Two companies are bidding for the hotel management of the Marbella Free Time Residence

The companies Ritusa and Barceló are bidding for the hotel operation of the Residencia de Tiempo Libre in Marbella, after their bids were accepted in the tender opened by the Junta de Andalucía last July to establish a surface right on the property for a fee, as both proposals met the requirements demanded in the procedure.

A total of 3 companies have submitted their bids to the public tender, which was originally due to close on November 23, but the Junta decided to extend it to December 23, in response to requests from companies interested in participating.

According to the announcement published in the BOJA on November 21, an interested company filed an “appeal” against clause 3.4 of the tender document, which the General Secretariat of Finance “partially upheld” and ordered its “modification.” Additionally, various interpretative doubts were raised about it and a request was made to extend the deadline, which was granted.

Contracting Board

The administrative process has continued, and the Contracting Board met on January 12 in Seville to review the “general documentation proving compliance with prerequisites,” according to the minutes of the session, which this newspaper has accessed.

Specifically, Ritusa S.A, Barceló Hotel Leases S.L., and Leisure City Management S.L.U have submitted their bids to operate the Residencia de Tiempo Libre in Marbella, with the first two companies' proposals being accepted after the Contracting Board verified that the documentation provided “fits and complies with the required prerequisites.”

In the case of Leisure City Management S.L.U., the proposal was rejected for “not meeting the economic solvency requirement,” as it attempted to base this on another entity, Sierra Blanca EPIC S.L., the sole partner of the bidder but with a “different legal personality.”

Thus, Ritusa and Barceló continue in the competition to bid for the contract for the establishment of a surface right on the Residencia de Tiempo Libre for hotel exploitation, which will be done by auction. The public tender documents stipulate that the awardee must invest a minimum of 50 million euros over 15 years, as well as set a minimum annual fee of 4 million and the duration of the concession is established at 75 years. The Andalusian administration will retain ownership of the residential complex.

Agreement between the City Council and the Junta

The complex was inaugurated in 1962. It is a modernist work by the architect Manuel Aymerich Amadiós, included in the General Catalogue of the Historical Heritage of Andalusia, which was conceived as a public facility for vacation accommodation for workers. For more than 6 decades, it has provided this tourist service until it was closed in 2023.

The tender is part of the agreement signed last year between the Marbella City Council and the Junta de Andalucía to change the use of the Residencia de Tiempo Libre, which included changing the urban classification of the plot to hotel equipment, including an “increase in buildability of 30,000 square meters over the current built surface,” among other aspects.

The facilities were closed in November 2023 by decision of the Governing Council of the Junta de Andalucía, which began the procedures for the closure of these holiday cities across the autonomous community, considering them unprofitable.