Category: International

Only YOU Hotel Atocha, the second hotel in the Only YOU Hotels chain and owned by Palladium Hotel Group, opened its doors in November. The perfect combination – Madrid and a brand new hotel with new spaces to suit everyone.

With its downtown location in a 19th-century building opposite Atocha railway station, Only YOU Hotel Atocha reaffirms the brand’s presence in the capital with a hotel packed full of unique experiences and where the guest is the star of the show. The perfect meeting place for people who love leisure and a healthy lifestyle, only a stone’s throw from El Retiro Park.

The hotel has 205 rooms, 192 double bedrooms and 12 suites that give customers the chance to be amazed, relaxed and rested, all at the same time. An industrial-style setting in which interior designer Lázaro Rosa Violán has captured an informal design in surroundings of contemporary urban comfort, where guests are given a customised experience.

Only YOU Hotel Atocha comes up with solutions adapted to suit different demands. Its six dividable function rooms will make the perfect setting for meetings and celebrations. Exceptional surroundings for private events await, with special areas like the hotel’s inner courtyard and the terrace with its superb views of the Madrid skyline.

With the aim of meeting the needs of business clients and responding in real time to their demands, Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center has launched “Red Coat Direct” onto the market, an application wholly designed and intended for organisers of events held in four-star hotel establishments.

With this tool, clients are always just one click away from the member of staff in charge of their event, and they can also use it to make any requests. Asking for the room temperature to be turned up, adjusting coffee break times or even getting the bill for the event are just a few examples. They also have the chance to chat internally and communicate directly and in real time with the coordinator without the need to make a phone call.

“Red Coat Direct” is the latest in a list of innovative services available, which also include the Marriott Mobile Guest Service, enabling Marriott Rewards members to communicate directly with the customer service department at any time during their stay, starting from 24 hours prior to their arrival until one day after they check out.

These innovations join the other technological advances put in place by the hotel up to now, including digital signs, video walls across both the hotel and the Príncipe Felipe Conference Center showing the latest news and updates in the Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel, as well as mobile check-in, which allows guests to make requests via their mobile phones.

Located on the Rambla de Catalunya, Barcelona the NH Collection Gran Hotel Calderon has 255 bedrooms and 10 meeting rooms offering 700 sqm of event space and capacity for 350 people.

The hotels Don Giovanni Restaurant, offers Italian cuisine along with creations based on seasonal produce. There is a terrace with pool and solarium with views over the city for outdoor events.

The Iberian Association of Business Travel Managers (IBTA) chose Madrid as “2016 Best MICE destination” at the 2016 IBTA Business Travel awards. In addition, the Madrid Convention Bureau (MCB), part of the Madrid City Council, has been recognised by the Association of PCO’s of Madrid (OPC MADRID) with the prize for “Professionalism 2016”.

Both awards are an acknowledgement to Madrid as a preferred destination for the holding of congresses, conventions and incentive trips, as well as to the work developed by the MCB in the promotion of meeting tourism in Madrid and its activities aimed at securing professional meetings for the city.

Aware of the importance of South-East Asia for the tourism market, in 2016 Madrid authorities achieved a major boost for Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas International Airport in terms of air traffic connectivity with this geographical area by opening up new direct flights to a range of leading destinations.

The two existing connections with Seoul and Beijing were joined in June by direct flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong. The former is operated by Iberia and China Eastern Airlines and consists of four inward bound and three outward bound flights a week; this is significant because it marks the start of Iberia’s operations on the Asian continent. The Spanish airline operates this route with the most modern aircraft in the fleet, the Airbus A330-200, with 288 seats, 19 in Business and 269 in Tourist class; both cabins offer a la carte individual entertainment and advanced Wi-Fi on transoceanic flights.

The direct flight to Hong Kong is operated by Cathay Pacific and flies four times a week; it is estimated that more than a hundred thousand passengers will take this route over the first year of operation.

The Madrid football club Atlético de Madrid has announced the opening of a spectacular venue for events in its new stadium Wanda Metropolitano, scheduled for September 2017.

The space has more than 11,000 m2 of VIP areas and it has been designed to be the most modern convention centre in the city. Located in the new stadium of thefootball club, it features rooms with terraces and views of the pitch, 22 multipurpose spaces (from 250 to 3,500 m2), an auditorium for up to 400 guests and premium suites. All the spaces have large LCD TVs, multimedia connection, and high-speed Wi-Fi , and are accessible from the private underground car park by lift.

The new areas can be customised for all kinds of conferences, conventions, professional fairs, exhibitions, symposia and social events. The catering and banqueting service, provided by Centerplate, the world’s leading hospitality company, will ensure a culinary experience of the highest level.

The new Wanda Metropolitano stadium and meeting venues will permit Atlético de Madrid to become the first club in the world with a stadium fully designed with LED lights for personalising this city’s iconic building with corporate colours and thrill attendees with impressive screenings on its roof. Its dynamic lighting will allow for creative lighting and colour shows throughout the venue.

The club also offers walking tours of the stadium and the Museum or the option of using the pitch for events.

Fosshotel Húsavík (Hotels of Iceland) recently re-opened following renovation.  The hotel is now the largest conference hotel in North Iceland, with 110 bedrooms and 8 conference and meeting rooms. The hotel can now host an event for up to 400 people in a standing reception. 

The Canopy Reykjavík City Centre had its official opening on 18 November.   Since it launched in the summer, the hotel has been fully booked.