The RIU hotel chain has reached an agreement with the Baraka Group to purchase the ‘Edificio Espaa’ outright and subsequently carry out the necessary refurbishments to turn it into the first Riu Plaza urban hotel in Spain. After purchasing the building from Wanda, the Baraka Group has sold the property on to RIU Hotels & Resorts. _
RIU has always shown immense interest in this project. “It had always been part of our strategic plan to open a Riu Plaza hotel in Spain and this opportunity in Madrid, in such an unbeatable location and emblematic building, surpasses all expectations,” said Carmen and Luis Riu, the CEOs of RIU Hotels. “After several months, the operation progressed to the point where RIU could buy the building outright, an opportunity that, after examining it in depth, we havenÕt wanted to pass up.” _
The Baraka Group Chairman Trinitario Casanova is to be in charge of the 15,000-square metreÊcommercial area which will include department stores. _
As was announced at the beginning of the year, the future four-star Riu Plaza hotel will occupy 24 of Edificio Espaa’s 27 floors, with 650 rooms, while the rest will be given over to retail. The hotel will also contain over 1,800-square metreÊof space for events, with an open-plan room measuring 1,500-square metreÊwithÊsix-metre high ceilings, turning it into a unique venue in the centre of Madrid. It will also have two restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool next to the Sky Bar and an additional 900 square metresÊof space for events.
RIU currently has six Riu Plaza hotels around the world. The first opened its doors to guests in Panama City in 2010 and since then has been joined by the Riu Plaza Guadalajara in Mexico, the Riu Plaza Miami Beach and Riu Plaza New York Times Square in the United States, the Riu Plaza Berlin in Germany and more recently, the Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin, in Ireland.
