• Interview Kike Sarasola, confined in Colombia with his children: "It would be nice to think that hoteliers have built castles for superheroes"
  • Families Kike Sarasola: "I would love to have more children, my husband won't let me"

This Thursday Enrique Sarasola inaugurated in Venice the Palazzo dei Fiori, the 23rd hotel of the Room Mate chain. In 60, the 2005-year-old businessman from Madrid created a new concept of a very central urban hotel, with reasonable prices, cheerful and personalized decoration, impeccable service and free Wi-Fi and breakfast until 12:00 in the morning. Each of them has a person's name: Oscar, Alicia, Mario. Fictitious friends who responded to the network's motto: the best way to travel is to be greeted by a friend, Oscar, Alicia, Mario, in that city you are visiting.

Room Mate was an immediate success and spread throughout Europe and America. But the perfect storm erupted. In 2020, Covid-19 mortally affected companies around the world and Sandra Ortega, the new partner of Room Mate after the death of her mother Rosalía Mera, (Amancio Ortega's first wife), broke off her business relationship with Sarasola, doomed to declare bankruptcy. The breakup affected his personal fortunes as well.

Ortega's internal problems with José Leyte, his right-hand man, ended up in court, where the Inditex heiress lost all the lawsuits. The conflict had nothing to do with Sarasola, but Sandra Ortega abandoned her participation in Room Mate and took three of her hotels in the United States. "It's been the worst three years of my life, very hard," says the businessman. No one imagined that the pandemic would last so long. So after I had been at the top, I descended into hell. I was the first businessman in the world to leave his hotels to the health workers, they held me up as an example to follow. Until I rent an apartment to Isabel Díaz Ayuso in a "Be Mate", our second hotel model, and they give me a kick from all sides. Pablo Iglesias asked for my head in Congress, despite the fact that the president religiously paid for his stay. But I couldn't defend myself and say publicly that I was hosted there, because of the data protection law, I was my client." Those "annus horribilis" are behind us and Kike Sarasola has managed to make a comeback through the front door.

An American group decided to bet heavily on the company and pull the chain out of the competition. "They have trusted me and my team, I am at the helm and remain the executive chairman of Room Mate and Be Mate. In one year we have gone from being in bankruptcy to putting the company in positive numbers and without debt. It's been hard work but I'm very comfortable, everything is going great and both the investors and us are very happy. We are going to open a second hotel in Rome and we have opened another one in London, the expansion is unstoppable."

In this time, Kike Sarasola and Carlos Marrero's marriage came to an end after almost 30 years together and two children together, 11-year-old Aitana and 8-year-old Kike junior. "It is possible that the tremendous crisis of our company has played a role in the breakup. We don't live together but we still love each other very much, we work together and our children haven't noticed any tension or family breakdown. The other day the four of us put the Christmas tree together."

Find out more

Families.

Kike Sarasola and Carlos Marrero break up their marriage but will not separate their two children like Miguel Bosé

  • Written by: BEATRIZ MIRANDA

Kike Sarasola and Carlos Marrero break up their marriage but will not separate their two children like Miguel Bosé

Enrique Sarasola Sr., close friend of Felipe González and an unusual businessman with an overwhelming personality, died in 2002 at the age of 64, but he came to see his son's triumph, both in his sporting successes as an Olympic rider, and the opening of his first hotel. He loved the concept. "You have to dedicate yourself to this," he told me the day before he died. I never forgot his advice."

Q.- How did you take the fact that your son was homosexual?

A.- I've had fantastic parents, they were very supportive, both of them. And they adored Carlos, too.

Q.- I have known you as a star of equestrianism, along with Cayetano Alba, Haya of Jordan, daughter of King Hussein, then wife of the Emir of Dubai, currently in London and divorced. Also Luis Astolfi and Elena de Borbón. Gigi Sarasola, her brother, was Penélope Cruz's boyfriend... An unrepeatable atmosphere. Do you still frequent it?

A.- I see more Cayetano and the Infanta, always charming. I've seen Princess Haya for horses, when she was still in Dubai, now she doesn't. It was a great time.

Q.- Was there anything important between Infanta Elena and Astolfi?

A.- I think so, we all had that impression.

Q: Despite your father's good relations with the people of the Socialist Party, you seem to be far from the political class.

A.- I continue to treat Felipe González, for whom my father felt enormous affection, and vice versa, but beyond that, nothing more.

Divorce after 30 years

Kike Sarasola confirmed last May that her marriage to Carlos Marrero had come to an end. They separated after more than 30 years of relationship, 16 years of marriage and two children together, Aitana and Enrique. The businessman said that there were no third parties, but that it was a matter of a wear and tear of the relationship that they had not overcome. Covid took its toll on their professional project and also on their relationship.