The hotel 'boom' in Málaga extends to Capuchinos with two establishments that will open this summer

Jesús Hinojosa

Málaga

The fever for building hotels, hostels, and tourist apartments in Málaga remains high and, for several years, has extended beyond the Historic Center. An example of this is the Capuchinos area, where the construction of two new tourist accommodation establishments is in its final stages, expected to open this summer. One is a four-star hotel being built by the Zenit chain on Carrera de Capuchinos, and the other is a hostel that the real estate investment company Abit Living, based in Madrid, is erecting at 37 Dos Aceras Street, at the corner with Alta Street.

In the case of the four-star Zenit hotel, its facade already shows a building with a capacity for 70 rooms at numbers 18, 20, and 22 Carrera de Capuchinos. Designed by the Basque architect Izaskun Larzabal, it includes a ground floor plus two upper floors and an attic, as well as two basements for parking. It will offer services such as a café, gym, game room, and a rooftop pool, among others.

Zenit has indicated to SUR that the opening date of this hotel is not yet completely finalized, but it is expected "for this summer." It is still unknown whether it could be in July or not until September.

One of the unique features of this new hotel is that it has integrated into its structure for viewing a 17th-century cistern with a square base, topped by a dome, which may have been related to pottery activity in the area. It has also preserved four segments of a water channel from the San Telmo Aqueduct, a unique infrastructure that served to bring water to the Center from the Guadalmedina basin in the 18th century.

The hostel that Abit Living is constructing on Dos Aceras Street is in a similar situation. Its promoters hope it can also open this summer. However, the permits for it to operate are pending approval from the City Council and the Andalusian Regional Government for it to open as a boutique hotel, instead of a hostel as initially planned in the construction license.

"We are betting on this boutique hotel model and have submitted the documentation, but we are still waiting for approval," sources from the promoter stated, adding that it barely requires changes in the already executed works, as the 20 rooms configured in the new building would remain, with the only change being a lower guest occupancy.

During the construction of this project, which includes a café in its basement, a large vaulted cavity appeared that was part of the pottery activity in the area in past centuries. It was a kind of storage for ceramic piece remains, which the promoter has salvaged a good number of and restored to deposit wherever the Culture Council decides. Finally, with permission from the Junta, this discovery posed no obstacle for the project to develop as planned, designed by architect Miguel Braun.

More tourist apartments

However, as SUR has been reporting, these are not the only tourist accommodation projects being developed in the Capuchinos neighborhood and its surroundings, where a good number of vacation apartment complexes already operate. Next to the Zenit four-star hotel, on Carrera de Capuchinos, a building of 25 tourist apartments promoted by Longline Capital will be constructed, behind which are national investors.

Also, on a plot located at number 32 on Capuchinos Street, Iberia Reim, a capital management firm specialized in real estate investment, will construct a building for 27 tourist apartments, within the investment vehicle Arabí Living. Its opening is not planned before the end of 2028, as reported by this company.

Furthermore, the City Council has started the urban planning process to demolish the Telefónica building located at number 43 on Alameda de Capuchinos and make way for a hotel with a design by architect Carlos Domingo Corpas, author of the ME Málaga hotel, which opened last December. It will be a three-star hotel, with a ground floor plus four, a roof, and a basement, with a capacity for about 60 rooms in approximately 2,700 square meters of constructed area. The building has been acquired by the company INDES Tech, which will keep it leased to Telefónica until next year.

Additionally, a three-star hotel has been announced on a plot where 36 homes were initially planned to be built, also on Alameda de Capuchinos, at the corner with Arapiles Street, a steep road with stairs ascending towards San Millán Street. This other project, for 130 rooms, features a design from the HCP architecture studio and involves the construction of a building of about 4,000 square meters of constructed area.

Moreover, last December, the Municipal Urban Planning Management granted the construction license for a building of 24 tourist apartments with a swimming pool at number 54 on Alameda de Capuchinos, a plot located opposite the Telefónica building that will be replaced by a hotel.

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