The Grand Hyatt Barcelona hotel, bought by RIU, will become the city’s first Riu Plaza in April 2027

Spanish group RIU Hotels & Resorts has bought the building that houses the Grand Hyatt Barcelona, formerly the Hotel Princesa Sofia, and will take over its management on 1 April 2027. The 465 rooms in this 19-storey tower near Camp Nou will become RIU’s first hotel in Barcelona, under its Riu Plaza city brand. The sale price has not been disclosed.

Building sold, Hyatt stays on as operator

Hyatt is not the seller: the building belonged to Blasson Property Investments and BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts, who are selling it to RIU. Hyatt has only been running the hotel since 3 April 2024. aCapital advised the buyer, Eastdil and Colliers the sellers, and RIU has not given any figure.

465 rooms over 19 floors, near Camp Nou

The tower rises on Avinguda Joan XXIII, a block from Avinguda Diagonal, next to Camp Nou and the headquarters of CaixaBank, opposite the Jardins de les Infantes, in the Les Corts-Pedralbes district. It has 465 rooms, including 49 suites and a penthouse, and houses one of the largest meeting and events centres in the city: 22 rooms and more than 3,400 m².

A Grand Hyatt since 3 April 2024

The former Hotel Princesa Sofia, a historic Barcelona address, was renamed Grand Hyatt Barcelona on 3 April 2024 after a bespoke renovation. At the time, it was the second Grand Hyatt in Spain. The building has earned LEED Gold environmental certification. Until RIU takes over, the hotel continues to operate under the Grand Hyatt brand.

Maymanta, Peruvian dining on the 19th floor

Up on the roof, the Peruvian restaurant Maymanta, led by chef Omar Malpartida, opens its terrace onto the Collserola hills. The hotel also has the Leña steakhouse by chef Dani García, Sofia Bar & Tapas and the Philosophia café. For wellbeing, the Oasis Spa by Natura Bissé comes with a 75 m² indoor pool and an outdoor pool. Not far away on the coast, there is also the thalasso at the Le Méridien Ra hotel, near Barcelona.

1 April 2027: enter the 14th Riu Plaza

RIU will take over the management of the hotel on 1 April 2027. It will become the 14th hotel in the Riu Plaza line, the group’s city range, already present in London, New York and Chicago, among others. Founded in Majorca in 1953 by the Riu family and now run by its third generation, the group has 101 hotels in 22 countries and 38,955 employees, and welcomed 6.8 million guests in 2025. It ranks as the world’s 40th hotel chain and Spain’s 3rd by number of rooms.

Why had RIU been eyeing Barcelona for a decade?

“With this hotel, we are achieving a historic goal, as we had been looking for the right opportunity to invest in Barcelona for more than ten years, a strategic priority since we launched our Riu Plaza line in 2010,” says Luis Riu, CEO of RIU, in the group’s press release. He compares the project to the Hotel Riu Plaza España in Madrid, “our best-known asset today”. Other major European hotels have recently changed hands, such as The Lake Como EDITION, in Italy, or the Augustine hotel in Prague, bought by Kempinski.