Juan Carlos I

The name of the hotel we stayed in was Juan Carlos I. The Loomis group was actually split in two with about half of us here and half at Princesa Sofia Gran Hotel. Juan Carlos is named for the King of Spain and Princesa Sofia for his Queen.

Juan Carlos became king in 1975 after the death of an absolute dictator named Franco. He restored the long standing democratic monarchy in Spain and refused to be a dictator as Franco had prepared him for and demanded that he be. Born in Rome where the royal family was exiled during the regime of dictator Franco, he began his journey that would bring him to where he is today. He moved to Spain in 1948 to begin his education after his Father (Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona) persuaded General Franco to allow it. He eventually was selected by Franco to become the new dictator upon his own death but Juan Carlos secretly worked with democratic reformers for years before he came to power planning the nation’s return from dictatorship to freedom and democracy.
During his reign Spain has come from being one of the most backward countries in Europe to now having the 9th largest economy in the world and the 5th largest in Europe. Spain is now a secure parliamentary democracy. Juan Carlos generally seems to be considered as a conservative and the royal family is highly regarded both morally and politically from what I could see.
He becomes a hero pretty quickly in my mind when I find that in 2007, at an economic summit in Chile, he said to that rabid dictator, Hugo Chavez who was incessantly interrupting a speaker, “Why don’t you shut up!” This put down played well in Spain and became a popular ring tone for cell phones. From my point of view, it is obvious that the country still has a way to go, but I would admit it is also evident the extreme progress that has been made.
Looking down from our room to the main lobby where there was live music in the evenings and plenty of drinking going on. We learned pretty quickly that the Spanish people stay up LATE and don't rise any too early. Americanos get poked fun at for going to bed so early, but in the mornings, the tables are turned. :)

Room service was spendy but delightful! Order a club sandwich and I just about guarantee it will be the best you've ever tasted! It'll be served with a delightful fresh salad and the yummiest green olives ever! They are famous for olives in Spain and they are oh so delish!
Oh, lookey! There's King Ricardo and his Queen Karena! King and Queen of what you ask? Well, our own little castle--where we are happy to be home raising our little princesses! If you are going to Spain, you have to dress up all the way at least once. What might be formal to us, is probably casual dress to them!