The Nobu Hotel in Barcelona has achieved the highest environmental ranking of any hotel in Spain, following a programme of upgrade works.
The property has been ranked “excellent” using the BREEAM assessment method, a well established route to help building owners and users rank the sustainability of specific buildings. BREEAM, the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, was originally pioneered in the UK, but is now used globally as an environmental measure for new and refurbished properties.
Targeted environmental investments
The accolade follows a programme of targeted capital expenditure on the hotel by owner ActivumSG, making both environmental and aesthetic improvements. ActivumSG bought the property in 2020, during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, taking advantage of an upset hotel investment market. Although the previous owner had spent significant sums on maintaining the hotel, its new owner soon started making plans to improve and enhance the hotel.
The hotel’s facade has been refinished, to improve the insulation value of the envelope and enhance its look. Internally, there have been changes to the water system to improve efficiency, and new building management systems designed to cut energy waste. The building’s landscaping was reset, making the most of local plants and species, while staff and guests have been encouraged to think about more sustainable travel, with the allocation of specific resources for car sharing and cycle storage.
Alongside the technical improvements, there have also been changes to improve the hotel’s standing as a destination to be seen at, in a competitive Barcelona landscape of exciting bars and restaurants. The rooftop, previously unused, has been turned into the city’s highest rooftop bar and eaterie, even including a new outdoor pool – all with spectacular views across the city skyline.
“With these latest upgrades, our local team has added further value to a hotel that was already a trophy asset within the European hospitality investment landscape,” said Brian Betel, head of direct asset transactions at ActivumSG. “Creating value-driven impact is something we take very seriously as we focus on initiatives designed to future proof our assets which also create lasting value for our communities, stakeholders and the environment.”
A positive impact on Spanish hotels
For more than a decade, ActivumSG has been active in the European hotel landscape, spotting opportunities where others have not to create real estate value, rebranding and repurposing buildings which it has bought, nurtured and often sold on. Specifically in Spain, it created the Hard Rock hotel in Madrid, developed from a former office building that was then sold in 2022 for EUR65n. The Hampton by Hilton at Barcelona’s Fira exhibition centre was a ground-up development, which the group sold in February 2024. And near Malaga, the company created the Palacio Solecio luxury boutique hotel from a historic Andalusian palace, selling the asset in April 2024 for EUR51m.
Currently, ActivumSG is finalising the construction of the 471 room SLS Barcelona hotel. The impressive development, taking the last available seafront plot in the city, is planning to open in April 2025.
