Presumably, the “Fonda Coma” already existed at the end of the 19th century, owned by Buenaventura Coma Riba of Cal Ramonguem and his wife Maria Antònia Pintat Moles, originally from Meritxell.
Bonaventura was, at the same time, an innkeeper, farmer, muleteer, and a very shrewd businessman. He owned a lot of livestock (cows, horses, mules, donkeys…) and frequented all the surrounding fairs. Every week, with some hired farmhands, he would go to Spain to buy what was needed for the inn.
He also served as a guide, leading travelers coming to Andorra and people from Barcelona who occasionally came up to hunt. The Areny-Plandolit family were clients of his and, whenever they came to Ordino, he would go to pick them up in La Seu d’Urgell. They would send him a letter notifying him of the date, and he would take the mules, set up very comfortable chairs for the ladies, and go down to meet them.
In 1913, Bonaventura Coma Pintat, son of these first owners, married Maria Coma Areny, and they took over the inn. From this union, 5 daughters were born: Rossita, Maria, Ventureta, Mercè, and Carolina.
Bonaventura was a very serious person, but in the evenings, to entertain guests or those who came to the café, he would organize card games (brisca, tuti, botifarra…). He also loved hunting, surrounding himself with young people, and joking.
Maria Coma Areny was a very kind and generous woman. When someone arrived with wet clothes, she would have them change and dry their garments. The smugglers who crossed the mountains in the snow and arrived exhausted at the inn appreciated her greatly. She would immediately prepare a good bowl of soup and look after them. If anyone from the village needed something, such as oil, she would give them half a bottle without hesitation. She was a very welcoming woman and an excellent cook.
The mistress of the house, as was customary in all inns, was the one who prepared the food and was the architect of the inn’s good reputation. In fact, she was the one who ran it, as her husband was always traveling. People from all over the parish, from Andorra la Vella and St. Julià, came to the inn to eat, especially for the hare.
Bonaventura Coma Pintat founded the “Hotel de Bonaventura Coma” in 1932 in Camp de la Tanada, and the Annex directly opposite in 1955.
The inn had become too small, and it was necessary to build a larger hotel, although he was not sure if he would have enough clientele to fill it.
Xavier de Areny Plandolit convinced Bonaventura, although this project was not easy to carry out. He promised him that if he sold his stables (located where the National Auditorium of Andorra now stands), he would create a natural science museum that would attract many clients to Bonaventura’s Hotel.
Bonaventura closed the Inn and they moved to the Hotel. He wanted the hotel to be named Coma and made his daughters promise they would never change it, as having had only daughters, the surname would otherwise have been lost.
Some of which faced the front with balconies; there was a bathroom on each floor and running water. The floor was made of wood, which they cleaned with a brush and bleach; at that time, it was considered modern.
On the ground floor were the bar, reception, and dining room. In front of the bar and dining room were enclosed glass terraces where one could also eat or play billiards.
They ran the hotel for a short time, as Maria Coma Areny fell ill and passed away. Then, they leased the hotel to Josep Gil.
Around 1945, at the end of the lease, the Coma family resumed management.
During this new phase, Bonaventura Coma’s daughters worked at the hotel: Carolina in the kitchen (assisted by a girl from the village), and the others took care of the dining room, reception, and rooms. When they finished one task, they started another, and so it went all day.
At the back of the hotel were the garage and laundry room, and clothes were hung there to dry, as there were no dryers. Mercè Coma recalls washing and bleaching 80 or 100 sheets in the morning, serving in the dining room at noon, folding, ironing, and tidying clothes in the afternoon, and then serving dinner in the evening.
Despite such hard work, they never lacked good humor or a desire to have fun. If there was a party in Ordino or La Massana, they would walk there after work, and sometimes even a hotel guest would join the group.
One of the young people’s pastimes was going on excursions on Sunday mornings, groups of 20 or 30 who would climb to the peak of Casamanya or to the lakes, and in the afternoon, when they came down, they would go dancing at the hotel.
Since the dining room was very large, half of the room was set up for eating and the other half for dancing. In winter, the entire room was reserved for dancing, and meals were taken on the covered terrace. Accordionists came from La Seu and Sispony, bringing many young people; in Ordino alone, there were about 20 single girls…
At that time, the price for full board was between 15 and 11 pesetas, all-inclusive, depending on the season. Lunch was 8 pesetas, including wine.
Around 1952, Bonaventura Coma stopped running the hotel (all his daughters were married) to lease it to Laureà Cases, who had created the Cases hotel organization and managed, among other hotels, the Canaletes in Igualada, the Casamanya, the Pic Mari, and the Hostal Palanques.
When the lease ended, the hotel was very deteriorated and no longer met the needs and comfort of the time. So, they demolished the hotel and rebuilt it anew in the same location. The heiress of Cal Ventura, Mercè Coma Coma, with her husband Josep Riba Babot, who had four children Mercè, Eva, Edu with their daughter Mercè Riba Coma and her husband Emili Prats Grau, inaugurated it on December 11, 1976.
Mercè Coma and Josep Riba managed the hotel until 1985, when one of their sons, Josep Maria Riba Coma, took over after completing his studies at the School of Hospitality and Tourism in St. Pol de Mar. He brought new ideas and expanded the business with the Restaurante Tópic, a true landmark in the village of Ordino, located in the old Cobert de Picamal.
Josep Maria Riba has a son with Yolanda Cid named Bonaventura Riba Cid; this legacy may continue for many years, the future will tell.
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