Working with European real estate specialists ActivumSG Capital Management, Hard Rock International plans to open the 159-room Hard Rock Hotel Madrid in 2019. The hotel will join Hard Rock's properties in Tenerife and Ibiza.
The Hard Rock Hotel Madrid will be located opposite the historic Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in the Atocha district of Madrid. The Royal Botanical Gardens, the Museo Nacional Del Prado and Madrid’s largest railway station and hub of the high-speed train network AVE are nearby.
ASG acquired the site, a former municipal office building, and is leading an extensive €25-million program to reposition it as an upper-upscale hotel.
“This is a classic ASG investment,” said Brian Betel, managing partner of ASG Iberia Advisors. “We saw that this office building had far more untapped potential as a hotel given its proximity to Madrid’s major attractions, business center and shopping quarter. We are unlocking that value for our investors and Hard Rock Hotels’ unique brand will make an exciting contribution to the area. Selecting such a distinguished operator as Hard Rock Hotels is a major step forward in our business plan for this asset and our broader strategy in Spain. Our choice of Hard Rock stems from its renowned brand, its experience as an operator and its international reach.”
Hard Rock International already has a presence in 75 countries, and is pushing for more growth in Europe. The company partnered with Ireland-based hotel company Tifco earlier this year to enter the Irish hotel market with the Hard Rock Hotel Dublin in 2020.
“We have 25 hotels now and we're adding another 32 between now and 2021,” James Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International, said earlier this year. “We're certainly not Marriott, but for our group, it's significant growth."