This is what the renovated facade of the Palacio de la Tinta looks like in its transformation into a luxury hotel.

The facade of the Palacio de la Tinta now proudly displays its renovation. The transformation works, as it becomes the sixth five-star hotel in the city of Málaga, are progressing and have allowed for the removal of the tarp that covered the building, revealing a rehabilitation that has preserved its historical and aesthetic values and restored its original splendor.

The building, constructed in 1908 by Julio O'Brien in the French modernist style, was originally the headquarters of the Andalusian Railways Company. After various phases as the headquarters for Renfe and other administrative bodies, including the Andalusian Water Agency, it was purchased in 2019 for 21 million euros at an auction by the Junta de Andalucía by the Hotusa Group to be transformed into one of the hotels under the group's premium brand, Áurea. The hotel is expected to welcome its first guests next year.

The hotel will retain the building's name, which derives from its original function related to the storage of ink needed for the manual issuance of train tickets at the time. The facade has also preserved each of the architectural elements that define the personality of a property considered one of the most outstanding examples of European modernism in Málaga, with a clear Parisian influence.

The transformation now revealed shows that the goal of preserving the cultural and architectural heritage of the original building structure has been achieved, marked by two floors of balconies and one of windows separated by string courses, decorated brackets, and an attic with balustrade. Additionally, it features chamfered angles on the highlighted bodies and parallelepiped-shaped chimneys on the roof. After the renovation, the artistic ironwork of the second-floor facade on Paseo de Reding stands out even more, emphasizing those central columns with Corinthian capitals and the balconies with stone parapets connected by elongated brackets. This 10,500 square meter property is part of the architectural heritage of Málaga after a history in which the bankruptcy of the Andalusian Railways Company, originating from the Córdoba-Málaga route, led to its nationalization in 1936. In recent decades, it housed the headquarters of the Southern Hydrographic Confederation.

The aim of this extensive renovation is to restore the fullness of its essence and historical character to embark on a new journey as a luxury hotel with 140 rooms, seven suites, and nine junior suites. "All actions will be carried out under the premise of sustainability and innovation while maintaining the essence of the property and respecting its original structure, as well as carefully recovering the interior of the rooms for their new use," explained Daniel Isern, from the architecture group Isern Associats, at the beginning of last year. He did so at an event attended by the president of the Hotusa chain, Amancio López Seijas, and the counselor of Economy and Finance of the Junta, Carolina España, where they reported on the concession by the Andalusian administration of a repayable loan of 15 million euros from funds aimed at sustainable urban development for the recovery of the property. López Seijas estimated the planned investment at 30 million euros and expressed his fortune for "having a piece of history that is a true gem."

140

are the rooms of this new five-star hotel, which will include seven suites and nine junior suites.

Indeed, he detailed that the establishment, located next to the city's only five-star Grand Luxury hotel, the Gran Hotel Miramar, will feature a restaurant on the roof which will also have a 700 square meter terrace with a small pool. Additionally, it will offer a spa, located in the lower part of the building, as well as a convention hall of about 300 square meters that will have a capacity for about 150 people.

This new hotel, which bolsters the city's strategy to grow in quality tourism, will create between seventy and one hundred jobs, which the chain's president mentioned will be "permanent and of quality" because Málaga has very low seasonality precisely because of this commitment to excellence in tourism.

López Seijas reminded that Hotusa is the chain with the most hotels in Andalusia and advanced that the Palacio de la Tinta aims to be the crown jewel on the Costa del Sol. In Málaga, this group is present in about ten hotels, including the Tribuna hotel on Carretería street and the Eurostars on Héroe de Sostoa street, as well as a hostel on Álamos street and a building of tourist apartments on Barroso street, in the Soho area.

While the renovated facade of the building is now on display and work continues on the rest of the building, the Hotusa group's website already announces this new opening and invites customers to book a ticket to the past.