In the 50's, a young entrepreneur who had his first jobs in hotels on the Costa Brava, in the north of Spain, fell in love with the tourism sector and began to project a dream that would soon become a reality. We are talking about our founder, Mr. José María Caballé Horta.
At just over 20 years old and after working as a hotel manager, Caballé decided to move in search of an opportunity to Benidorm, in the eastern part of Spain, attracted by the potential of the place. A beautiful corner of the coast that, although it was still unnoticed by most people, our founder managed to see his projects crystallize there.
Thus, we were born as a company in the city of Benidorm in 1969. It was then when Caballé's ideas managed to attract the investment of the great European tour operators of the time, managing to promote an authentic tourist revolution that turned that simple fishing village into an incomparable city of skyscrapers next to the Mediterranean Sea.
Over the years, we have become one of the main hotel chains in Spain, with more than 18 establishments around the Mediterranean Sea and only one establishment outside the country. We have more than 50 years of experience in the hotel sector on both sides of the Atlantic and employ more than 2,000 employees in high season to service our more than 10,000 hotel beds.
Servigroup is now in Colombia
El Hotel Benidorm es el único establecimiento del grupo fuera de España; ubicado en Manizales, Caldas. Desde la apertura del hotel, estamos agradecidos y entusiasmados por hacer parte de una cultura diferente; amamos la diversidad y buscamos acoger, respetar y exaltar cada parte de su esencia como si fuese la nuestra, queremos evolucionar juntos y fusionar nuestra gestión en un intercambio intercontinental.
Manizales, a Servigroup destination
Our founder has a special attraction to Colombia. Since he was a child, he had heard the stories of his great aunt, who, as a member of a religious congregation, traveled Colombia for many years doing social work. The affection and curiosity that his aunt instilled in him for the country led him to visit it on numerous occasions.
In 2008, on a trip through the Eje Cafetero, Caballé felt in Manizales a taste of home, with the aroma of coffee. Its landscapes, its homely essence, its mountainous and cool location at more than 2,200 meters above sea level and, above all, the warmth of its people, made this university city a place of great sentimental and cultural value for him.
In 2012, the modern Hotel Benidorm opened its doors in Manizales in a strategic location near the old railroad station, between the city's main avenues, surrounded by the Universidad Autónoma de Manizales, less than 5 minutes from the Fundadores Shopping Center and with excellent public and private transportation connections. This is how this Servigroup Hotels establishment has positioned itself as an ideal meeting point for those who come to this vibrant coffee city.
Benidorm and Manizales, an unbreakable bond
The relationship between Benidorm and Manizales is not limited to the name of our hotel. This link has transcended and has gone beyond the walls of the building with initiatives as interesting as the ambitious training program promoted by Caballé since 2014. In it, it offers students linked to the tourism sector in the Caldas Region, who are studying at the National Learning Service (SENA) and the Autonomous University of Manizales (UAM), scholarships to learn in the hotels that the group owns in Benidorm, as well as in the administrative and purchasing centers or in the extensive agricultural farm that serves to supply the kitchens of these hotels with fresh products on a daily basis, located in the same city.
Caballé's commitment to Manizales led the Government of Caldas in December 2020 to grant him the Order of the Shield of Caldas in the "Great Shield" category, in recognition of his outstanding work for the benefit of tourism and educational development in the region by managing to invigorate the local economy of the area, generating employment and welfare by integrating local communities in tourism activities and contributing to the stimulation of competitiveness and quality of the hotel sector in the area.
However, this is not the first recognition Caballé has received in this city where he feels at home. In 2014, he was named by the Mayor's Office of Manizales as Commander and Illustrious Son of the city. In 2016, he also received the Escudo de Caldas in the category "Honor to Merit" and a year later, in 2017, he was awarded a new recognition, this time by the Hotel and Tourism Association of Colombia (COTELCO) for his support to the development of tourism in Caldas, as well as for the generation of employment enhancing social and economic growth in the region.
As a curiosity and evidence of this transatlantic relationship, in Manizales there is a public space dedicated to Benidorm with a square that bears its name and displays various images of the great tourist city of the Spanish Levante. Likewise, Benidorm also has a square with the name of Manizales, whose inhabitants are also proud of the twinning between the two cities. And for many more years to come!
