Selina to invest €13M in Mendia Palace hotel project

The international hotel chain Selina has announced a €13 million restoration and refurbishment project to transform a 17th century Lisbon palace into a luxury boutique hotel.

The project is part of an overall €250 million investment plan for Portugal from the South American international hotel group.
The palace, which was last refurbished in the 19th century, is in Lisbon’s São Bento district and will be given a complete makeover while retaining its key historical features.
Expected to open in 2020, the building will not only feature the hotel but also a coworking space, restaurants and an area for cultural and musical events.
The project represents the largest investment from Selina and its other investors in 2019 in Portugal.
To date Selina has invested around €75 million in Portugal and will have invested an estimated €250 million by 2020.
Over the next four years Selina plans to open 20 hotels in Portugal with around 7,500 beds. The hotel chain is also looking for Portuguese investment partners in the real estate sector with market know-how who want to be part of the brand’s expansion in Portugal.
To date Selina has acquired six properties in Portugal: Selina Porto, Selina Secret Garden Lisbon, Selina Ericeira, Selina Vila Nova and Selina Palácio (Mendia). The group is also negotiating purchases in Gerês and Peniche.
The Mendia Palace, which was owned by Lisbon City Council had once been the property of the Counts of Mendia. The title was created in November 1980 by King Carlos of Portugal in favour of Eurgénio de Mendia y Cunha Matos, 1st Count of Mendia and 1st Marquis de Mendia in Spain.
The Selina Group has 43 properties around the world divided into six types of products and services: Hospitality and Restaurants; Accommodation; Explore (bespoke tours and experiences), Music & Events; Wellness and Co-working.
Selina was founded in 2007 by Rafael Museri and Daniel Rudasevski in Pedasí, a small fishing town in Panama. They ran real estate projects and while developing the town, they began to build a tight-knit social circle with locals and travelers.
The two friends had a project in mind. After traveling the world and staying in many places, they believed they could begin to change the world of hospitality and share this community with other travelers. This is how the first Selina was born in Venao, a surf town near Pedasí in 2014.
Once the model was proven to be a success in Venao, the expansion began. Selina is growing quickly in Central America and starting to move into South America, North America and soon Europe.
Today Selina has a presence in 40 cities in 13 countries including Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Peru in South America and now Portugal in Europe.
The group also has plans to set up in the United States, Poland, Greece, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom by 2020 with a projected 54,000 beds worldwide.