Melia Hotels International : Meliá Hotels International, named “Best Hotel Group in the World in Luxury Leisure Hotels" by Global Traveler Magazine

Meliá Hotels International, the leading hotel company in Spain and one of the largest chains in Latin America and the Caribbean, has won the coveted 'Best Hotel Group in the World' award for leisure hotels at the Global Traveler Leisure Lifestyle Awards in Los Angeles, California. Global Traveler is a monthly magazine focused on a select audience of luxury business and leisure travellers.

With more than 375 hotels in 43 countries on 4 continents, Meliá's impressive hotel portfolio was chosen from among numerous contenders by the Global Traveler Advisory Board after nominations by an expert editorial team. For the Vice Chairman and CEO of Meliá, Gabriel Escarrer, the award 'is extraordinarily welcome, as it recognizes our expertise and excellence in resort and leisure hotels, the business in which the company first started and in which we are now a global leader'.

The leisure hotel segment has always been a priority for Meliá, including 45% of its hotels, being the only one amongst the top 20 International hotel groups that was born as a resort group, and currently with the most balanced mix between resort and city hotels, a segment in which its Meliá, Gran Meliá, Innside by Meliá and ME by Meliá brands successfully operate in gateway cities throughout the world. This balance and the expertise in the leisure segment has given it superior know-how and excellence to succeed in responding to contemporary demand for 'bleisure' hotels, combining business facilities and services with a leisure and lifestyle experience in the city.

As Escarrer recently stated, 'resort hotels are the most resilient part of the industry, as we have seen throughout the financial crisis. Growing international demand for leisure travel means that it now represents 77% of all global travel spending, making resort hotels increasingly attractive for investors all over the world.'

Luxury brands also in resorts

The portfolio of luxury brands operated by Meliá Hotels International currently includes the unique resorts under the Gran Meliá brand such as the Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora (Tenerife), Gran Meliá de Mar (Mallorca) and Gran Meliá Don Pepe (Marbella), as well as emblematic resorts operated under the ME by Meliá brand, such as ME Cabo, ME Cancun and ME Ibiza. These are joined by the hotels operated under the luxury resort brand par excellence, Paradisus by Meliá, a synonym for exclusivity and luxury in the Caribbean, offering such emblematic hotels as the Paradisus Cancun, Paradisus Los Cabos and Paradisus Playa del Carmen in Mexico, Paradisus Palma Real and Paradisus Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, and Paradisus Rio de Oro and Paradisus Varadero in Cuba.