Turkish owner-operator Kaya Hotels & Resorts has paid a reported €100 million — €610,000 per room — for the five-star, 164-room ME Barcelona, setting the pace in a week of nine European hotel transactions tracked by HVS for the week ending 7 August 2026.

Kaya bought the hotel from Spanish real estate developer Actual Capital. The property sits just off Passeig de Gràcia, a three-minute walk from Placa de Catalunya, and opened in 2021 with a restaurant, two bars and eight meeting rooms. From 2028, Kaya plans to rebrand and operate the asset as the Kaya Palazzo Barcelona.

Where did the other big-ticket money go?

Singapore-based First Sponsor Group led a consortium that acquired the five-star, 122-room Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht from Invesco Real Estate's European Hotel Fund for €93.5 million, or €766,000 per room. First Sponsor holds a 33% equity interest. Hyatt Hotels continues to operate the canal-belt hotel under a long-term lease running until 2042, alongside 1,374 sqm of leased office space in the building.

Fattal Hotel Group paid £66.5 million (£235,000 per room) for the long leasehold of the five-star, 283-room The Dilly on Piccadilly in London. The Israeli group bought the hotel's operations in 2022 for £90 million — £318,000 per room — from Archer Capital, owned by Singapore's GIC and Dutch pension manager APG. A phased renovation is due for completion in 2028.

Leonardo Hotels, Fattal's European arm, also acquired the four-star, 170-room Hilton Evian-les-Bains on the southern shore of Lake Geneva. Leonardo plans an extensive renovation before rebranding the property as the NYX Hotel Evian-les-Bains by Leonardo Hotels.

What do the mid-market and regional deals signal?

LFPI Hôtels Gestion, the hotel management arm of French asset manager LFPI, reportedly acquired three three-star hotels totalling 125 rooms in Strasbourg city centre from French owner-operator HK Group:

• the 47-room Hotel Victoria
• the 45-room Hôtel Strasbourg Le Kléber
• the 33-room Hôtel Roses

All three include a breakfast restaurant.

Grupo Inversor Hesperia (GIHSA) bought the five-star, 197-room La Zambra Resort — The Unbound Collection by Hyatt — on the Costa del Sol from London-based private equity firm Intriva Capital. Intriva had acquired the hotel in 2019, completed a comprehensive renovation and reopened it in 2022. The asset carries three restaurants, nine meeting rooms and a 2,000 sqm spa.

Meridia Capital acquired the two-star, 157-room Ibis Madrid Alcorcon Tresaguas from French owner-operator Essendi. Spanish operator Continuum Hotel Group will take over operations and retain the Ibis brand at the suburban property, 15 km southwest of Madrid's centre.

Capital Hospitality Europe, with private investors, acquired the two-star, 36-room Hotel Antin Saint Georges in Paris' 9th district, halfway between Gare du Nord and Palais Garnier. CHE plans to refurbish and reposition the asset as an upscale boutique hotel — an economy-to-boutique play in one of Europe's tightest hotel markets.

Why did a university buy a Birmingham hotel?

University College Birmingham acquired the four-star, 52-room The Cube hotel near Birmingham New Street station, which closed in June 2026. The purchase forms part of the university's £15 million hospitality investment programme and will convert the property — which houses a Marco Pierre White restaurant — into a commercial training hotel for hospitality students.

The week's volume — roughly €280 million across the larger deals alone — shows owner-operators outbidding funds for prime full-service assets in Barcelona, Amsterdam and London, while private equity continues to exit renovated Spanish resorts. Renovation-led rebranding timelines at The Dilly and Evian-les-Bains point to refreshed inventory reaching those markets from 2028.