Al fresco dining compromise after kitchen eviction at Marbella hotel

The Guadalpín Banús hotel has had to adapt its service this week after the closure of the kitchens and terraces on Monday as part of a dispute between the company operating the establishment and the owner of the basement premises.

On Tuesday staff went to work as usual and began serving breakfast and lunch in the swimming pool area.

“All the staff are committed to helping activity to continue as far as we can, but we are taking it one day at a time," said the manager of the Guadalpín Banús, Ramón Pons.

The areas until now occupied by the hotel’s kitchens and terraces were finally closed and sealed off on Monday this week, after police arrived with a court order. This was not before hours of tension in which the 200 employees gathered in the kitchens to prevent their eviction. In the end, amid strong police presence, the workers left the area peacefully.

The Guadalpín Banús hotel, developed by Aifos and initially operated by a company wholly owned by the developer, went into insolvency proceedings in 2009.

The building now has several owners (individuals, firms, investment funds and banks), who put their property at the disposition of the hotel management, according to their statutes.

Meanwhile the operator, Grisoma Hotelera SL, has been in legal battles with the owner of some of the basement premises, SPV Spain Project 17 SL.

In 2021 the courts ordered the closure of the indoor dining rooms and some of the guest rooms. Since then, the Guadalpín Banús has been operating with the outdoor terraces as its restaurant dining area. But now the hotel has been left with neither dining rooms nor kitchens.

“We are working with great difficulty, trying to provide a minimum service through the bar we have in the swimming pool,” said Pons.

The hotel currently has 130 rooms in use and 90 per cent of them are occupied. Some of them belong to other groups but they continue to operate normally thanks to the contracts in place, Pons explained.

Pons added that after the closure of the kitchens, guests were sent a letter explaining the situation and how meals would be served from then on. They were offered help in finding alternative accommodation if they wanted.

“No guests have left, and we have offered them a 25% discount on the original price to apologise for the situation. Some guests have even waived this discount; they see it as their way of helping to keep the hotel running," Pons said.

For the time being, the employees of the Guadalpín Banús are working “day by day” without knowing what will finally happen to the establishment.

Grisoma is now studying ways of keeping the Guadalpín Banús open without kitchens or terraces and with limited storage space.

“The hotel isn’t doing badly, nor does it owe anyone money. There is a fantastic workforce and we will fight to keep it up and running,” said Pons