In 1972, Enrique Martinón Armas, Industrial Engineer born in Lanzarote, set up an Engineering and Architecture Studio in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). It was the foundation of Grupo Martinón, a consolidated business project that brings together a group of companies, which is present in four countries (Spain, Cuba, Mexico and The Dominican Republic) and after a process of integration and consolidation of the companies involved, is continuously expanding.
As an engineer, Enrique Martinón founded the engineering and architectural studio Estudio 7, and as a businessman purchased a share in Intercasa (Canarias canning company), and began his participation in tourism operations. He founded Puerto de Mogan and Hotel Puerto de Mogan and the Apart hotel Morromar in Lanzarote. During this time Horinsa was also set up, a company dedicated to construction and the production of aggregates, asphalt and concrete.
In 1987, Enrique Martinón, aware of the possibilities of the Caribbean as a tourist destination of worldwide importance, decided to invest in the globalization of his companies and established the joint venture Cubacan in Cuba. Between 1987 and 1998, Grupo Martinón participated in the construction and the launch of four hotels in Cuba, operated by Meliá Hotels. Three of them on the beaches of Varadero: Hotel Sol Palmeras, Hotel Meliá Varadero and the Hotel Meliá Las Américas. The fourth hotel is the Melia Habana in Habana. The four hotels are fully operational.
After the construction and launch of the last hotel in Cuba, the Group took a strategic decision to continue its expansion in the Caribbean and to expand its presence in Spain.
In 2001 two hotels were built, one in Mexico, Riviera Maya, which is now run by the AM Resorts chain (member of the Group and one of the main operators in the U.S. market, Apple Vacations) under the trade name Now Sapphire, and another on the island of Lanzarote, the Hotel Volcán Lanzarote, which is managed by the Group.
In 2006, Grupo Martinón decided to continue its expansion in the hotel sector in the Caribbean. The result of this decision is the construction of five new hotels between 2007 and 2011. In Bavaro they opened a hotel that is currently operated by the NH Hotels company and is marketed under the brand name Now Larimar, following an agreement between NH Hotels, AM Resorts and Grupo Martinón which is an innovative joint venture for the construction, management and operation of Hotels in the form of all inclusive hotels in the Caribbean. In Cancun, they opened a second hotel in Mexico called Now Jade, managed and operated by AM Resorts.
In December 2009, the Secrets Royal Beach Hotel opened in Bavaro which is part of the alliance between AM Resorts, NH Hotels and Grupo Martinón. Another two hotels are currently being built at the resort of Bavaro and will be managed by AM Resorts and NH Hotels.
For future projects, the Group has acquired land in the Dominican Republic in Uvero Alto, where another 750-room hotel will be built and opened in 2013. The Group is also participating in the Sotolindo project, located in Cancun, where the plan is to build a hotel complex wich is currently under study.
Although mainly focused on the hotel business, Grupo Martinón participates in other business projects. In Real-Estate, industrial estate, in the service sector, food industry, in the water sector and others.
Grupo Martinón is a family business consisting of a group of highly experienced and business trained professionals and provides employment to over 4,000 people.
