ME by Meliá Hotels: New Boutique Chain

Posted on October 11, 2006
Filed Under Hotels |

No end in sight to the hip-hotel trend. The latest boutique brand from a big hotel chain premiered Tuesday in Madrid. The ME Madrid Reina Victoria, first in a line of ME by Meliá hotels, opened its doors Tuesday in Madrid’s lively Plaza de Santa Ana. Its corporate parent is Sol Meliá, which has 350 hotels worldwide.

The historic Reina Victoria, where bullfighters once hung out, has morphed into one of those sleek, minimalist backdrops for modern see-and-be-sceners. Si, there are plasma TVs, iPod docking stations (and pre-loaded iPods if you arrived without one), 300-thread-count-sheets and lots of clean-lined furnishings. The Penthouse rooftop bar, from global nightlife kingpin Rande Gerber, aims to become fashionista party central. The kind of lounge where you pose decoratively on daybeds until the third pomegranate martini kicks in.

Room rates aren’t killer for a major European city; they start at 215 euros (about $270). And more MEs are on the way. One’s due in Cancun in November. It’ll be interesting to see how these Sol Meliás do. For me, a good boutique hotel (like the sort W and Kimpton do well) is a fun experience. But the ones with design-over-function furnishings, attitudinal staff and party-hearty clientele give boutique hotels a bad name.� Source