Founded in 1956 in Palma de Majorca (Spain) by Mr Gabriel Escarrer, Sol Meliá has quickly reached the top of the Spanish tourism market, being currently the leader of both city and resort hotels.

After this achievement, Sol Meliá turned its eyes abroad and decided to develop the company worldwide. Thus, in 1985 the Meliá Bali (Indonesia) was the first hotel managed by the International Division; since then, the expansion has been increasingly improved.

In this respect, Sol Meliá has always placed a great emphasis on the diversification of its hotel products and services. Thus, Sol Meliá operates 7 major hotel brands to cover the different accommodation needs of a wide range of different types of guest: Meliá, ME, TRYP, Sol, Paradisus, Sol Meliá Vacation Club and Luxury Lifestyle.

Sol Meliá began the year 2008 with agreements signed to add more than 10 hotels over the next two years. Sol Meliá is the leading hotel company in Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean, the third largest in Europe and the twelfth biggest in the world. With more than 32,500 employees worldwide, the company currently provides more than 400 hotels in 35 countries. Included in the number of hotels that Sol Meliá will be opening in 2008, are the Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora (Spain) and the Gran Meliá Shanghai (China), two exclusive properties which will become worldwide leaders in the luxury hotel segment.