It is an architectural icon, and now turns 60 no more no less. The Hotel de Mar Gran Melià is in luck, and that is why it has decided to celebrate with something very special: the publication of a book that reviews the best of all these years. The mythical establishment that many have passed through celebrities It was inaugurated in 1964, two years after its construction began. José Antonio Coderch, author among others of Casa Ugalde, took over the job from the Buadas family and teamed up with Federico Correa and Alfonso Miláwhom he commissioned to design the interior design, to shape, together, an emblematic hotel on the coast of Mallorcaone of the most celebrated in the Mediterranean.
In 2024, the luxury brand commemorates its journey with Hotel de Mar, 1964 – 2024. 60 years of the chocolate hotel, a publication that pays tribute to the work of Coderch, Correa and Milá, and the evolution, until today, of an establishment that has adapted to the lifestyle of contemporary guests, with the utmost respect for the initial project.
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Sketch by Federico Correa (1963).
Photographs, plans, correspondence and original illustrations see the light again thanks to this initiative. A work of research, consultation and documentation in the archives that guard the work of Coderch, Correa and Milá, as well as the photographs of Oriol Maspons, and that belong to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and the Col·legi d’ Arquitectes de Catalonia.
Own hotel architectural concept –the simple volumes, the sinuous lines and the stepped windows of the unmistakable façade– have inspired the design of the book, a visual piece that winks at the guests and the human team that are part of the history of this jewel.
The design of the book is inspired by that of the hotel itself.
“As my father, the founder of the group, explains, if the location of a hotel is essential, it is no less essential the architectural project, which must create that magic of spaces and must last. And the Gran Meliá de Mar meets both premises,” stated Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, president and CEO of Meliá Hotels International about Hotel de Mar.
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The presentation took place on June 20 at the Calvià hotel. A total of 160 pages in format table book and a fabric cover that has the contributions of Gabriel Escarrer Jaume and the architects Álvaro Sans – who has undertaken the different renovations and updates of the hotel – and Pere Nicolau. The event also included the participation of the curator and cultural manager Marta Rincón, the architect Álvaro Sans and the current Director of Operations, Tito Casanovas.
Drawing by Federico Correa of the dining room (1963).
The hotel thus begins a new life with the best of the past. A recognition towards a type of architecture that does not expire, but it survives over time, becoming a reference for new generations. The Hotel de Mar has at least sixty more years of life left. Who knows if even more exciting than what you have experienced so far!
