Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, a unique experience in Panama

We welcome you to a unique hotel experience with the opening of Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, Panama, the sixth in the world, in the ultra-luxury category of the Accor chain. Below, we share with you how Mar Azul made the opening of this iconic and emblematic project possible. David Kianni, general manager of the Sofitel Legend Hotel in Panama and José Ramón Icaza, partner director of Mar Azul Projects, share their experience collaborating together to make the opening of this magnificent establishment possible.

Welcome to both. This December the doors of the Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo hotel opened, a space located on the foundations of a long history, and it undoubtedly becomes an icon for our country. David, from your perspective as manager and representative of Sofitel, we would like you to tell us a little about what the Sofitel Legend Hotel is.

→ David Kianni: Well, first of all thanks for having me here, my name is David Kianni. I am the general manager of the Hotel Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, Panama of the Sofitel chain, which is one of the brands of the Accor hotel company. In turn, Accor is a French company, which has more than 5,000 hotels in the world with different types of categories: economic, midscale, upscale, luxury and ultra-luxury.

Sofitel hotel is one of the luxury brands and Sofitel Legend is the ultra luxury brand. This means that all Sofitel Legend Hotels must be located in a building with at least one hundred years of history or heritage. That is why we are here at the former Union Club. All Sofitel Legend hotels have high standards, offering products and services of much higher quality than other Sofitel hotels, of which there are more than 120 in the rest of the world.

As a foreigner, opening this emblematic hotel in Panama is a source of pride; for that, thank you, Panama! Thank you for allowing me to be here to open this hotel. Its history and heritage is very important, not only for Panama, but also for our brand. We have something called: “CULTURELink”, and part of this focuses on telling the story that we are living in the country. And now, with the doors already open, here we are in this fantastic building which was made possible in conjunction with Mar Azul Projects, and we are ready to share its story.

José Ramón, we would like to hear about you and that you can tell us about the experience of being part of this project for Mar Azul Projects.

→ José Ramón Icaza: My name is José Ramón Icaza, partner director of Mar Azul Projects. We are a firm that has more than ten years of experience in project management, technical inspection of works, and engineering services. For many years we have focused on developing large-scale and complex projects, unique projects such as the Sofitel Legend Hotel Project on this occasion, but we have also had the opportunity to participate in other projects.

Our service is based on three fundamental pillars: a proven track record, standardized processes, and a firm belief in innovation and technology. In this project, Sofitel Legend has allowed us to incorporate each of those experiences lived in the past, with processes and technologies, in order to develop this unique piece in Panama City.

From your perspective as director of Mar Azul Projects, a company with a history of many years, what has it meant to be part of this iconic project?

→ José Ramón Icaza: Well, from the moment the owners approached us to collaborate with the Sofitel Legend project, for us it really was the validation of many years of experience, trajectory and development of similar projects, because at that time they were Trusting in our company Mar Azul, in our work team and in myself, a project that for them was a jewel. It was about building a unique piece, as Mr. David has mentioned, in the Casco Antiguo, in Panama City.

From that moment on, with great commitment, enthusiasm and passion, we devoted ourselves to collaborating with the team that was developing the Hotel Sofitel Legend project at that time. We also meet the Sofitel brand team, committed to achieving the quality, product and service that has defined this brand for many years. In Panama an introduction has been made with golden gates in a property that truly represents what is the history of the development of Casco Antiguo in Panama City.

Having this Sofitel Legend Hotel on the sea makes it truly unique because there are very few properties in the world that can say that they are in a location like this, with the privilege of having all the rooms facing the sea, in an area of the city that is so many years old, with so much history. Especially in a city like Panama, a cosmopolitan city that connects all of the Americas and that always maintains a positive vibe that promotes the development process of the region.

José Ramón, tell us a little more about the specific support and contribution of Mar Azul Projects to the Sofitel Legend Hotel Project.

→ José Ramón Icaza: Mar Azul finds itself with a project in the process of finally finishing the rooms, the common areas, the architectural part, everything that the guests experience and see, and that both for Mar Azul and for Sofitel, was of great importance to execute with the expected quality.

When we joined the project, we had the difficult task of being able to organize that each of the systems complied with the standards of the Sofitel brand. It was sought that the electromechanical part, the part that many times the client does not see (everything that is behind the walls), would work properly so that the quality of the service that the guest receives is always at an optimal level. In the same way that the electromechanical part was worked on, we turned to making all the revisions of the architecture, internal design, and systems, in order to make the corresponding corrections and proceed with the commissioning process and final delivery to the Sofitel Hotel.

When we entered, we found an advanced project; however, there were areas that we had to correct in order to achieve the quality required by the brand. Our way of acting was to assign a committed team, with vast experience in the construction of unique and high-quality spaces, in order to integrate all the necessary pieces. The assigned team was a diversified team, not only with experience in hotel projects, but a team with vast experience managing high-end corporate offices and luxury residential; other areas of the construction industry in which we have extensive experience.

Thanks to all this diversification in knowledge, it was finally possible to integrate the electromechanical systems, occupational safety systems, air conditioning ventilation systems with architecture, among others, to proceed with the final completion of the project and enter the installation stage of all the furniture. Furniture of exquisite taste, with a contemporary French touch, which has given it the final distinctive touch to be able to create these very pleasant spaces that we have today in the hotel.

We would like to hear from each of you, now from a more human perspective, how has the collaboration between the Sofitel Hotel team and the Mar Azul Projectsteam been for you?

→ José Ramón Icaza: I could start by commenting that when we started, one of the things we found was a communication that had room for improvement. We understood that over time, the communication between the construction team, the design team, the Sofitel Hotel team, and the owner’s team had deteriorated.

Upon identifying this, we quickly began working to improve communication between the different teams for the benefit of the project, always keeping in mind the expectations and needs of the owner and the Sofitel brand.

Our job was to identify where that opportunity for improvement existed within all the parties involved, in order to speed up the workflow and achieve quality standards and time within budget in the same way. We did it in a fashion that we were able to establish successful communication channels that allowed us to recover that trust that had deteriorated throughout the project’s execution time. In this way, the team of designers, the hotel team, and the owner’s team felt confident that Mar Azul could support them to continue with the work.

We created cross collaborations between teams. We connected the electromechanical team of Mar Azul Projects with the electromechanical and the Fire Life and Safety team of the Hotel Sofitel, with the support of a new commissioning team to be able to integrate this component. In the same way, we integrated the team that was seeing the final completion of the architecture of the project from Mar Azul Projects with the internal design team of the Hotel Sofitel and we added to this collaboration the list of suppliers and subcontractors, in such a way that there was a synergy that would allow them to reach the expected quality standard.

Finally, the line of communication was worked at the executive level, considering the Mar Azul team, in this case led by myself, with the hotel team, led by manager David Kianni, the corporate team of the Accor Sofitel chain and the hotel owner. Communication channels and bridges of trust were forged. I can say that this was the success that allowed us to move forward with a road map and work plan and thus be able to reach the goal.

→ David Kianni: I think the key word here is collaboration. And, from the moment we started working together, we have had a very good collaboration between different teams, which José Ramón just mentioned. It is not my first time working with a construction and architecture team. I have worked in different places and I can say that we have had an excellent relationship and we are here, with this beautiful hotel open, that we work together, hand in hand. And also thanks to effective communication, which helped us get to this point. We have done an excellent job together.

Thank you both, you have shared your perspectives very well with us. Now, we would like to hear from David, what do you consider has been the greatest value that Mar Azul Projects has contributed in the execution and delivery process?

→ David Kianni: I started working on this project two years ago and, prior to the entry of Mar Azul, when we worked with another administration that was managing the construction, we were not achieving what we have achieved in the short term with José Ramón and his team. Prior to Mar Azul, it was difficult because the communication was not there, nor was the commitment. But, again, with Mar Azul we have achieved an excellent product, because we have worked together, which was made possible by the experience that Mar Azul has creating other hotels, creating other projects, creating luxury apartments. They understand very well the level of detail and the level of demand that we are looking for, which has allowed us to make what we have achieved possible.

After all the hard work that has been done, the integration of new teams, the adaptation, all the challenges, what does this achievement represent for you and how do you envision being able to enjoy this space?

→ David Kianni: We have a fabulous project, but it’s not fully complete yet; we continue to work hard and finalize details to finish it and be able to open the hotel at 100%, something that is going to happen very, very soon. We are very close to getting there and, well, how am I going to enjoy it? With open heart and hands, because we are going to invite all Panamanians and foreigners to live not only the history of this building, but also the unique experience that we are going to create for our clients in this Sofitel Legend.

→ José Ramón Icaza: I would add that, after a rather arduous construction process, we must recognize the work of all the people who made this project possible; the design team, architects, contractors, different administrations, different owners.

I think that many times, when you see a building, one fails to perceive all the effort, complexity, and hard work that was required to achieve these unique spaces and, when you have the opportunity to complete a project, I think that it is very important to take a moment to recognize the commitment and dedication of all the people involved.

Despite the fact that we have sometimes experienced difficult moments, we have also experienced very pleasant moments and, always with David, we have joked that when we finish this project we will have a good beer and come to enjoy the space.

There have been many stories that we have lived to make this hotel possible. Stories of laughter, stories of surprises, some positive and others not so much, but in the end, they have all been stories that remain as memories and experiences that allow us to grow. Once the project is fully completed, Panama wins, Casco Viejo wins with a world-class hotel offer, and the tourism sector also wins, because Sofitel Legend brings with it many experiences, a world-class service that in turn will raise the standard of care and service in Panama. I am sure that we are going to enjoy it and we are going to celebrate together thanks to that work team that has been doing everything possible for several months to make Sofitel Legend a reality.

To finish this interview, we would like both of you to invite everyone to get to know Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo and to live this experience.

→ José Ramón Icaza: I believe that there are different ways to extend an invitation, both to Panamanians and from abroad. As David well commented at the beginning of the interview, this is a unique property, a property that is over a hundred years old and that brings back many memories to Panamanians; above all, to those Panamanians who are in their third and fourth ages and had the opportunity to get to know the former Union Club before its headquarters moved.

When you wander around the hotel and begin to walk through the spaces and see the photographs, such as the historical photos that are in the boardroom, it really seems that you are transporting yourself to the past. I want to invite Panamanians to live that story at the New Sofitel Legend Hotel because Panamanians who had the opportunity to visit this club at the time or even when it was in ruins, I know that when they visit it now they will remember very beautiful moments. And the foreigners who probably did not know its story will now have the opportunity to understand it, live it, and hear it from the person who receives them, always with a smile. I am sure that they can also imagine a bit about the grandeur of this space and what has been managed to be rescued today.

→ David Kianni: Panama is a jewel, a jewel that is not yet known worldwide. I believe that, with the construction and opening of this hotel, we can position Panama as a luxury destination for luxury travelers who are looking for unique experiences, because Panama has everything, it has culture, it has friendly people with beautiful smiles, it has biodiversity, it has something called duality: it has North America, South America, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean.

So why not talk about and present Panama as it should be and how people should know it? At Hotel Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, we are going to tell all those stories, we are going to open our doors to our clients, so that they can discover Panama, everything that was and everything that is now, from the former Union Club; the Sofitel Legend Hotel, an oasis that is built on a fabulous building.

And, as José Ramón mentioned, many people were involved in this vision; people who dreamed what this hotel could be after what it was. I believe that we are telling a fabulous story for everyone, both Panamanians and foreigners. So again, I am very proud to be able to open these doors for our clients and we are here to welcome you all.

December 23, 2022
Hotel Sofitel Legend, Casco Viejo
Panama City, Panama