On 15 October, the Orden Gran Cruz Azul de Emergencias (Order of the Great Blue Emergency Cross) held their “Cruz Azul Zendal-Balmis” award-giving ceremony at the ILUNION Atrium. The award was created to honour those who have helped to fight against the health crisis caused by the pandemic.

ILUNION Hotels received an award for converting several of our hotels into emergency medical centres, free of charge, during the toughest months of the pandemic. José Ángel Preciados received the award from Vicente del Bosque, Chairman of Honour of the Gran Cruz Azul.

For several weeks, hotels in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Zaragoza and more were given over to hospitals and organisations, free of charge, either as patient care centres or rest spaces for healthcare personnel.

Our offer to the health authorities covered other destinations also, such as Málaga, Bilbao and Valencia, where our hotels were always available to them.

Our hotels have always been known for their collaboration with the most vulnerable groups.

True to our commitment to society, we wanted to go that bit further and stand beside all healthcare professionals and patients who might need our support and collaboration, offered generously and free of charge.

Among the awards given to Red Cross, Civil Protection and members of the Municipal Police and the Army, hotel manager Mónica Parra was given a special mention, being praised not only for her involvement during the pandemic, when the ILUNION Atrium was given to Ramón y Cajal Hospital, but also for her support when Madrid was hit by storm Filomena.

For ILUNION Hotels it is an honour to receive such a humanitarian award, and we want to thank the Orden de la Gran Cruz Azul de Emergencias de España, Friends of the Municipal-Local-Emergency Police for this distinction.

The Orden de La Gran Cruz Azul de Emergencias was set up in 2010 by members of Madrid Municipal Police to honour and praise persons and groups who provide emergency, healthcare and other services to the community.