Bankia sells the hotel Westin in Valencia to the German company Seaside.

One of the most luxurious hotels in Valencia, the Westin, which opened during the touristic development of the city for the hosting of the Americas Cup, has changed hands. Bankia has transferred Hotel Alameda, the company owning the rights to the concession during 75 years of an old modernist building, to the German hotel chain Seaside Hotels, in the hands of the Gerlach family.

The new owner of the Westin Valencia was already present in Spain, although in the sector of holiday hotels. The German group owns four tourist resorts on the Canary Islands with the hotels Grand Hotel, Palm Beach and Sandy Beach on Gran Canaria and Los Jameos Playa on Lanzarote. Also the chain has a line of business for urban hotels, which until now had concentrated in Germany with four establishments in emblematic buildings in Hamburg, Leipzig and Chemnitz.

The operation is included in the sale of participations by Bankia so as to comply with the conditions established by Brussels for its rescue. In the case of the Hotel Alameda, this ownership had been inherited from Bancaja. The former Valencian savings bank assumed the hotel in 2003 when it was still a project, after its initial awardee, a subsidiary of The Saudi European Projects, did not comply with the deadlines to start the works that would create a hotel full of glamour in the city.

The five star hotel and grand luxury qualification has 135 rooms and suites and employs 100 workers. It was opened in 2006 after an investment of 30 million Euros that allowed the conservation of the façade of the old factory La Lanera. Since its opening, the management has been in the hands of the chain Starwood, owner of some other brands such as Sheraton.

Source: Expansión