The 167-room luxury property was sold to a 50/50 joint venture of Orient-Express Hotels and Omega Capital, a major Spanish investment company. Orient-Express will operate the hotel under a long-term management contract. The deal was brokered by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels' soon-to-be-released European Digest, Barcelona's hotel market was one of Europe's best performers in terms of room yields in 2002, while Madrid performed above the European average. "Future trading in these markets will depend on their ability to absorb the additional supply expected in the medium term, itself dependent on the recovery of international demand," according to the report. "Investor demand is nevertheless likely to remain strong in the short-to-medium term given the strength of the Spanish economy and its importance as a visitor destination."

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels EVP Robert Seabrook says the Spanish hotel market is relatively opaque and has previously been dominated by domestic investors and operators. He says the recent strong interest from foreign investors, banks and operators looking to expand their southern European representation has resulted from the strong trading performance of Spanish hotels over the past few years.