‘Ronaldo hotel’ opens in Madeira

A chain of Pestana hotels, in part thought up by Portuguese star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, are to open in Europe and the US, the first of which was inaugurated last week in Ronaldo’s homeland, the island of Madeira.

The first Pestana CR7 hotel was inaugurated last Friday in Funchal.Dionísio Pestana, founder and CEO of the Pestana group, revealed it was Ronaldo who came up with the idea.

Speaking to Spanish newspaper El País, the South-African born Portuguese entrepreneur explained: “We wanted a hotel in Madrid, but we didn’t know exactly how, so we spoke to someone who knows the city and is Portuguese, Cristiano Ronaldo. “It was he who proposed linking his image to a hotel unit in Madrid.”

However, it was in Madeira that the first CR7 unit was inaugurated, because, according to Pestana, “it was easier to find a good spot.”

Comprising artificial grass flooring along the corridors and in the 49 rooms, prices at the Pestana CR7 reportedly range from €180 a night to €565 for a luxury suite.

A second CR7 hotel is due to open in Lisbon in September, followed by units in Madrid and New York.

Dionísio Pestana stresses that the hotels are not dedicated to Ronaldo, but to sport, and adds they are aimed at younger patrons who came of age this century, as “there is no better image for that generation. Ronaldo is a living brand.”

Addressing the Pestana-Ronaldo partnership, he jokes, “We make the beds and he scores the goals.”