The world’s first ROBINSON Club reinvents itself: TUI’s premium club resort brand celebrates the topping out ceremony for the new “Torre” on Fuerteventura

ROBINSON Club Jandia Playa has catered to around one million guests and achieved to cult status since it was founded in 1971. It also played a key role in the development of tourism on Fuerteventura. Now the world’s first ROBINSON Club resort is creating a new landmark. After a several-month construction phase the shell of the new “Torre” building is finished. It replaces the distinctive original tower that was built in the late 1960s. Construction progress was revealed to the public at a topping out ceremony yesterday. The guests also included Vice-President of the Island Council and Tourism Minister Blas Acosta, Mayor of Pájara Rafael Perdomo, Councillor Marisol Placeres and Managing Director of the Tourism Association Moisés Jorge Naranjo. The celebrations included the Spanish and Canary Islands’ flags being flown from the building’s 10th storey and the hoisting of a ROBINSON flag. By the time the resort reopens in December 2018 the finishing touches will have been added to its new main building.

“ROBINSON Club Jandia Playa impressively demonstrates how the club resort fan base has remained strong for almost 50 years. The recipe for success is the continual optimisation of the concept coupled with the unique ROBINSON mentality. The new “Torre” building, the ROBINSON Club Fuerteventura’s landmark, incorporates the very latest standards and takes the guests’ holiday experience up to an entirely new level,“ said Erik Friemuth, Managing Director TUI Hotels & Resorts. With the Fuerteventura club resort project and its other projects, ROBINSON is driving TUI Group growth in the hotel segment. Two new ROBINSON Club resorts will open in Asia this year, and the pipeline also includes a new resort on the Cape Verde island of Sal in 2019 and the ROBINSON Club Ierapetra on Crete in 2020.

From demolition to topping out ceremony
In January 2018 the excavators arrived at the ROBINSON Club Jandia Playa construction site to demolish the history-steeped tower. Once the foundation stone for the new “Torre” had been laid on 13 February construction work could begin. The five-strong Spanish construction project team started off by putting the foundations in place and then worked their way up the new hotel tower storey by storey. The building incorporates 161 truck-loads of concrete on a total surface area of 1,000 square metres. When it was time to hold the topping out ceremony, the ten-storey building was just as distinctive a landmark on Jandia beach as its predecessor. The restaurant’s new outdoor seating area for 180 guests is now also finished.

Modern new building with a stylish rooftop terrace
There is still plenty of work to do before the scheduled reopening in December 2018. The next steps include the cladding of the exterior facade and the installation of elevators, as well as the other interior completion work. The 40 metres-high building has 114 double rooms and 26 suites. Guests enjoy a unique view from the rooftop terrace, which also has an infinity pool and a chill-out beach. The modern WellFit® spa and the newly designed restaurant with outdoor seating area further enhance the holiday experience. After an almost one-year-long demolition and construction phase, the redesigned ROBINSON Club Jandia Playa will be ready to welcome guests again in December 2018.

A ROBINSON bedrock with cult status
The ROBINSON Club Jandia Playa isn’t just a milestone in tourism development on Fuerteventura, it also symbolises the birth of the ROBINSON brand. In 1970 TUI acquired a majority share in the “Torre” hotel complex which was built between 1965 and 1968 as the second-oldest hotel on Fuerteventura after “Casa Atlantica”. At the same time the idea for a new TUI hotel chain concept was born, providing sun, sand and activities with the focus on a shared guest experience to a younger target audience of holidaymakers.  The hotel became the first ROBINSON Club resort in the world. Back then, Fuerteventura didn’t have a tourism infrastructure. There were no phones and no water mains. Electricity was provided by generators and a dirt road connected the airport to the resort. Over the years, as guest figures have risen, the Canary Islands have evolved into the popular holiday destination that they are today. The ROBINSON concept has also been optimised over the years and it is now the market leader for resort holidays in the premium segment. ROBINSON Club Fuerteventura has many regular guests who return year after year to spend their holidays at this cult resort.