Melia Hotels International brings Spanish luxury to Mongolia with the opening of Gran Melia Ulaanbaatar

The company signs its 1st property in Mongolia, 18th hotel in Asia Pacific

Gran Melia Ulaanbaatar will become the 13th Gran Melia hotel worldwide, bringing its timeless and passionate luxury to the Mongolian capital

Includes a new country in his hotel portfolio, operating hotels in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam for more than 28 years

Baz International and Melia Hotels International signed an agreement for management of the newly-built Gran Melia Ulaanbaatar. The 150-room hotel, to be added to the Gran Melia Hotels & Resorts luxury portfolio, is scheduled to be open in 2017.

Located at the top 12 floors of the newest skyscraper in Ulaanbaatar, it will count with a rooftop restaurant and helipad, and the signature Yhi Spa, Red Level and RedGlove Service concepts. Its proximity to the main financial and government areas will allow it to become the preferred choice for both business and leisure travelers.

Mongolia, with a population of 3 million inhabitants, has experienced double-digit GDP growth in the last decade, bringing along an increase of demand of quality hospitality products. Mining is of great importance to the country, and it's scheduled that the sector will represent one third of the country's economy in 2020.

With the collaboration of Gran Melia in this project, Melia Hotels International keeps on expanding in new markets in the Asia Pacific region, one of the primary focuses of growth for the company in the coming years. In words of Gabriel Escarrer, Vice President and CEO of Melia Hotels International: "Gran Melia Ulaanbaatar will represent perfectly our ambition to position our brands in the most dynamic markets and destinations. Mongolia is a global power in the mining sector and several other industries, with commercial partners as important as China, Russia, USA or Japan, all of them part of Melia Hotels International priority markets"

About Meliá Hotels International

Meliá Hotels International was founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and is one of the world's largest resort hotel chains, as well as Spain's leading hotel chain. It currently provides more than 350 hotels in 35 countries on 4 continents under its brands: Gran Meliá, Meliá, ME, Innside, Tryp by Wyndham,Sol and Paradisus. Its product and service portfolio is complemented by Club Meliá, the only vacation club operated by a Spanish company.

In 2011, the family company founded by Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, that operated under the name "Sol Meliá" for decades, began a new stage in its development under the brand name that represents its present and its future: Meliá Hotels International.