A brand transformation that matched Altamar's renovated properties and helped position the group for acquisition by one of the Canary Islands' largest hotel chains.
Altamar Hotels faced a business ultimatum. Tour operators who sent the majority of their guests made it clear: elevate your standards or lose contracts. Altamar responded with a full-scale transformation. They renovated all four properties, upgraded facilities, and modernized the guest experience. But physical upgrades weren't enough. They needed a brand that matched the investment they were making, one that immediately signaled higher quality to tour operators and guests alike. Within months of launching the new identity, Altamar Hotels was acquired by Servatur, one of the largest hotel chains in the Canary Islands.
Altamar Hotels is a four-property hotel group in Gran Canaria, welcoming guests year-round to the island's sunshine and laid-back pace. Each hotel, Altamar, Altamadores, Eden, and Buganvillas, has its own character, but they all deliver the same promise: comfort, quality, and value. British families come for all-inclusive summer holidays. Northern European couples trade winter snow for slow mornings and beachfront views. For decades, Altamar Hotels has built loyalty by consistently meeting those expectations.
Tour operators gave Altamar Hotels a clear message: raise your standards or we'll send guests elsewhere. In response, Altamar launched a major renovation across all four properties. But the physical upgrades were only half the solution. Their brand identity still looked like the hotel group they used to be, not the elevated operation they were becoming. Tour operators needed visible proof of transformation. Guests needed immediate signals of quality. The old brand couldn't deliver either.
We also uncovered a secondary challenge in discovery: their guest base shifts dramatically between seasons. Summers bring lively family energy. Winters attract couples seeking calm. The brand needed to speak to both without alienating either.
We started by understanding the business pressure driving the transformation. Tour operators weren't asking for cosmetic changes. They wanted proof that Altamar had fundamentally elevated their offering. That meant the brand couldn't just look modern. It had to communicate quality at every touchpoint, from first impression to check-out.
In discovery, we mapped their seasonal audience shift. Summer guests and winter guests want fundamentally different experiences, but Altamar's previous identity treated them as one audience. The new brand needed to flex: energetic enough for families, calm enough for couples.
We also identified a persistent operational problem: guests struggled to navigate the properties. The existing hotel maps were outdated and confusing, creating friction from the moment guests arrived. Poor wayfinding meant more complaints, more front desk questions, and a weaker first impression. Solving this became a key part of the rebrand.
Design decisions followed directly from those insights. We built a color palette inspired by the ocean and beach, grounded in the coastal locations near all four properties, especially Altamar's sea views. Typography struck a deliberate balance: approachable and warm for families, refined and restful for couples. For the hotel maps and wayfinding system, we redesigned directional signage and property maps from the ground up, making navigation intuitive and reducing guest confusion. The entire system was built to adapt across contexts without losing cohesion.
We delivered a complete visual identity system that worked across print, digital, and environmental settings. The rebrand included stationery, marketing materials, in-room guest guides, and a fully redesigned wayfinding system. The new hotel maps and directional signage for each property transformed how guests navigated the space, eliminating confusion and creating a smoother, more confident arrival experience. Every guest touchpoint (from booking confirmation to lobby signage to room collateral) carried the same elevated, consistent message. We provided brand guidelines to ensure internal teams and external partners could maintain the system long-term.
Guest satisfaction improved almost immediately after rollout. The redesigned hotel maps and wayfinding system had a direct, measurable effect: confusion dropped, complaints fell, and guests moved through the properties with ease. Altamar confirmed that this single improvement significantly enhanced the overall guest experience. But the bigger validation came months later: Altamar Hotels was acquired by Servatur, one of the Canary Islands' largest hotel chains. The rebrand played a direct role in positioning the group as a premium acquisition target. It proved that the elevated identity matched the elevated business they'd built.
