A Majorcan family company on the IBEX 35
Meliá Hotels International began in 1956, when Gabriel Escarrer Juliá leased the Altair Hotel in Palma, Majorca. It is still headquartered in Palma, is listed in Madrid and is a component of the IBEX 35, with the founding family retaining a substantial holding.
The group operates around 362 hotels and roughly 94,000 rooms across 41 countries, with Spain by far the largest market, alongside Germany, Croatia, Portugal, Brazil and the Caribbean.
Bravos covers the top of the ladder only
Meliá runs a brand ladder, and Bravos applies to four brands at the luxury end of it: Gran Meliá, The Meliá Collection, ME by Meliá and Paradisus by Meliá. The premium and essential tiers, meaning Meliá Hotels & Resorts, ZEL, INNSiDE, Sol and Affiliated by Meliá, sit outside it.
The program also carries a condition most do not: the credit requires a stay of at least three nights. On a two-night city stop the breakfast and the early arrival still apply, but the credit does not, and it is better to know that before booking than after.
The only program that pays you a loyalty bonus
MeliáRewards is points-based, with four tiers from White through Silver and Gold to Platinum. Bravos does not sit apart from it: on suite and villa bookings the program adds a 20 per cent bonus to the MeliáRewards points earned on the stay.
Every other program we hold either preserves loyalty earning or replaces it. This is the only one that increases it, which makes the calculation unusually simple for anyone already holding MeliáRewards standing.
Resorts, and the no-walk policy
Bravos carries an explicit no-walk policy, meaning the hotel undertakes not to relocate the booking when it is oversold. On the resort side of this portfolio, where a family arrives after a long flight to a property running at capacity, that is worth more than most of the amenity list.
Guaranteed early check-in and priority for a late departure are part of the same package. The rate is Meliá's own. Start an enquiry or send a booking you already hold.