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1 October 2018 – El Mundo
AC Hotels, owned by the Navarran businessman Antonio Catalán, has acquired the rights to operate the former CAM building in Valencia, on the central street, Calle Pascual y Genís. Until now, the tenant was the Valencian firm Join Contract, which was granted use of the property by Solvia Group (Banco Sabadell) for 30 years in July, and which is now placing that use into the hands of this prestigious chain.
According to sources speaking to El Mundo, the firm AC Hotels competed against other major chains in the sector including NH and Barceló, as well as the local chain Grupo Intur, owned by the Gimeno family, which controls a large proportion of the major hotels in Benicàssim. Nevertheless, AC Hotels, which already has a hotel very close to what will become its newest location, decided to push hard for this site to whereby expand its business with the construction of what will be its first luxury hotel in Valencia.
That is why it will be called ‘Autograph’, the high-end brand that this operator uses to distinguish its top hotels. It will be the first of its kind in Valencia, although the firm has other luxury hotels with these characteristics operating under the same brand in Madrid and Barcelona.
Sources familiar with the operation have said that AC Hotels is going to invest almost €5 million in the renovation of the iconic building. If there are no delays, the building work will begin before the end of the year. The execution of the work will be carried out by the Valencian firm Join Contract, the same entity that has transferred the use of the asset to AC Hotels for 30 years (…).
More than 60 rooms
Although the project is still in its preliminary phase, some details have been published about the future AC Hotels Autograph. With a surface area of 4,500 m2 (580 m2 per floor), the hotel will have around 60 rooms, including suites and standard rooms. There will be a restaurant and hall on the ground floor, and there will be a small swimming pool for guests on the roof (…). The building will have nine floors in total, two of which will be used for parking (…).
Antonio Catalán, leader in the sector
AC Hoteles, from Antonio Catalán, is one of the leading chains in the hotel sector in Spain. It was founded in 1997 by this established Navarran businessman, who previously sold the NH chain to an investment fund for €70 million. After founding AC Hoteles, Catalán sold half of his shares to the chain Marriott for €80 million. Today they have more than 140 hotels open or under development around the world (…).
Original story: El Mundo (by Sergio Aspas)
Translation: Carmel Drake
