Villa Le Blanc, a Gran Meliá Hotel

• The hotel is scheduled to open in summer, becoming a benchmark for hotel efficiency in a Biosphere Reserve destination and setting the path towards hotel decarbonisation
• Villa Le Blanc is destined to become an icon of Mediterranean luxury hotels, and a showcase of company's commitment to sustainable and superior-quality tourism in the Balearic Islands

Meliá will open a new 5-star resort this summer on Santo Tomás Beach in Menorca under its luxury Gran Meliá brand: Villa Le Blanc, a white-stone refuge alongside the Mediterranean. The hotel is fully integrated with its surroundings and reflects the essence of the island. It is also a benchmark for efficient construction, contributing to Meliá Hotels International's commitment to sustainability and combatting climate change and also representing a fundamental milestone in the responsible and superior-quality tourism model that the company supports and promotes.​

Villa Le Blanc boasts an idyllic setting on the Migjorn coast, halfway between Mahón and Ciutadella, a prime location for discovering all the cultural and natural attractions of an island which was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1993.

The hotel is owned by the company Victoria Hotels & Resorts, created in 2021 by Meliá Hotels International, Bankinter and other investors who are customers of the bank, and also with GMA acting as the managing partner. All of the partners involved in the project share a strong commitment to sustainability, as shown in the exemplary transformation of this iconic hotel.

The renovation of what was once the Sol Beach House Hotel is led by the architect Álvaro Sans, and combines simple and contemporary design with luxury. The hotel will have 159 rooms (some with a private pool) and is designed to resemble a large balcony overlooking the sea, predominantly decorated in white and blue, and with the large terraces and porches typical of Mediterranean architecture uniting the outdoor and indoor spaces.

The hotel will also be a tribute to the work of local artisans, as well as offering exquisite cuisine focused on local products in its different restaurants. A resort hotel in which a respect for things well done and understated elegance in every detail form part of its hallmarks.

The project also aims to be a prototype for hotel efficiency and respect for the natural environment, with state-of-the-art facilities and technologies that will allow it to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 87%. It will also explore alternatives to offset its remaining emissions and ensure carbon neutrality, one of the objectives actively pursued by the company.

Villa le Blanc will not only improve the island's ability to attract higher quality tourism, but will also make Menorca an international benchmark for efficient and environmentally friendly hotels.

Villa Le Blanc received the Rethink Award for the best hotel sustainability and rehabilitation project at the beginning of the year from the Habitat Futura Group, and will have an efficient energy management system based on the use of renewable energy such as biomass, solar or geothermal, and home-automation technology reduce consumption of both energy and water. The building's air-conditioning systems will use seawater to improve efficiency and achieve reductions in electricity use of up to 40%.

The hotel will also adopt circular-economy model in its waste management. For example, the residual heat from air-conditioning systems will be used to preheat domestic hot water and the heated swimming pools, backwash water from the swimming pools will be used for cleaning the hotel, rainwater will be used to irrigate the gardens and grey water will be used in the toilets. ​

Hotel website