Sometimes you hear a story that lifts your heart and spirit. A feel-good story that lights a little spark of hope and motivates you to believe you can aim a bit higher in your own life. This recently happened to me when I connected through LinkedIn with Christine Cunanan, Publisher/Editor of Travelife Magazine and Owner of La Esperanza Granada.
I do not personally know Christine, but I am always happy to connect with colleagues within my industry as you never know where it might lead…and little did I know that by connecting with Christine, I would discover this inspiring story of how her spontaneous leap of faith led her to purchase a private hacienda in Spain that she would transform into a small luxury hotel naming it La Esperanza Granada. And during these times, what a prophetic name it is as the meaning of La Esperanza is Hope.
While the majority of us amid the 2020 COVID 19 pandemic were in our sweat pants streaming Netflix, Christine Cunanan was on a flight when she had an out-of-the-blue idea to purchase a property in Spain. Arriving home from her flight and before even unpacking her bags, she went online and googled “properties for sale in Spain”. Upon finding a private hacienda online and purchasing it sight unseen, Christine renovated the property and had it operating as a small luxury hotel within a year. One short year after opening, the hotel has received glowing reviews, has recently been named one of the six best new hotel openings in Spain, and is currently a member of the prestigious L.V.X. Preferred Hotels and Resorts. Is anyone else besides me feeling a little lazy right about now?!
I am posting this story because I find it hopeful and inspiring. No matter how small or large our dreams are, shouldn’t we sometimes choose to take that leap of faith? Maybe one of us has a story like this in ourselves as well. I cannot begin to tell Christine’s story as well as she can, so if you want to read the full story of her journey, click the link (here). I hope you find it as uplifting and inspiring as I do. Happy Dreams my friends…and if you do have a similar story, please share it!
An inspiring post.
Thank you!
I wrote earlier commenting that your post was inspiring, but I finally had a chance to read the full story via your link in this post and I’m glad I did. She never mentions a husband or partner throughout this endeavor which leads me to assume she took this leap of faith all on her own. As I read her amazing story, I couldn’t help but think of the story Under the Tuscan Sun except this one was on a much grander scale. I am even more inspired than I originally gave her credit for. She is truly an amazing woman. Maybe it has something to do with that plum wine? Whatever gave her the courage to follow through with her venture I congratulate her.
Cheers!
Hi Cat, I know right! I thought it was a fun story and very inspirational. I’ll speak for myself, I have a tendency to overthink things and I love that she just did it. I don’t know if she did it on her own but it sounds that way. Not only did it, but then renovated it and opened the resort within a year. Kudos to her!