Why launch the CR7 brand in partnership with the famous Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo?
Cristiano Ronaldo is preparing his post-football career, and the initial idea was to open a hotel together in Madrid, on Gran Via, which will open in 2017-2018. But we have been more ambitious, creating a truly contemporary brand that will appeal to millennials. Some of our projects will appear under the CR7 banner, notably in Funchal, the capital of the island of Madeira where Cristiano and our founder Dionisio Pestana were born, as well as in Lisbon next August and in New York, normally in 2017.
What awaits travellers in these establishments?
These will be designer, high-tech, sophisticated hotels that are also competitively priced to attract a younger clientele. The common denominator of the CR7 hotels will be an atmosphere based on the values conveyed by sport - competition, fair play - but also relating to life in general. The spirit of the brand is of interest to investors and property developers.
Paris is certainly one of your ambitions...
CR7 could open doors for us there. Because our growth strategy involves the major cities. We already have a presence in London, Berlin and Barcelona, and next year we'll be opening a hotel in Amsterdam, along the Amstel. In Madrid, in addition to CR7, we have a hotel project overlooking the Plaza Mayor. These two establishments will join the Pestana Collection, which includes luxury hotels of Leading Hotels standard. In Marrakech, we have taken over the management of the former Club Med. After refurbishment, it is due to open in around fifteen months' time. Finally, we are working hard to ensure that our second hotel in Rio, in the Barra da Tijuca district, is open before the Olympic Games. Of course, Portugal has not been forgotten, with projects in Porto, the Algarve and Madeira.
Interview by Arnaud Deltenre
