He studied business administration in Barcelona and put aside his original intention of being a publicist. His professional life took him to Morgan Stanley and there he fully experienced the world of investment banking.
However, Andrés Soldevila Ferrer was overcome by his love for hospitality, as he belongs to the fourth generation of a family linked to the industry.
He expanded his knowledge by training in schools in France and the United States, although he declined to enter the family company, Majestic Hotel Group, to work, learn and get to know the sector, opening his focus to other international chains such as Ritz-Carlton, Pierre
“The investment banking stage was intense, although the passion for hotels was even stronger”, confesses Soldevila. “We all have an inspiration or a special place, and knowing the Bulgari philosophy applied to this world was crucial to start dreaming of unique hotels.”
Following those dreams and in agreement with his brothers, together they created Naboga Capital in 2010, a family office whose first asset was Sant Francesc, in the heart of Palma, Mallorca: a palace house from 1860 lovingly restored and converted into a unique hotel (title or surname that appears on a small sign on the facade, under the name of the establishment) with 42 rooms and suites, which opened its doors in 2015.
“The concept of uniqueness of a hotel goes beyond that it is impeccable, or that the decoration is adequate. It is about, on the one hand, making the guest who stays with us feel unique and, on the other, we create a real bond with the building, with the neighborhood and the population where it is. An integration with the place. There are those dreams that we are fulfilling, ”he indicates.
After the opening of Palma, Naboga Capital carefully searched for a second location and did not have to leave the island: they found it in the heart of Santanyí, to the southeast. There they converted an old family residence into a boutique hotel with 13 rooms and 19 suites that combines careful architecture with pieces of contemporary art. Once again, the family character is physically present, since the interior designer Nuria Ferrer, Soldevila’s mother, was in charge of a project that has respected the original structure of a 17th-century Majorcan mansion in the historic center and very close to beaches such as Es Trenc and the Mondragó Natural Park.
The pandemic changed the pace of new additions, although since last year there is already a third hotel underway. This has been baptized Villa Soro and is located in San Sebastián. For this case, a villa was rescued in Ulía-Ategorrieta, one of the 17 neighborhoods into which the capital of Gipuzkoa is divided. The area is at the foot of Mount Ulia and a short walk from Zurriola beach, to the east of La Concha. With 25 rooms, 15 in the main house and ten built after the rehabilitation of the old stables, Villa Soro is one of the most recent hotel novelties in a city that continues to be a magnet for select tourism.
While Soldevila continues to project new locations, the three existing establishments are already part of the Majestic Hotel Group catalogue, which also markets them, although the Soldevila Ferrer family manages and dreams of them independently.
