A hotel isn’t what it used to be: how the hotel experience has evolved over the last 25 years

There was a time when staying at a hotel was a fairly predictable part of a trip. We chose a destination and looked for an establishment that suited our needs. The hotel was the place we returned to after spending the day out and, to a large extent, the trip began when we crossed its door.

And if over these 25 years our way of travelling has changed so much, it is inevitable to ask: what do we expect from a hotel today?

The answer has less to do with what happens within its walls than with everything that has changed around travel. The way we discover destinations, the time we dedicate to travelling, the reasons that lead us to pack a suitcase and even the way we share what we experience have evolved. And with them, the hotel experience has also evolved.

The journey begins long before arriving

25 years ago, much of a trip was still waiting to be discovered. We could be clear about where we wanted to go and perhaps have some plans written down in a guidebook, but many of the decisions were made once we got there. The destination retained an important part of its ability to surprise us along the way.

Hotel Receptionist.

Today we arrive differently.

Before leaving home, we have already virtually explored the streets we want to discover, searched for restaurants, saved places we would like to visit and seen what the hotel where we are going to stay is like. We may even have discovered a particular corner of a city because someone shared it and it ended up sparking our curiosity.

The experience, therefore, no longer begins when we arrive. It starts much earlier, when we begin to imagine the trip.

And that has also changed the way we choose where to stay. We no longer simply look for a convenient address where we can spend a few days. The location, the building, the surroundings or what we can experience during our stay are all part of that first image we build of the trip.

In a way, the hotel has begun to become part of the journey even before it begins.

Millenium Spa at the Vincci Selección Aleysa 5* Hotel.

The way we make the most of a getaway has also changed

At the same time, our way of travelling has become much more diverse. Major trips still have their place, but they now coexist with weekend getaways, short trips, journeys linked to a concert, an exhibition, a sporting event or simply the desire to discover a new place.

And that has changed something as simple as the relationship we have with time when we are away from home. A three-day getaway is not experienced in the same way as a two-week holiday, and we are increasingly aware of this. Sometimes we want to make the most of every hour to discover; at other times, precisely, we seek to do less and enjoy each moment more.

Bar at the Vincci Soho 4* Hotel.

The journey can have an intense or relaxed pace. It can be full of plans or leave room for spontaneity. It can be an opportunity to disconnect from everything or a way to change our surroundings without completely leaving our routine behind.

The hotel experience has had to accompany this diversity because there is no longer a single way to travel and, therefore, no single way to experience a stay.

6 Ponte Sky Bar terrace at the Vincci Ponte de Ferro 4* Hotel.

Leaving room for the unexpected

Perhaps this transformation also has something to do with our relationship with planning. We have more information than ever and, at the same time, it seems that we value the possibility of stepping outside the plan more.

We can have a perfectly organized itinerary and decide along the way that we want to stay a little longer in a place. We may have chosen a city for a specific reason and end up discovering something completely different. We can even arrive with a list of places we want to visit and return home remembering precisely what was not planned.

Recoveco Restaurant at the Vincci Selección Unuk 5* GL Hotel.

And that idea has changed the way we understand a stay. Not everything has to be designed to fulfil a specific function anymore. We also value those moments that appear between one plan and another: a meal that stretches on, an unexpected conversation, an afternoon when we change our minds or simply the pleasure of not having to do anything for a while.

Entremuros Restaurant at the Vincci Selección Posada del Patio 5* Hotel.

The destination also began to be experienced differently

As our way of travelling has become more flexible, our relationship with the places we visit has also changed.

It is no longer simply about arriving in a city and exploring its major landmarks. Increasingly, we seek out what allows us to understand it differently: its neighbourhoods, customs, cuisine, architecture, rhythms and those small details that do not necessarily appear on a list of must-see places.

Buffet breakfast at the Vincci Marítimo 4* Hotel.

And this is where the hotel experience has found a new connection with the destination.

A building can be part of a city’s history. A location can allow us to discover it on foot. A gastronomic offering can bring us closer to its flavours. A space can preserve a way of understanding architecture that is characteristic of that place.

The hotel has therefore ceased to be simply the point from which we set out to discover the destination and has begun to become part of the way in which we discover it. Because when we travel, we are not only looking to be in a place. We want to feel that we are truly there.

Swimming pool at the Vincci Mae 4* Hotel.

And the way we remember a trip also changed

In the past, the experience of a trip was mainly built during those days and afterwards became photographs, memories and conversations. Today, on the other hand, the trip can be shared while it is happening. An image can awaken the desire to discover a place thousands of kilometres away or a recommendation can change another person’s itinerary.

We have gone from keeping memories to also creating them publicly and collectively.

Roof 66 by Vincci Hotels at the Vincci Vía 66 4* Hotel.

This has given the places we visit a new dimension. What matters is not only what we experience in them, but also what they awaken in us and what we want to tell afterwards.

And perhaps that is why some hotels have ceased to be merely settings for a stay and have become part of the memory of the trip. Not necessarily because they are extraordinary in themselves, but because they manage to become associated with a moment, a city, a view or an experience that remains when we have already returned home.

Ponte de Ferro Restaurant at the Vincci Ponte de Ferro 4* Hotel.

Twenty-five years later, the question is different

If we bring all these changes together, it is interesting to return to the question at the beginning.

What do we expect from a hotel today?

The answer probably has less to do with a specific list of services than with something much broader: we want it to fit with the way we have decided to travel.

If we are looking to discover a city, we want it to bring us closer to it. If we travel to disconnect, we expect to find a place that allows us to do so. If we combine work and leisure, we need both realities to be able to coexist. If we have only a few days, we want to make the most of them. And if we simply need to stop, we also want to be able to do so.

That is why the hotel experience has changed so much over these 25 years. Not because a new definition of what it means to stay in a hotel has appeared, but because we have multiplied the ways of travelling and, with them, the ways of experiencing a stay.

The hotel has adapted to a traveller who no longer always seeks the same thing because they do not always travel for the same reasons.

Bar - Reception at the Vincci The Mint 4* Hotel.

About Vincci Hotels | 25th anniversary

In 2026, Vincci Hotels celebrates its 25th anniversary, consolidating its own way of understanding hospitality: "La Mirada Vincci". An approach that highlights each destination through design, architecture, gastronomy and a genuine connection with the surroundings, resulting in unique experiences at each of its hotels.

Millenium Spa at the Vincci Selección Aleysa 5* Hotel.

Over these 25 years, the company has built a distinctive model based not on standardizing spaces, but on adapting them to the identity of each location, integrating heritage, local culture and contemporaneity. This way of operating is reflected today in a portfolio of 41 hotels in Spain, Portugal, Tunisia and Greece.

The anniversary is not only a commemoration, but also a statement of continuity: a way of looking at, selecting and developing each hotel project that has defined Vincci since its origins and continues to guide its evolution.

Golf Course at the Vincci Valdecañas Golf 4* Hotel.

25 years watching the way we travel change

Over these 25 years, at Vincci Hotels we have grown alongside that evolution. Alongside cities that have changed, alongside new ways of discovering them and alongside travellers who have transformed their own expectations.

And perhaps that is why celebrating this anniversary is also a way of looking ahead.

Because if this journey demonstrates anything, it is that the hotel experience has never been static. It has changed every time we have changed the way we travel. And it will continue to do so as new ways of discovering destinations emerge, new ways of making the most of time and new reasons to pack a suitcase.

In another 25 years, we will probably look back again and be surprised by everything that has happened.

Room at the Vincci Bonjardim 4* Hotel.

Perhaps then it will seem strange to us how we travel today.

But there is something that will remain recognizable: that feeling of arriving somewhere new and knowing that, for a few days, we are going to live differently.

"Come. Be surprised. Discover more than 40 4- and 5-star hotels where every experience is unique. Open your eyes. Look around. Enjoy the most privileged locations. Look. Touch. Feel a design and style that can be appreciated in every detail. Rest. Relax. Let yourself be cared for by a service where you are at the centre. Dream. Smile. Live. You are at a Vincci"

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