Marbella's controversial Sisu hotel to reopen under new ownership

Marbella is about to recover one of the buildings that has marked the town's dark history. The controversial Sisu Hotel Boutique, which has been sitting abandoned in the Puerto Banús area for almost six years following a devastating fire, will reopen under new ownership.

With this step, the new owners hope to put behind the history of disturbances and incidents that have surrounded it since its beginnings 30 years ago.

The entrepreneur looking to revitalise the area is Arnaud Albouhair, founder of Nao Club in Marbella and one of the sons of the late nightclub owner Olivia Vàlere. The new five-star hotel will be located right next to the A-7 motorway, between the marina and the Nueva Andalucía district.

The future hotel complex is currently in the design phase, although the new owners have already placed enormous banners over the building's facades announcing the new project. "Have you ever dreamt of paradise? Welcome, you're here," the banner says. The complex, which will cost the investors 15 million euros, will have 50 rooms.

Arnaud Albouhair says they are currently in the design phase with the architect and that construction should begin in the coming months, with completion expected in 2028.

It will be a boutique hotel featuring well-known brands, two restaurants, a large spa and a nightclub. The rooms will be much larger than those of its predecessor. For this to happen, their number will decrease from the current 75 to 50.

Despite the fire that damaged the building in the summer of 2020, Albouhair says they won't need to demolish the existing building, as the structure is in good condition. However, the plumbing and utilities are not working and will need to be completely replaced.

They haven't yet decided on a name for the hotel, which will likely be different from the club's name to distinguish the two brands. In fact, Nao Pool will only operate for the next two seasons, as it has been sold to new owners.

Sisu opened 30 years ago as a three-star hotel and later became a four-star, though it never lost its knack for making headlines and never for anything good. It was a three-star hotel when it was called Lorcrimar. Its owner, Manuel Lores, was one of the five business owners arrested in the third phase of operation 'Malaya'.

Lores, originally from the town of El Puerto de Santa María in Cadiz, built the hotel under the protection of the urban plan the GIL party had proposed, which never achieved legal validity.

He reached urban planning agreements with Jesús Gil and signed agreements with Julián Muñoz. A search of the offices of former advisor Juan Antonio Roca at the Mara Asesores company revealed evidence of a payment of 50,000 euros the week before the town hall allowed him to build the hotel on a plot of land that was partly designated for commercial use and partly for single-family homes.

The establishment changed ownership and became the four-star Sisu Hotel Boutique. When in 2010 its new owners, Irishman Neil Acland and Briton Gary Sanders, were preparing the renovations for the hotel's reopening, Sanders was arrested at the hotel's entrance and extradited to the UK on tax charges.

An alleged war unleashed upon his release from prison. On 2 March 2017, a hand grenade set fire to the restaurant next to the pool, which was closed at the time. Fortunately, no one was injured. By then, residents in the area had already filed dozens of complaints regarding the noise from parties around the hotel's pool. The town hall ultimately revoked the permit for musical activities in September 2017.

The hotel, which had become a symbol of 'excessive tourism', continued making headlines due to a legal battle between the owners and the company that operated it, because of what happened in the early hours of 21 August 2020: a fire that left one dead and nine injured. Now, the Valère family hopes to change its reputation.