How much money is being invested in the new hotel projects announced for Marbella in the last two months?

First it was Ikos Resort, the Greek chain specialising in luxury all-inclusive holidays to announce investment in Marbella, then the Incosol health hotel and the refurbishment of the iconic Don Pepe Gran Meliá, followed by the announcement of the opening of the first Waldorf Astoria in Spain and the expansion of the Boho Club.

All this while Meliá is preparing the refurbishment of the Senator and the project to convert a tourist apartment building on Calle Ramón Gómez de la Serna into a four-star hotel has been modified after an investment of 6.8 million euros.

All of these plans have made the news in the space of just seven weeks, evidence of the boom that the hotel industry is experiencing in Marbella. The combined investment is in excess of 310 million euros, excluding the purchase price in the case of the acquisitions, and the Higuerón Developments project at Marbella Golf, the details of which have yet to be revealed.

After opening the Andalusia in Estepona, Ikos Resort is coming to the land occupied by the Marbella Playa hotel to open a five-star resort. As SUR revealed, the Greek firm will invest 120 million euros with the aim of opening a 340-room hotel in 2028. The investment will generate a thousand jobs between the building and the operation of the hotel and the project has been given the green light.

The town hall has already given the green light to a building permit that councillors believe could be historic in the hotel refurbishment sector: 87.4 million euros. However, it is expected that there will be a modification of the project which will reach 150 million euros; the figure announced at the presentation of the project led by Pelayo Cortina Koplowitz. The work will last between 18 and 24 months and the hotel will have 168 rooms after its reopening, 140 of which will be a health hotel and 28 as a five-star hotel.

The boutique hotel on the town's Golden Mile will grow through the Swedish Forest Centre from 40 to 250 rooms, but the investment will depend on the buildability, which is still unknown. If it is the minimum, it will be 47.42 million euros and if it reaches the maximum, the project will shoot up to 86.68 million euros, according to the Swedish company Boho Group. Before obtaining the building permit, the investors must obtain approval for the development project. The company will preserve 6,275 square metres of green areas and build a new service road and a roundabout on the old N-340 coastal road.

The Don Pepe Gran Meliá, a five-star luxury hotel which first opened in 1964, closed its doors on 16 October for a 40 million-euro refurbishment focused on creating 32 suites with which the hotel will have one hundred per cent of its offer with sea views. It will have 56 suites for 187 guests and the cost of being closed for the year that the work will last will be a further 20 million euros. The work will also include the swimming pool, the terrace and the restaurants.

The contract between the company that managed the four-star establishment, Grupo Hoteles Playa, and the owner of the property, Inmobiliaria Prico, came to an end on 31 October. The alternative will be taken over by Meliá, which expects to reopen in 2027 after work which, according to SUR sources, will cost around 12 million euros. It will have 190 rooms, five more than it currently has.

The tourist apartment building at number 18 Calle Ramón Gómez de la Serna will be converted into a four-star hotel. On 21 October, Marbella town hall approved an amendment to the project for almost two million euros, which is in addition to the 4.8 million euros of the initial building permit. It will have about 70 rooms and will open in 2026 and the project is being carried out by Samara Marbella.

Higuerón Developments has landed in the town with the acquisition of the Marbella Golf Club and, together with the hotel giant Hilton, will open the first Waldorf Astoria in Spain. The Fuengirola-based company has not yet revealed the investment in the facilities or the number of rooms in this project, which will be called Higuerón Marbella Golf Resort and which includes the redesign of the well-known golf course.