WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE MEDPLAYA HOTEL SANTA MÓNICA, WHAT ARE THE MAIN ATTRACTIONS OF CALELLA …ABOUT ALL THIS AND A LOT MORE WE HAVE TALKED WITH THE HOTEL MANAGER MANOLO LÓPEZ SALAZAR.

Today we have visited the office of the manager of the hotel Santa Monica Mr. Manolo Lopez in Calella and talked about the hotel, the city and we have also discovered the artistic vein of Mr López.

Manolo good morning, can you tell us in brief what’s the history of Santa Mónica and what does Calella offer to its visitors?

This attractive hotel was founded in 1973 and renovated in 2005. It is located 100 meters from the beach of Calella and offers 215 rooms. Undoubtedly, the property is the perfect place for people looking for a quiet place to stay while enjoying the sun and the beach. Barcelona is 55 km away and Girona Airport is about 50 km away. There is a train station and bus close to the hotel.
Calella is a coastal town in the Maresme region, in the Catalan province of Barcelona. It is the tourist capital of the Costa del Maresme, ideal for sun and beach holiday destination. It has countless restaurants, bars with terraces and a vibrant nightlife, with its beaches, offer an attractive offer to the traveller. It is also a sports tourism destination of the first order for its natural setting, halfway between Girona and Barcelona, for its climate and for offering wide range of tourist accommodations, gastronomy and leisure options.

Santa Monica in 1987

What type of customers come to Santa Monica and what are their expectations?

The Hotel Santa Monica is a favourite hotel of families with children and senior travellers who want to enjoy their holiday in a relaxed atmosphere, without stressful noise with a friendly and familiar treatment.

A warm and friendly atmosphere for an experience to repeat. What is the secret of being successful?

Dealing directly with the customer (our team works at Santa Mónica over the past 30 years, and that is what our customers appreciate). Returning to the hotel for their holiday is as a returning “home”), this fact together with a good selection of the food in our buffet and a good location, close to the beach, are the three most important aspects that our customers value.

We all know that a hotel is like a big house, receives customers from many nationalities, staff has to manage guest requests, comments, etc. What is the key to keeping a customer happy and make it a repeater client?

Above all we pay attention to all the comments and spend a necessary time to resolve them. And another very interesting fact which our guests appreciate is that before a possible complaint or comment, we act quickly. This was we assure the effective and timely feedback.

Hotel Manager Mr Lopez

It is not the common case that a hotel manager is also a poet. What inspires you to write and what is your favourite subject? Do you write under a pen name?

The poet suit is too big for me. If anything I would like to define myself as “joiner of words”. It was May 2011 and I wrote a poem explaining how I felt when composing, little things that inspired me: a smile, a sunset … The main topic of my 3,000 poems written to this day is love and heartbreak, especially those about heartbreak are the best and most poignant. I’ve got some current but they are fewer. And about signing with a pseudonym, I do not use any by now. If someday fame knocks on my door and I won’t be able doing the same life as I do now, then I’ll see if I want to use a pseudonym. Well, thinking that the most artists have disappeared without having attained fame during their lives, only their descendants took advantage of their work after having passed decades. Now thinking about it I would prefer to enjoy myself in the present moment.

And finally, please share with us some inspirational thought.

The quote is not mine, it is one of the speakers who joined a course that we have done in Medplaya, Joana Frigolé, who said:
Those who dedicate their lives to world of tourism are “Sellers of Happiness”. I think to “sell” happiness one must be happy. At least we strive to be happy every day.

Manolo, thanks for taking your time to answer our questions and we wish you and your team a successful future and happy customers.