Pablo Carrington, Founder and CEO, Marugal

Posted in People on 12 June, 2025

Trading boardrooms for boutiques, Pablo Carrington is redefining luxury – one distinctive hotel at a time.

Born and raised in Spain, Pablo Carrington appeared destined for a career in finance. After studying economics at Boston College, he embarked on what seemed a promising future in the field. However, he soon realised that his true passion lay elsewhere – in hospitality. With no formal training, Carrington learnt on the job, guided by his own clear vision of what discreet luxury could – and should – be.

In 2003, he founded Marugal Distinctive Hotel Management, an international company specialising in the development, launch, and operation of unique luxury hotels. Today, Marugal manages a growing portfolio of award-winning boutique hotels and resorts across Europe, including Cap Rocat in Majorca – a restored 20th-century fortress – and Vermelho in Portugal, Christian Louboutin’s decorative debut on the hotel scene. Each property has its own distinct character, from hunting lodges and stately homes to architectural landmarks, offering understated luxury for travellers seeking something beyond the ordinary.

The Entrance, Vermelho Hotel

Where are you currently based, and have you brought a sense of hotel style to your own home?
I’m based in Mallorca, Spain, and I would probably say the contrary. My first hotel project, Villa Soro, was once our family home and had been transformed into a hotel by the new owners. Brought in to develop the concept, I tried to keep many of the characteristics that I had experienced there as a child, so that the guests could feel that they were walking into a magnificent private home.

Given your background in finance, would you say your interest in hospitality was inspired by your own travel experiences?
Although I have travelled extensively ever since I was young, working in this industry had never crossed my mind. I graduated from Boston College (USA) with a degree in Economics, before starting my professional career at Citibank in Paris. I then joined strategy consultants Roland Berger & Partners, working in the airline and tourism sectors. However, I soon realized I didn’t want a career in either finance or strategy consulting, and a highly talented coach awoke my interest in hospitality.

In 2002 I went freelance, specialising in branding and communication for hotel companies, including Charming Hotels and The Beachcomber Group (Mauritius and Seychelles) before opening Villa Soro in San Sebastian in 2003.

The Penthouse, La Zambra Resort

When considering the launch of Marugal, what did you feel was lacking in the hotel scene from a guest’s perspective?
Many years ago, I stayed at the wonderful Imperial Hotel in Delhi. At the end of that same trip, I stayed at a modern, chain hotel. Thirty years later I have vivid memories of many details of my stay at the Imperial but no recollection whatsoever of the other hotel. This generated the motivation to create hotel concepts that have their own personality, and which are embedded in the identity of the destination where they are. I want our guests to remember details of their stay many years later.

What was your first hospitality project, and what did you learn from it?
I opened Villa Soro in San Sebastian (Spain) in 2003. At that point I was a hotelier by soul but definitely not by training, so every decision was led by intuition and not experience. I’m sure there are plenty of things that could have been done better but the hotel was a great success from day one.

Did you have a ‘hospitality hero’ when you were starting out?
Not really. Although there were and still are hoteliers, mostly unknown to the public, who have designed or implemented concepts in their hotels that I find inspiring.

What gave you the confidence to believe you would succeed in such a competitive marketplace?
I started in 2003 when small luxury hotels didn’t have the presence they have today and were mostly independent and not part of a chain. The growth in the hotel industry over the last two decades was fuelled primarily by the chains, making the market increasingly competitive. Parallel to that growth, technology evolved tremendously and has helped smaller companies, like us, to compete on a level pegging with the larger chains.

Left: The Spa, Cap Rocat. Right: Salon, Vermelho Hotel

They say location is everything. What is your top priority when considering a new property?
We take three factors into consideration. First, that the building has differentiating elements or offers the potential to create a differentiated product. Secondly, we verify that there is sufficient demand to that destination to ensure the long-term profitability of the project. Thirdly, we validate the location within the destination and compare it to its immediate comp set. All these factors are essential to ensure that we can build a profitable business for the owner.

Many of your properties are steeped in history, whether through their buildings or locations. Is a storied past an important factor in a property’s appeal?
It helps – but it’s not necessary. One of our hotels had a fantastic location but the building was not very special. The architects, Estudio Antonio Obrador, helped us create a concept and a narrative that gave new meaning to the existing building.

With a portfolio of 14 properties, what are Marugal’s plans for future growth?
We have no set plans. We receive many project proposals, which we study in depth, and only undertake those where we are convinced that we can add value and that the owner will have a profitable business. Sometimes we receive project proposals in spectacular buildings but in locations that have very limited potential. Given that we are not in the business of growing for the sake of growing or putting flags on the map, we only take on projects that we know will be economically viable.

From a design perspective, how involved are you?
We are very involved from the beginning to ensure that the design corresponds to the concept we have in mind. We usually work with Antonio Obrador, the visionary and very talented architect that created Cap Rocat. We fully trust his special capacity and ability to generate the right flows, both for guests and employees.

Luxury comes in many forms. What does luxury look like to you?
For me luxury is above all space and the option of silence. I have never believed in gimmicks or excessive amenities as luxury. Hotel rooms with complex lighting systems, or bathrooms that over-deliver with full amenities, for example, are usually not paying attention to other more important, more subtle, aspects that generate comfort and sense of luxury for the guest.

With a focus on sustainability, what initiatives, developments, or advancements in the field excite you the most?
We were one of the first hotels in Europe to ban single use plastics many years ago. Currently our focus is on reducing waste in our resort hotels with the objective of being zero waste as soon as possible. We recycle bed sheets into laundry bags, we convert the wine corks into cork coasters and other objects, etc. In the case of Cap Rocat, we are also creating a carbon offset programme with a farm on the island. We are passionate about sustainability and are convinced that these initiatives are not an option – but an obligation.

What are your personal thoughts on hotel chains?
I’m not necessarily against hotel chains. I believe they have a legitimate place in the market, and there are guests who prefer staying in a chain because it comforts them to know what to expect or because they value the benefits of a loyalty program.

Where I struggle to see the legitimacy of a chain is when it takes over a historic hotel – one that, due to its legacy and recognition in the market, is already a brand in its own right and could operate independently and profitably. Chains, quite logically, have standardisation embedded deep in their DNA – but when applied uniformly to historic hotels, it can strip away the very essence that makes those properties unique.

What is Marugal’s philosophy on hospitality?
Our philosophy is to create distinctly unique hotels that are strongly embedded in the destination. Once the hotel is open, some of the most important aspects of our philosophy, in addition to the obvious ones such as service, are to develop a strong link with the destination by working with local suppliers and contributing to the local commerce. Another significant element for us is contributing to the destination through nature preservation projects (in the case of Formentera for example) or heritage preservation projects (in the case of Cap Rocat). Finally, we attach a lot of importance to incorporating and training employees who have some sort of cognitive or physical disability as well as people at risk of social exclusion, in order to give them a second opportunity at establishing a career.

Finally, in today’s turbulent world, how do you see hospitality evolving?
Sustainable travel will be more and more relevant in the coming years. Guests will continue to travel but will be more concerned with the impact their trip has on nature and on the destination. The increasing cost of luxury travel has also led to a stronger need to create special or meaningful experiences. When guests are spending thousands of euros, they want to feel that their vacation is special and better than if they had opted for a cheaper option. Therefore, personalisation and concepts/services that are strongly linked to the destination will continue to be key drivers for us.