AEE E
HHECEF HE H E JE &F
E H E E CH
EC A AD C
E HE E E E CE F B
GA DGAH E A DHE C
D-19 A DE

A ,C.

Christine, can ou tell us a little about our background?
live in Tokyo and now also in Granada, and have homes in other parts of the world. ve beenrunning Travelife Magazine, one of the leading publications for luxury travellers in Southeast
Asia, for over 13 years. During this time, as Publisher and Editor, was on an airplane
somewhere exotic almost every other week, and was living in hotel rooms practically half theyear.
Most of the hotels stayed in were among the best in the world whether for work or for leisure.
m passionate about staying in beautiful hotels with great service because think the choice ofhotels can make or break a trip, so had ample opportunities to observe the fine details of
luxury hotels and to critique the guest experience.
Hodid La Esperan a Granada come about?

Befittingly for a travel magazine owner, was on a Japan Airlines flight landing at Tokyo s Narita
Airport in 15 minutes when the idea to purchase a property in Spain suddenly came to mind. t
was the height of COV D in June 2020 with so many countries in lockdown and no vaccines onthe horizon.
One of my last trips before COV D closed down the world was to Spain. spent a week in thequiet part of the Spanish Pyrenees and this happy visit and Spain, was still very much on mymind.

m one of these people who just goes out and does things, when have an idea. So after thisseed was planted in my mind, that was it. As soon as reached my home in Tokyo, even before
unpacking my bags, went online and typed out: properties for sale in Spain. Several interestinghomes came up, but when saw this Spanish Mission-style hacienda property in Granada, justknew it was going to be mine.
t took me all of 30 minutes to decide to buy it, and never looked back or hesitated after that. t
was then a private property but it was built to function as a small hotel. t was also in the middleof nature but at the same time near enough to big cities and just 90 minutes from Malaga
nternational Airport, which has direct flights from so many countries. t was exactly whatwanted.

What as our ision for the project?
nitially, was just happy to have a small beautiful hotel. But now we are a member of the L.V.X.
Collection of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, and would like La Esperanza Granada to be one of thegreatest small hotels of the world.
We only have eight rooms, but want people to regard us as a destination hotel rather than as ahotel for a destination. Already, it s happening. We get messages from potential clients saying:
We want to stay at La Esperanza Granada. What is there to do around there?

Tell us about the design process for the con ersion. Ho did ou incorporate thepropert s tradition and location into the spaces? And did ou ork ith an interior
designer?
The property was initially a private residence with a guest wing and a license to accept paying
overnight guests. However, the former owners never operated it as a hotel so we had toundertake a lot of renovations and refurbishing to bring it up to the luxury level wanted for thehotel.
For the interiors, chose almost every item in the hotel myself. wanted to ensure thateverything we brought into La Esperanza Granada reflected the deep culture of this part ofAndalusia, which is essentially the culture of the Moors. enjoyed this process immensely and weworked with some of the finest purveyors in the region for our furniture and artworks.

am also very proud of our main courtyard, which is inspired by the world-famous Alhambra
Palace. This courtyard was originally quite plain and life and colour were badly needed. So we
hired some of the best traditional artisans in Granada to reinvigorate the space with tiles similar
to what was used in the Alhambra.
Not just anyone can recreate these tiles, and the resulting work was a major investment of time,money, and love. Our artisans, of Muslim faith, put great thought into the design of the tiles andthe connection of this design with the surroundings and with God. n fact, after they finished thecourtyard, they prayed over it; this was truly a labour of love.
Meanwhile, our gardens were designed by the owner of a local firm that also does gardening
work for the Alhambra. n fact occasionally he calls us up and says: m sorry can t go there
today as have work to do at the Alhambra. We re very happy to play second fiddle to Spain s
first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

What s our fa ourite part of the propert ?
Every nook and corner of La Esperanza is wonderful and full of memories for me. There is astory behind each painting, chair or table. Whenever walk around my own hotel, just think
everything is beautiful, and want to take photos of everything for nstagram, even if havealready seen the same things a hundred times. So it s difficult to choose a particular favourite.
However, perhaps the most memorable place for me is the salon (main image) where guests canhave breakfast in the winter. This was once an empty barn with strings of garlic hanging from theceilings, as is typical in many Andalusia hacienda.
From practically nothing, we transformed this cavernous room into the most beautiful salon fullof lovely things like a handmade stone table inlaid with lapis lazuli and rose quartz, carved
mirrors with bone inlay, and paintings of flamenco dancers. While we were renovating the hotel,
we spent many nice evenings in front of the fireplace and we also did a New Year s Eve dinnerhere under lockdown. So have happy memories of this beautiful room.

What makes La Esperan a Granada the perfect place foreddings?

Conde Nast Traveler recently called us the most romantic hotel in Granada , and rightly so.
Everything about the property from the gardens and the impressive fa ade to the detailed
rooms and public spaces are just perfect for special occasions. n fact, we ve just opened and wehave had weddings practically every weekend of summer.
The brides and grooms and perhaps more importantly, their parents are overjoyed with La
Esperanza Granada, and their guests tell us that they ve never seen anything like our hotel
before. n fact, for a wedding last weekend, a florist drove over to deliver the flowers. When hegot out of the car, he was open-mouthed and his first words were: What an incredible place thisis.
This is an excerpt from a Q&A interview in The Hotel Journal
https://thehoteljournal.com/interview-christine-cunanan-la-esperan a-granada-spain/