Why is an illegally built hotel in Benalmádena still standing and open for business?

An illegally built hotel in Benalmádena, now named the Vive Costa, Azul remains open, with its 61 flats, 46 parking spaces, an outdoor heated swimming pool and communal areas, despite a Supreme Court ruling ordering its demolition. Formerly known as Vista del Rey, the establishment was built in 2001 with the authorisation of then mayor Enrique Bolín. Since April 2021, the hotel has been subjected to a Supreme Court ruling, which upheld the final judgement of the High Court of Justice of Andalucía (TSJA), ordering the town hall to proceed with its demolition. However, the judicial proceedings date back all the way to July 2011.

Inversiones y Promociones R.B., SL is the company behind the hotel's construction. The property was initially built as a timeshare. According to the TSJA proceedings, up to ten individuals and five companies, including a bank, are involved as interested parties. They are at least some of the owners of the land on which the Vista del Rey was built thanks to a building permit which was declared illegal.

The ruling granted the town hall a period of three months for the demolition. If the town hall failed to enforce it, the responsibility would go to the regional government of Andalucía. A third measure warned the councillor for urban planning of fines of between 300 and 1,200 euros, which would be charged to his personal assets every 20 days were he to fail to execute the court ruling. Despite all this, the establishment operates normally and remains registered in the Andalusian tourism register under the name of Vista del Rey and with 122 beds.

On 22 April, the town hall authorised the contracting of the demolition work. Later, at the beginning of June, it approved a budget amendment via a credit supplement that contemplated, among other things, dedicating 30,000 euros for this purpose. Today, according to the town hall, the project "is currently in the tender phase". Once it has been awarded, the town hall promises to proceed with the demolition, unless there is "any kind of opposition", in which cases judicial authorisation will be sought before the execution of the sentence.

The town hall has not announced what it will do in the event of an appeal against the demolition. According to the ruling, the hotel must be demolished before May 2026. The TSJA has stated that "the demolition of what has been built under the protection of a licence declared illegal is a natural consequence of the nullity of that licence". In other words, "any annulment of a licence entails the demolition of the building it covers".