Meliá Hotels International has announced the addition of a new five star hotel in Barcelona to be operated under ME, the company’s most innovative brand.

ME by Meliá has already established award-winning hotels in London and Madrid, and continues to grow in cosmopolitan capitals around the world that are immersed in fashion, finance, arts and design, and culture.

The new ME Barcelona will boast 173 rooms that encompass the brand’s attributes and standards, including an ‘Aura Manager’ who will personally attend to the stay of each and every guest, ensuring a truly unique and unforgettable experience.

The hotel will also offer innovative dining options, business and social areas and the latest technology, positioning the property at the heart of the city’s social scene.

To stay one step ahead, ME hotels work in collaboration with a number of prestigious international partners, such as the New York-based One Group in London and Miami, En Compañía de Lobos in Madrid and Mallorca and the famous Nikki Beach in Mallorca and Ibiza.

Actual Capital Advisor, an international company dedicated to the management of real estate projects, operates in Barcelona, Warsaw and New York and will be responsible for the overall project development, which will be completed in 2017.

The development will commence with the demolition of the former Hotel Barcelona, followed by the construction of a new 15-storey building including five basement levels, nine upper floors and a roof terrace, as well as a car park and retail outlets.

OUA, led by Jordi Artigas and Fito Architects, will be responsible for the design and construction of ME Barcelona.

A hallmark of the ME brand is the involvement of the well-renowned architects and designers, such as Zaha Hadid in Dubai, Norman Foster in London and Aldo Rossi in Milan, among others.

Meliá brand will also open Milan and Miami later this year and Dubai in 2016.

Gabriel Escarrer, chief executive of Meliá Hotels International, said: “We wanted to create a truly stunning project for our ME brand in Barcelona, to equal the high standards set in London and Madrid, as well as Miami and Milan which open in 2015, and Dubai is also set to launch in 2016.

“Thanks to its features and location, the future ME Barcelona will be the hotel that we dreamed about for this universal city.”