the emissions reduction goal set out

activity: it will be a constant source of innovation.

accommodation, and energy efficiency. In its co-working space,

in the 2012-2014 Strategic Plan.

Meliá Hotels international participates in an initiative to Helpyoung people at risk of social exclusion

gaBriel escarrer cHair in tourisM studies To encourage the teaching, research and

The group collaborates once again

distribution of tourism issues, the Meliá Chair

with the Pinardi Foundation in

in Tourism Studies was created by Meliá

the ‘First Professional Experience’

Hotels International and the Balearic Islands

initiative aimed at improving

University in September 2002. Last year,

the employability of a group of

under the slogan “Committed to our tourism”

80 youths who were unable to

and after over 3,000 surveys in 7 countries,

complete their studies. These

the Meliá Chair presented its first study on

youths will have the opportunity

the “levers of competitiveness” for the travel

of accessing real work experience

industry in Spain. The study identifies the

alongside a Professional Mentor:

factors most appreciated by visitors travelling

a professional from the Meliá Hotels International Human Resources team. With

to Spain, their evaluation of these factors, areas

standards specific to the hotel sector, the department of Human Resources selected the

for improvement and Spain’s position with

candidates to be trained at Meliá’s Hotel Tryp Alcalá 611.

regard to competing destinations.

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OUR PARTNERS

CAPPUCCINO AND MELIÁ, TOGETHER IN MARBELLA

wo international companies based on the

island of Mallorca are committed to the opening of new gastronomic offerings. The first opening was in Marbella, at the Gran Meliá Don Pepe hotel: the first Cappuccino Gran Café on the Costa del Sol, a mandatory stop along Marbella’s seafront promenade. Its popularity made another opening in Marbella possible: the Tahini Sushi Bar & Restaurant – Japanese haute cuisine with views of the Mediterranean.

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Above, the romantic evening atmosphere at the Cappuccino Gran Café. Left, interior of the Gran Café in Gran Meliá Don Pepe, Marbella. Below, the Cappuccino Gran Café on the seafront.

DOMETIC WINE SERVICES CABINETS

Dual-zone models for reds and whites

Advanced technology for perfect storage conditions Dometic wine service cabinets give precious wines a perfect place to unfold their potential. Based on advanced compressor technology, they create an environment that comes close to the conditions in a wine cellar.

Optimal storage and ageing conditions Reliable cooling without temperature fluctuations. Quiet operation with minimal vibration. Low energy consumption.

One or two temperature zone(s)

Free temperature selection in a range from 5°C – 22°C. Some models with two separate cooling zones to store red and white wines at the right service temperature.

Attractive design – inside and out

Appealing glass doors, accented by details in elegant silver. LED interior lighting. Touch pad temperature control with digital display.

Wide choice of models – plenty of options

Freestanding or built-in cabinets in capacities from 24 to 198 bottles. Variable configuration with slide-out shelves,compartments and presentation shelves (optional).

Expertise from the market leader

Well engineered refrigeration system, perfect workmanship, smart details. Designed by the market leader in hotel miniBars.

Dometic Spain, S.L. Tel. +34 902 111 042

www.dometic.es

info@dometic.es

OUR PARTNERS En Compañía dE Lobos and mE by mELiá, togEthEr at thE mE madrid rEina ViCtoria

he success and popularity that the new Ana la Santa

restaurant has had at the ME Madrid Reina Victoria hotel, in the city centre, has not stopped growing. Created by Tomás Tarruella, co-founder of Barcelona’s Tragaluz group – the new restaurant offers a modern food concept based on quality produce and familiar recipes with an innovative touch. Thus, the design of this spacious venue revolves around the recreations of familiar spaces: a homely sitting room, a corner pub, a favourite restaurant or a refreshing garden.

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Different areas of the Ana la Santa restaurant at the ME Madrid Reina Victoria, one of the coolest eateries in the capital. Below, one of the restaurant’s lounge corners.

iniciativa contract design s.l. Projects and hotel refurbishment Iniciativa Contract Design, has born to address the professional needs of the hospitality industry by offering quality, design and decoration for their premises, also with best quality price ratio. It’s got a Department intended for Interior Design, Refurbishment and Civil works with vast experience in the field. We are located in nº 2, Rodríguez San Pedro St. 9th floor · office No. 908 28015-Madrid. Spain. Telephone: (34)911 695 423. E-mail: icd@icdesing.com

OUR PARTNERS Meliá renews its coMMitMent to children through uniceF UNICEF’s Spanish Committee and Vice President and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, once again renewed this agreement and their commitment to children. The third in this series of commitments is now underway. The first (2010-2013) raised 1.3 million euros from among the group’s clients and employees, and was devoted to projects for pHoto: gEttyIMagEs.

preventing child exploitation. The second (2014) focused on fighting violence against children during Brazil’s World Cup. As additions to this new agreement (until 2016), part of the funds raised (the Spanish employees’ “solidarity payrolls”) will be

growth of tourism in developing countries should take

devoted to financing an assessment on the impact of

into account the needs of children, and the commitment

violence on Spanish children, and the other part – raised

by leading companies such as Meliá Hotels International

from “solidary check-ins” – will be devoted to fighting

can help a great deal to improve their lives and their

child exploitation in a South American country.

future, and also to spread this example", and also

Also, and as part of these collaborative agreements,

highlighted that the hotel company is one of the partners

the entire staff of Meliá Hotels International – over

which is visibly complying with the standards of

38,000 people worldwide – received training on child

financial contribution, commitment, communication and

protection. From UNICEF’s Spanish Committee: “The

change.

endesa and Meliá hotels international, together For sustainable energy company, and Meliá Hotels International

Meliá hotels international launches Meliá digital in collaboration with accenture digital

have become benchmarks in their

The goal: to achieve the whole company’s digital

respective sectors for their staunch

transformation and revolutionise its employees’ lives and its

commitment to sustainable energy, and

relationship with hotel investors and owners.

both are participating (with improved

The company has been leading the online development of

Endesa, the Spanish electricity and gas

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During Brazil’s World Cup, UNICEF, together with companies such as Meliá Hotels International, launched several campaigns to tackle violence against children in the country.

scores) in the 2015 Carbon Disclosure Project Iberia (2015 CDP

the sector for years. Its main sales channel, Melia.com, has

Iberia). The agreement that Meliá Hotels International has with

recorded a 25% annual increase in sales for the past three

Endesa until the end of 2015 – by which time all its hotels and

years. Hence in 2017, 40% of its sales are scheduled to come

offices in Spain will be supplied by 100-per cent renewable energy

from its own digital channels, particularly from clients

– is framed within the company’s sustainability policy and other

who are members of

initiatives in favour of energy and water efficiency, such as the

Meliá Rewards, the

monitoring and control of energy demand, the standardisation of

company’s loyalty

efficient systems and products, investments related to energy saving

scheme. For this

and the fostering of their employees’ awareness on this matter.

transformation, the group has extended its structure with the creation of Meliá Digital, and over the next three years, will invest more than 100 million euros in technology, expertise and digital marketing in collaboration with Accenture Digital.

www.leds-c4.com

Medusa series by GROK

DUBAI

JORGE ARRANZ

NEXT DESTINATION

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Have you still not been to Dubai? The city of luxury, shopping and diversity has become one of the most attractive destinations in the world. Its impressive skyline, the most select shops, futuristic shopping malls… The Meliá Hotels International will open the ME Dubai in 2016. The Opus building – designed by architect Zaha Hadid – will be in BurjKhalifa, the city’s most dynamic district.The exclusive hotel, with one hundred rooms, Michelin-starred restaurants, and the five-star service of the Meliá Hotels International group will shape the future of Dubai’s design.

Six decades as leaders Since our foundation in Mallorca in 1956 as a family company, Meliá Hotels International has held a clear leadership both on a national - as absolute leaders in Spain - as well as on an international level - as the third hotel group in Europe, and one of the 20 leading hotel groups worldwide: · Tourism Industry’s Most-Reputed Company in Spain, third Most Admired in Brazil · More than 365 awards in 2014 and 130 Certificates of Excellence by Tripadvisor · Listed on the FTSE4Good Ibex index since 2008 · Member of “The ECPAT Code” and Top Member of the “The Code” initiative to prevent sexual exploitation against children · UNICEF Strategic Ally since 2010 · Included in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and in the Spanish Carbon Footprint Registry · More than 140 certifications for Sustainable Tourism, including 85 GreenLeaders hotels by TripAdvisor · Main drivers of the first public-private project in Spain for the sustainable transformation of a tourist destination · Cutting-edge technology for customer relationships · Over 4 million loyal MeliáRewards Programme customers Meliá Hotels International wishes to thank its client and all of its stakeholders for trusting us and sharing with us their best travel experiences, allowing us to keep contributing to the international growth of the tourism industry, and thus, to the fraternity among countries and their prosperity worldwide.

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