Joaquim Clos: "If in Madrid the average lunch bill in our hotel restaurants is 220 euros, in Barcelona it is 45."

BarcelonaI interview the Joaquim Clos, CEO of the Derby Hotels chain at the Os-kuro restaurant, inside the Claris Hotel in BarcelonaWe spoke specifically about the restaurants in the hotel chain he manages, founded in 1968. In each location—Barcelona, ​​Madrid, and London—he has opted for a different offering, but there's one feature that unites them all: bread with tomato, ham, and potato omelet at breakfast. And what a perfect and delicious bread with tomato you can find, both in Madrid at the Hotel Urban and Hotel Villa Real, and in London at The Caesar Hotel. He tells me that the average price of a room at the Hotel Claris is 280-290 euros, a price calculated based on the average of the low season—January and February—and the high season—starting with the Mobile World Congress, which next year runs from March 2nd to 5th.

Hotel restaurants are more important than ever.

— Some hotels still don't consider it important, but that's not the case for us. From breakfast to cocktails at the bar, everything is important to us. And it's important because we believe our guests want to see that there's a vibrant atmosphere at the hotel. We understand that tourists want to visit the city, but when they go out and return, we want them to see that there's something happening in the restaurants and bars. If that's the case, then they'll be more likely to stay for dinner sometime.

Hotels in Barcelona don't always cater to foreigners.

— Mostly, yes. Only during the pandemic did we have locals from Barcelona coming for the weekend because, with the restrictions, the only vacation they could afford was sleeping away from home in a hotel in their own city. Also, since we had hotel restaurants—because hotels were able to stay open—the offer was complete: meals and accommodation. Except then, it rarely happens. Another case is when neighbors are renovating their homes.

It is said that International tourism has declined in the last three months.

— I don't get the feeling that's the case. We have a city, Barcelona, ​​which is a good brand, it's holding up well, and the tourists who come to visit leave happy to have experienced it. Now, everyone interprets the figures in their own way. Our interpretation is that we'd had some very good years recently, and then this year the percentage of visitors has dropped by one or two points. It wouldn't be fair to say that tourism has declined this year, because it's true compared to last year, but we've all worked very hard in 2025.

Some grocery store owners in Barcelona have told me that the construction work at Camp Nou has led to a decrease in tourism. The FC Barcelona museum is the most visited museum in the city.

— I'm a Barça member, and it's true that sometimes when I go, I'm surrounded by tourists, because with the free seat policy, members can put their seats up for sale for individual matches. It's also true that we know the Barça Museum is the most visited, but to say that, because of the construction work, we have fewer tourists, and therefore fewer sales in grocery stores or fewer reservations in restaurants and hotels, is a bit much. I can't say to what extent Barça is important for the restaurant and hotel industry. If we discovered that it's tied to them, we'd all have to create a cordon sanitaire around Camp Nou and Barça to make sure everything always runs smoothly [laughs].

Last November, everyone in Madrid was sure that his restaurant, Cebo, inside the Urban Hotel in Madrid, would win a second Michelin star.

— We were on everyone's shortlist, it's true. People were assuring us we'd win second place, and that the restaurant Desde 1911 would get first. In the end, nothing. It doesn't keep me up at night that we didn't win, but it's true the chefs have made a tremendous effort. Just think, chefs Javier Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo create two tasting menus for only twenty-two diners. The restaurant is financially sustainable thanks to the hotel, which is what allows me to keep it open. And it's doing very well. So well, in fact, that it's always fully booked, so tourists staying at the hotel can't just grab a bite because they won't get a table. I should also mention that the chefs, who first made a name for themselves with their restaurant Cañitas Maite in the town of Casas-Ibáñez (Albacete), earned a Michelin star for Cebo just a few months after taking over.

I have the feeling that in their Madrid hotels the restaurants have more importance.

— It's because of the locations I have. The space I have at the Hotel Urban in Madrid for Cebo isn't the same as the space I have at the Hotel Claris for Os-kuro. We also have a restaurant on the terrace of the Hotel Claris, and the chef, Pedro Salillas, works wonders, but both places—I mean Os-kuro and La Terrassa—are unique. To achieve what we've done at Cebo in Madrid, we need a suitable space.

In Madrid, the population's purchasing power must also be higher. Perhaps the average meal cost is higher?

— That's not why I'm doing it. I'd love for Javi and Juan, the chefs from Cebo, to come to Barcelona too, but we'd have to find them a restaurant, probably outside of the hotels. I've thought about it, and we have a place on Carrer d'Avinyó, the Palosanto restaurant, which we manage with Isidro Marqués, from the Sant Telmo group, which does have the right conditions, but I'm ruling it out, because I wouldn't go to Ciutat Vella to open a Cebo like the one in Madrid.

At the Claris Hotel restaurant I met the Kao brothers.

— They were there, yes, and it worked very well, but it's a project that ended with the pandemic. We've designed the restaurant so that guests can enter through either the hotel entrance or a separate one. We're at street level, which is essential. When a hotel doesn't have its restaurant at street level, it's more difficult. I can say that myself because we have the Hotel Granados, which is spectacular, and it's the place I choose for family celebrations, but I'm aware that the restaurant is on the lower level.

The Drolma was located on the first floor of the Hotel MajesticAnd it was a benchmark. Do you think Drolma marked a turning point for hotel restoration?

— I couldn't tell you. I didn't know Fermí Puig When I was at Drolma. However, I think that neither Drolma nor Lasarte at the Monument Hotel were (or are) aimed at the common people. The clientele is bourgeois, who can afford a set menu for 250 euros. At Oskuro, the average price is 65 euros. At lunchtime, you can eat for 48.

In Madrid, the price of Cebo is different.

— In Madrid, business lunches still have a high average cost, while in Barcelona that's not the case. If the average lunch bill in our hotel restaurants in Madrid is €220, in Barcelona it's €45. I don't know if the company pays or if each employee pays, but that's the reality. Barcelona used to be the second largest city in Spain, but we were first in everything. Now, for some years, Madrid has become a hub connecting with Latin America, wielding considerable economic power. When we arrived in 1994, Madrid was a traditional city, not one that was on the tourist lists; now all that has changed.

Madrid, London, Paris. Do you want to expand into new European cities?

— We're very focused on Lisbon. The pandemic slowed down the project, and these days I'm having meetings again looking for properties. There are many other cities that suit us, like Rome or Venice. We're looking for historic, centrally located buildings that we would buy, since we already own them. I know Rome is a safe investment because of its history, but the figures I'm seeing make us think twice. On the other hand, I really like Lisbon; I think it's very similar to Barcelona twenty years ago, and besides, the cost of living in Portugal is affordable. In any case, we're traveling to Rome with the family next week, and if we find any opportunities, we'll consider them.