TORONTO — Two AMResorts brands, Secrets and Dreams, are coming to Europe as part of a strategic alliance between AMResorts parent company Apple Leisure Group and Madrid-based NH Hotel Group.

The two companies have announced they will jointly operate beachfront resorts in Spain to start with under the Secrets Resorts & Spas adults-only brand and Dreams Resorts & Spas family-friendly brand. The deal will also see the debut of a new three-star brand called Amigo Hotels & Resorts.

AMResorts will oversee brand management and sales while NH will maintain operational management of the resorts.

The first four hotels in AMResorts’ European portfolio are slated to open in Spain in 2019, in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Mallorca. The resorts will be conversions of existing hotels, which will undergo complete renovations to meet brand standards.

“Spain has an abundance of beach and leisure destinations as well as one of the strongest all-inclusive resort markets outside of the Caribbean,” said Alex Zozaya, CEO of Apple Leisure Group. “NH Hotel Group’s expertise in Europe made them the right partner to introduce AMResorts’ brands into the continent’s Mediterranean countries, with Spain as starting point of this strategic project.”

Ramon Aragonés, CEO of NH Hotel Group, added: “This alliance is the result of a long-standing relationship between both companies, and will combine the recognized brands and dynamic sales and marketing experience of the North American-based AMResorts, with NH’s extensive experience as a leading hotel operator in Europe and Latin America. The result is an attractive hotel partnership model, which has already proven successful in the Caribbean, and we will leverage each company’s strengths to surpass travelers’ expectations in Europe’s top destinations.”   

The expansion into Europe marks the next phase of a long-standing partnership between AMResorts’ and NH, which began in 2011 when the companies established a similar model to open three resorts in the D.R.

NH operates nearly 400 hotels in 30 countries across its three brands: NH Collection, NH Hotels and nhow. The company is the leading urban hotel operator in Spain, with more than 130 hotels in the country.

AMResorts meanwhile has a pipeline of 52 open resorts and an additional 20 planned throughout Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. The company provides sales, marketing and brand management services for Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resorts, Secrets, Breathless, Dreams, Now and Sunscape Resorts & Spas.

“As the second most visited country in the world in 2017, the time was right to expand our footprint across the Atlantic Ocean and into Europe, beginning in Spain. Through this partnership, NH Hotel Group is helping us enter the most competitive and popular destinations in this country, as well as in the rest of the Mediterranean markets, such as Italy where NH has a strong presence,” said Javier Coll, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of AMResorts parent Apple Leisure Group.