The hotel occupies the site of the former Almenara hotel, which for years was managed by NH. It is now reopening its doors under a new name, SO/ Sotogrande, under the auspices of the luxury brand SO/ Hotels & Resorts, belonging to the Accor group, an ensign which, on the other hand, is making its debut in the Spanish market with a new hotel concept.
Since one of the characteristics of this brand is its perception of modern luxury, based on customer experience and personalised service, according to the hotel’s director, the Dane Robert Kmita, who, from this month, will begin to receive its first customers. It will also receive participants in the Aramco Team Series golf tournament, to be held from 5 to 7 August at La Reserva de Sotogrande, which will bring together the best golfers in the world to compete for a million dollars in four events held in as many cities: the first has already been held in London, the third event will be in New York (14-16 October), and the last will be held in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), from 10 to 12 November.
The hotel is designed as if it were an Andalusian farmhouse, with local details, especially in gastronomy and decorative elements, attended by more than 175 employees, dressed in flowery shirts by the Valencian designer Dolores Cortés. It has 152 rooms, of which 36 are suites, six restaurants, three swimming pools, a spa of more than 3,000 square metres, with eight treatment rooms, and a fitness area of more than 1,000 square metres, initially open only to hotel guests, but with the intention of opening it to external partners.
Within the complex is La Reserva, where, in addition to playing golf, you can enjoy various sports such as tennis and paddle tennis, as well as having an exclusive private beach area, where you pay 90 euros a day for a sun lounger, known as The Beach, or in other words, an artificial lagoon surrounded by 2,800 square metres of fine white sand, which contrasts with the dark sand of Sotogrande beach, where Trocadero is located, a beach club with two restaurants located in what was the legendary El Cucurucho.
In this scenario surrounding the new hotel, in whose refurbishment 40 million euros has been invested, and which is owned by the Orion Capital Managers fund and Sotogrande SA, with 14 other businesses in the area, including some of those mentioned above. Accor will manage the hotel for the next 20 years. However, it seems, as reported by El Confidencial this week, that the fund is considering divesting itself of the hotel in exchange for around 180 million euros.
The rooms are not lacking in detail either: from a comfortable mattress, to a Smeg water heater, to bathroom amenities from the Australian organic firm Grown Alchemist. Room prices range from 240 euros in low season to more than 500 euros in high season. The price of the suites is 1,300 euros.
