The Melia Hotels Chain was founded in 1956 by Baron Gabriel Escarrer Julia there should be an accent over the name Julia).
When Escarrer Julia founded the chain he was only 21, and he began by leasing a hotel in Majorca - the Altair in Palma - for his then company, Hoteles Mallorquines. It was just at this time that people from other countries, especially the north of Europe, were starting to go on package holidays to warmer destinations, and Spain then as now was a favourite choice. So the hotel was a great success, and in the 1960s he began to buy others in more Spanish islands, such as the Canaries. When General Franco died in 1975 Escarrer Julia, like many other people in the tourist business, greatly expanded his business.
By 1984 the company was one of the biggest in Spain, and in 1987 it took over the Melia chain and began to expand into other countries.