Nothing seems to predict what awaits the guest expectantly After crossing the gates Du Soleil House . Businessman Alan Conde, together with the architect Begoña de Andrés (co-founder of BAN Architects) and the hotel manager Lucia Melgosa , have been commissioned to create a small oasis with ten rooms, two patios and common rooms whose design and layout transports the traveler to some point between the Mediterranean Sea, Marrakech, Bali or (why not) the Caribbean.
A hostel shop three star where you come to disconnect, to enjoy with all five senses and to stay among the hustle and bustle of what the center of Madrid means without feeling that you are there. 500 m2 of calm, care, closeness and well-being a few steps from Puerta del Sol, the neighborhood of La Latina or Madrid's Gran Vía.
An accommodation that opened its doors last December 2021 and that in just three months of operation the 'complete' sign is already hanging most weekends; whose design and interior design remind us that the sea is not as far as we think.
Shall we cross their gates? The trip promises to be extraordinary, as well as unexpected.
Welcome to…Marrakech? Nope! Welcome to Madrid!
A HOSTEL IN WHICH YOU FEEL AT HOME
The passion that Alan Conde has for his native country (Dominican Republic) and the experience in all the trips that would come later in the form of work and pleasure, were the great triggers for this globetrotter to decide to open an Eden converted into a hostel in 2021 at number 9 of the street of San Pedro el Mártir, a few steps from the Tirso de Molina metro stop and the iconic Teatro Nuevo Apolo.
“All my personal and professional experience has led me to Casa du Soleil. Since young I have always had a great interest in the area of tourism , learn other languages, be in contact with other cultures and meet people from different parts of the world”, Alan Conde admits to Traveler.es.
At first, life had other plans for him and he ended up studying Industrial Engineering, to later do a master's degree in the United States where he had the opportunity to work in consulting and strategy. The trips to different countries on the occasion of his work projects, did nothing more than reaffirm that in one way or another he wanted to undertake his own professional adventure and that his thing was the service, the attention and the treatment with the client.
The haven of peace we need.
Casa du Soleil would arrive some time later, but earlier (specifically in 2009) was when inaugurated in Madrid six guest houses that today would be translated into tourist homes, before the giant Airbnb made the concept of vacation rental fashionable.
“I created this concept thinking about my own experience of having a place away from home where I can feel at home . And so this adventure began. Casa du Soleil was the opportunity to take the business to the next level. With the tourist apartments there is not really a customer service experience which is what I missed the most. During all that time, I had this concern to create another project that was to provide a more direct service, a destination where you could receive the client and provide accommodation in a unique environment , relaxed and captivating”, adds Alan.
This is how, throughout 2021, the businessman together with his friend the architect Begoña de Andrés (co-founder of BAN Architects) and the hotel manager Lucia Melgosa , worked hand in hand to materialize Casa du Soleil in a hostel shop 3 star that would see the light at the end of November of that same year, receiving its first guests the first week of December 2021.
His name is already a declaration of intent for everything that comes after. In the words of its own founder: “The name of Casa du Soleil comes because the sun has always been my personal symbol . I come from the Caribbean and in fact, at all times I have defined myself as a person who pursues summer, sometimes throughout the year I try to move to the place where the sun is and where the weather is good. Even some people have thought that 'Soleil' was my last name, but no, it's just my passion ”, He admits between laughs.
Mediterranean and contemporary airs at Casa du Soleil.
WHEN MARRAKECH AND IBIZA SHAKE HAND
A single request was the trigger for the captivating design and interior design that the guest finds as soon as he crosses the doors of Casa du Soleil. “I want you to make me a riad in Ibiza” Alan Conde announced to his close friend Begoña de Andrés (co-founder of the BAN Architects studio). Said and done.
“I love it Marrakesh And what caught my attention the most is that the establishment had several patios for use and enjoyment and the concept of the riad is an interior architecture oriented towards the patios and that obviously seemed to me to be a line that fit a lot with the place physically speaking. The reinterpretation of that riad was give it that Mediterranean, island air and in the end he has succeeded. This is the starting design and little by little I want it to evolve and acquire its own personality as the months and years go by”, comments its owner.
This is how an accommodation with different spaces distributed in ten rooms, a reception, two interior patios with a chill out or of co-working -one of them with a small pool where you can cool off on summer days-, a coffee corner where you can enjoy a coffee or tea courtesy of the hotel at any time of the day and where they have arranged different appliances such as the refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave or oven available to all customers for their use and enjoyment, with the intention that they feel like at home during your stay in Madrid.
Three different room options are the stars of rest at Casa du Soleil: Double, Double Superior and Double Deluxe . “Mainly they differ in category by size and furnishings; but all of them make up a warm cozy space and offer modern rustic decoration and furniture, with a comfortable double bed and soft bedding. Added to it, different design elements with which to finish making a unique, relaxed and 100% Mediterranean stay”, he indicates. Lucía Melgosa, the hotel manager of Casa du Soleil.
The perfect combination between Marrakech and Ibiza.
“Casa du Soleil translates to an unexpected and unique experience in the heart of Madrid that transports you to a corner of Mediterranean flavor and invites you to disconnect”, she adds.
Your crown jewels? Of all the rooms spread over the 500m2 of this boutique hostel, there are three that most attract the attention of both those responsible for it and the clientele who have passed through here in the last three months.
In the absence of a more personal name that will come soon, they are rooms nº 2, 3 and 10 which provokes the delights of all those who rest in them. Room 2 is near reception so it is the most accessible, but the best lies in the inner courtyard for private use who stars in it. It is the only one that has it, so its exclusivity and privacy are a real wonder!
“My favorite is room #3 because of its rectangular shape, its wooden bench at the foot of the bed and its cowhide effect chair”, acknowledges Lucía Melgosa. “The one I use the most whenever I stay in Madrid is room number 10 because it is the one that is more secluded and has more privacy ; it also faces the street and has a lot of play”, says Alan Conde.
The Crown Jewels: Rooms 2, 3 and 10.
“Each room has a different charm , there are rooms that face the main patio that corresponds to the riad itself -the heart of the place-; and others instead are oriented towards the smaller patio or the street”, she adds.
And the ideal traveler? Casa du Soleil is designed for all those people who want to stay in the center of the capital, without being aware that they are among the hustle and bustle of it. A small oasis of peace, haven and calm where to disconnect while being close to the main points of the city.
“It is the ideal site chosen by the traveling couples, clients on a business trip or solo travelers in search of a corner in which to feel the warmth of home and peace”, says Lucía Melgosa.
Once presented, it is now when it is time to discover it in the first person. Come and see. Casa du Soleil awaits us.