Plans for four-star hotel near Caleta de Vélez fishing harbour move forward

A plot situated on the seafront in Caleta de Vélez on the eastern Costa del Sol, which has been zoned for hotel use in the town plan for two decades, is to be turned into a four-star hotel with around 148 rooms if the developers, Villa Toto, get planning permission.

The project would see an estimated investment of some 30 million euros, according to figures obtained by SUR and information released by Vélez-Málaga town hall, following a meeting between the mayor, Jesús Lupiáñez, the councillor for town planning, Celestino Rivas and the developers.

The hotel will be situated near to Caleta harbour and as well as the 148 rooms, it will also offer a restaurant, a gym, a spa area, an events space, gardens and outdoor areas. It will also include two swimming pools, one outdoor and one indoor, as well as a semi-basement level with spaces dedicated to catering and communal facilities.

The timetable drawn up by the developers envisages registering the basic project before the end of 2026 in order to begin the process of obtaining the relevant municipal planning permission, as Rivas explained to SUR. The intention is also to present the project at the next edition of Fitur to seek out operators or investors interested in the future management of the hotel. If the process proceeds according to these plans, construction could begin during the first half of 2027, with a view to having the hotel completed by 2029.

Vélez-Málaga town hall has presented the initiative as a new private investment scheme aimed at expanding and diversifying the town’s tourism sector. “Vélez-Málaga continues to grow, and it is doing so through new projects that create opportunities,” the town hall said on its social media channels.

The town hall maintains that its strategy involves attracting investment that generates economic activity and employment and, in particular, promoting "a tourism model" based on a higher-quality offering and greater promotion of the coastline and the municipality’s resources.

The images released of the future complex show a design that opens out towards the sea, with spacious terraces, gardens and areas set aside for swimming pools and leisure facilities. The design aims to capitalise on the plot’s prime location, situated between the old N-340 coastal road, the seafront, Calle Las Traíñas and the Villas Puerto Blanco area, just a few metres from the Caleta de Vélez marina and fishing harbour.

The planning history of Villa Toto actually dates back almost twenty years. Municipal records show that the amendment to the General Urban Development Plan (PGOU) made on 7 March 2006. The development was promoted at the time by Toledo Agroinmuebles, S.L. and allowed the previous single-family residential use to be replaced by a hotel.

The project, however, never came to fruition over the following two decades and the plot has remained awaiting development. The new project, designed by architect Fernando Pérez del Pulgar, now involves reviving the hotel development, although it is still at an early stage of planning.

The draft project has not yet been registered and will subsequently need to obtain the relevant planning permission. Nor has it yet been announced which company will take over the running of the future hotel, which is why the developers intend to use Fitur to make progress in their search for an operator.