Malaga's hotel boom extends to Capuchinos with two establishments set to open this summer

Hospitality

The four-star Zenit hotel on Carrera de Capuchinos and a 20-room hostel on Calle Dos Aceras are almost finished with construction

Jesús Hinojosa

Malaga

The boom in construction in Malaga's hospitality sector remains strong and, for several years now, has extended beyond the boundaries of the historic centre. A prime example is the Capuchinos area, where construction is nearing completion on two new tourist accommodations, both set to open this summer.

One is a four-star hotel of the Zenit chain on Carrera de Capuchinos and the other is a hostel by Madrid-based real estate investment company Abit Living on Calle Dos Aceras 37, on the corner of Calle Alta.

In the case of the four-star Zenit hotel, the facade of a building with 70 rooms is already visible at numbers 18, 20 and 22 on Carrera de Capuchinos. Designed by Basque architect Izaskun Larzabal, it has a ground floor plus two upper floors and an attic, as well as two basement levels for parking. It will have a café, gym, games room and rooftop pool, among other amenities.

Zenit has told SUR that they don't have an opening date for the hotel yet, but it will be this summer.

One of the unique features of this new hotel is that it has integrated a 17th-century square cistern, crowned by a dome, into its structure for visitors to admire. This cistern may have been related to pottery production in the area. The hotel has also preserved four segments of a water conduit from the San Telmo aqueduct - a remarkable structure that brought water to the city centre from the Guadalmedina basin in the 18th century.

The developers of the hostel on Calle Dos Aceras are also confident it can open this summer. However, the permits for it to operate are pending approval from the city council and the Andalusian regional government. This would allow it to open as a boutique hotel, instead of a hostel as currently planned in the building permit.

"We are committed to this boutique hotel model and have submitted the necessary documentation, but are still waiting for approval," Abit Living told SUR. To adapt the plan to the boutique model, they have to make minimal changes to the existing construction: the 20 rooms in the new building would remain, with the only modification being a lower guest occupancy rate.

During the construction of this project, which follows the design of architect Miguel Braun, the workers discovered a large vaulted cavity that had been part of the area's pottery-making activity in centuries past. It was a kind of storage area for ceramic fragments, from which the developer has recovered a significant number of pieces and restored them for placement at a location that the regional ministry of culture will determine.

Ultimately, with the permission of the regional government, this discovery does not pose any obstacle to the project proceeding as planned.

More tourist flats

As SUR has been reporting, the tourist accommodation projects in the Capuchinos neighborhood and its surroundings don't stop there. A number of tourist flat complexes are already operating in the area.

Another medium-term project is the construction of a building with 25 flats, next to the Zenit hotel. The developer is Longline Capital.

On a plot of land on Calle Capuchinos 32, Iberia Reim (a capital management company specialising in real estate investment) will construct a building with 27 tourist flats as part of its Arabí Living investment vehicle. Its opening is not expected before the end of 2028, according to the company.

Meanwhile, the city council has begun the planning process to demolish the Telefónica building on Alameda de Capuchinos 43 and make way for a hotel designed by architect Carlos Domingo Corpas - the same architect behind the ME Málaga hotel, which opened last December. It will be a three-star hotel with a ground floor, four upper floors, a rooftop terrace and a basement, with approximately 60 rooms. INDES Tech has acquired the building and will lease it back to Telefónica until next year.

A developer has also announced a three-star hotel for a plot where 36 flats were originally planned. The site sits on Alameda de Capuchinos, on the corner with Calle Arapiles - a steep road with steps leading up to Calle San Millán. Architecture firm HCP designed the 130-room project, which involves building a property with around 4,000 square metres of floor space.

In addition, last December the municipal urban planning department granted a building permit for a 24-unit tourist flat complex with a swimming pool on Alameda de Capuchinos 54. The plot, opposite the Telefónica building, will now make way for a hotel.