Junta de Andalucía gives green light for three hotels in Malaga to go up in the world
The regional ministry of culture decision states that the increase in height of the buildings next to the Guadalmedina riverbed will not cause any 'visual contamination' to the skyline
The project to increase the height, category and number of rooms of three hotels in the centre of Malaga has passed a key stage - the regional ministry of culture has given the green light to these actions planned for the Ibis Málaga Centro, Ibis Budget and Suite Novotel hotels, all belonging to the Accor hotel group. On 30 July, the provincial historical heritage commission issued a favourable review of the extension.
According to the regional ministry of culture, these buildings are not within the scope of the historic centre of Malaga. The authorities therefore state that the "environmental and visual perceptibility" of the old town will not be affected, meaning that there will be "no visual contamination".
The project still has to go through the environmental evaluation process, which has to be carried out before the delegation of the regional ministry of sustainability. This could take several years. The project promoter has already submitted an initial document for this environmental procedure, but the regional government has asked for corrections.
The plan is covered by a decree approved by the Junta de Andalucía in 2021, which allows for an increase of up to 20% in the floor area of existing hotels if this also means an increase in category. According to the document drawn up by the Domingo Corpas architecture studio, the Ibis Málaga Centro hotel, which currently has 189 double rooms (378 hotel beds) and 47 parking spaces, 19 more rooms could be added and the height could be increased by three more floors to the current volume of the building. This increase does not require justification under the aforementioned decree from the regional government, since the current urban planning regulations for that area of the city centre allow it, as noted in the file. Therefore, the building's height would go from ground floor plus three and ground floor plus four, to ground floor plus six and ground floor plus seven.
Two options are contemplated: one involves an increase in the built-up area by 15%, which would add 169 square metres for new services; or an increase by 20%, which would guarantee an increase in category from the current two stars to three stars or higher, with an increase of 390 square metres for new services.
As for the Ibis Budget hotel (one star and 125 double rooms) and the Novotel Suite (four stars and 85 double suites), an increase in height from ground floor plus four and ground floor plus five to ground floor plus six, respectively, is proposed. The justification is that, this way, they would be brought into line with the level of other adjacent buildings.
Ibis Budget has the opportunity to upgrade to a two-star or higher category, allowing for a 20% increase in floor space and the addition of 13 rooms. Meanwhile, Suite Novotel could climb to a five-star or higher rating, with plans to add nine rooms and 328 square metres dedicated to new services.
The dossier states that extension work could be carried out technically without the hotels having to completely cease their activity. The promoters of the plan state that, with these changes, the number of quality hotels in Malaga will be increased and seasonality will be reduced. The project also includes the planting of trees for the future installation of an outdoor terrace with tables and chairs for Novotel Suite's ground-floor café.
