It seems like so long ago now, but of all the nice things we did this summer, it was the news that we were going to stay in Cristiano Ronaldo’s hotel, Pestana CR7, in Lisbon that made my 10-year-old son Billy’s eyes light up. “Will he be there?” he asked, hoping the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would be handing out the keycards or delivering room service. “I don’t think so, he’ll probably be on his own holidays somewhere. But we can go and see,” I said.
Like most kids of the Fifa video game generation, Billy not only follows teams – Leeds United and Real Madrid with their matching kits but differing fortunes – but also individual superstars. Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland are top of that pile.
The players’ reach goes far beyond the relationship those of us growing up in the last century had with George Best, Kenny Dalglish, Ian Wright and co. We pretended to be the players as we booted footballs around parks and terraced streets, but Billy’s generation can actually control their heroes while playing Fifa.
Anyone whose parental or grandparental responsibilities involve standing in the local park watching weekend football sessions will have witnessed children celebrating goals by running, spinning in the air, and landing with their legs and arms planted firmly in an exaggerated portrayal of the Gents toilet logo, while yelling “Siuuu!”, which derives from the Spanish for “yes”. That is Ronaldo’s celebration, and now it has become the preferred celebration of a generation of children.
When you arrive at Pestana CR7, a six-storied stone corner building just behind Lisbon’s famous Rua Augusta Arch, you don’t get a “Siuuu” welcome but it might be something they’d like to add. The offering is, I think it’s fair to say, slightly stretched as it attempts to appeal to both children and adults.
The reception and corridor walls are nightclub black and it feels weird walking through them without a booming bass coming from above.
The front desk is decorated with vintage football posters and surrounded by shelves and plinths full of football books, golden boots and signed replicas of Cristiano’s Ballons d’Or. Glass cases feature packets of Ronaldo underpants for sale – thankfully a retail line, not his old matchworn ones.
The bar is pure sports, with framed signed shirts from his various clubs, tall tables for wings, cocktails and beers, high TV screens showing the Olympics and that night’s Sporting Lisbon game.
When the manager saw Billy’s eyes lock on to the replica Ballon d’Or behind him, he turned and passed it down. Billy’s excitement levels hit volcanic as he asked if it was real. “Is there a lot of this happening?” I asked. “Families booking in because of the kids?” The manager just nodded and handed over some free drinks tokens.
The highlight, in the centre of our room, was a glass shower with optional curtains and multicoloured lighting scheme, which again felt more nightclub than football-themed, but Billy didn’t seem to mind.
At breakfast he was shocked to see a woman in a Barcelona shirt, given Ronaldo had played for their deadly rivals in Spain. I explained the hotel would be an attraction for all football fans and not just Cristiano worshippers.
Presumably this was the thinking behind the venture, and it must be working. There is already another CR7 hotel on Ronaldo’s home island of Madeira, and one in midtown Manhattan, near Port Authority bus station. Others are planned for Marrakech, Paris and Madrid.
As wonderful a city as Lisbon is for food, drink and history, retail tourism is by far their biggest offering, which is presumably how the idea to twin Portugal’s biggest global star with an existing hotel chain came about.
Tourism is responsible for just under 20% of the country’s economic output and this year will add €54bn to the economy. We contributed about £200 of that at Pestana CR7.
Ronaldo’s not the only player to invest in hotels – a quick look at Google reveals that Messi already has six in Spain. As their playing careers are winding down, their Monopoly careers are just taking off.
James Brown is an author and magazine editor
