Local
Work starts on first of eight new hotels in Estepona town
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An important archaeological find on the land where the hotel will be built had temporarily stopped work from going ahead
The construction of Hotel Maravilla Palace has got under way after work was stalled for months. It follows the discovery of a medieval tannery, said to be the best preserved on the Iberian Peninsula, on the plot of land where the hotel is being built in Plaza de las Flores.
Work was delayed as the discovery meant that plans had to be altered in order to protect the remains, however, construction has now restarted after hotel owners were warned by the council that their building works licence could expire.
Under the revised plans, the hotel’s restaurant will now have a glass floor so that guests will be able to view the tannery from above.
Hotel Maravilla Palace, which will have 42 rooms, is just one of eight new hotels that will be added to Estepona’s old town. The council are currently approving plans for hotels to be opened in Calle Santa Ana, Calle Caridad, Calle Carlos Herrera, Calle Veracruz and Calle Concepción.
Mayor José María García Urbano said in a conference last week that the hotels, which will have 300 rooms altogether and will collectively generate around 200 jobs, will open between 2017 and 2018.
Councillor for Infrastructure, Ana Velasco, explained that some of the town’s derelict buildings are being restored to create the new boutique hotels as part of the revitalisation of other buildings and streets in an initiative which promotes the town as “Estepona, the garden of the Costa del Sol.”
Velasco also stated her view that the hotels will attract more investors to Estepona, especially as this year the town recorded its highest number of tourist visits in a decade.
