The hotel at the Old Bullring Plaza that closed in Malaga three months after its opening reopens

From being the first Sonder hotel in Andalusia, after signing an alliance with the giant Marriott, to reopening its doors as ... an independent four-star hotel with a quality standard in line with these major brands. This is the bold story of the seven-month life of the central hotel in Malaga, located in Plaza de Toros Vieja, where the property owners have taken over the business, and not for lack of suitors. Moreover, this marks their first foray into the hotel sector, debuting with a renamed establishment now operating under the name Serenay, which means bright moon in Turkish, explains Irene Rodríguez, the director.

Alongside the property, Rodríguez showcases modern, impeccable facilities with meticulous decoration. It is enough to point out that the construction of this four-star hotel with 95 rooms, parking, terrace, and restaurant, was completed last July and remained operational until November when one Sunday afternoon Sonder announced the closure after Marriott unexpectedly ended the alliance with this firm. A decision that led Sonder to file for bankruptcy in the USA the following day.

Since then, everything has been an even more surprising journey than this unprecedented situation of closing a hotel in the hands of major North American chains three months after its opening. The director mentions that the owners swiftly regained the property and thereafter took charge of the dozen employees who depended on Sonder, paying their salaries from the outset. "After the bad news of the closure, what came next was much better. The good news soon arrived that the property took control. It has been something unprecedented in the sector," explains Rodríguez, a young woman from Torremolinos, Malaga, who had been away from Malaga for years but always linked to the hotel industry. "I love this profession," she details.

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rooms are in this four-star hotel that has been renamed Serenay.

From the property, it is assured that in this period they have received almost 40 proposals from hotel chains that wanted to manage this four-star hotel, which already has plans to make a mark in the events and conferences sector. The hotel, which has four floors, boasts a privileged location in the city center, close to the beach and the train station. After considering the proposals, the owners decided to lead a brand-new hotel and strengthen the staff up to doubling it to have thirty employees for this reopening. "The idea is to continue strengthening the staff. We have created a good work group and want to keep expanding staff as we start rolling. We opened last week and we are happy," says the director who is very excited about this challenge. "I have opened numerous hotels in Spain and abroad with companies like Meliá or Palladium. In fact, I came to open a Marriott and now I am thrilled with the project of embarking on this journey as an independent hotel. It is going to be a success, I am convinced. We have started very well," she affirms.

The property, which also owns a building of tourist apartments in Alameda, wants to turn the page on the first failed premiere to focus on this reopening and concentrate on the future of the new Serenay, for which they already plan projects to take advantage of a large terrace with views of the port, Gibralfaro Castle, or the Cathedral. They also have an initiative underway to turn another 400-meter terrace into an area for events and conventions. Meanwhile, at the reception, travelers continue to arrive, surprised by the hotel and the 20-degree weather of the city.