Marugal has been tabbed by Activum SG Capital Management Limited (ASG) to operate a luxury hotel created from a restored Andalusian palace in the heart of Málaga. The new hotel on Calle Granada, called Palacio Solecio, opens later this year and is a few minutes’ walk from the Picasso Museum, the Roman amphitheater and the city’s top tourist attractions.
The 230-year-old building fell into dereliction after the previous owners halted a planned redevelopment of the property in the financial crises of 2008. ASG’s local team led its restoration and saw an opportunity to increase the hotel’s capacity by building an annex on neighboring plots.
Saul Goldstein, ASG founder and managing partner says Palacio Solecio will “set the benchmark for luxury in Málaga.”
The restoration works to Palacio Solecio converted it into a 68-key hotel with an interior designed by Antonio Obrador’s studio. The building features two original internal courtyards, meeting and conference rooms and a gym. Good to know: José Carlos García, who holds one Michelin star for his restaurant at the quayside of Málaga’s port, was brought onboard to handle the hotel’s F&B programming.
The annex will provide 50 additional rooms, a swimming pool and rooftop bar. Construction work is scheduled for completion by 2021.
Palacio Solecio is the fourth investment to date in ASG’s Spanish hotel strategy, which focuses on locations where room numbers are failing to keep up with the boom in tourism and business travel.
Almost three million visitors stayed overnight in Málaga last year, local tourist board statistics show. Rising visitor numbers mean Málaga’s center is underserved in terms of luxury hotels as non-European arrivals at the international airport increase and the city develops its cultural and museum offerings, ASG says.
Marugal operates six boutique luxury hotels in Spain, including the Cap Rocat in Mallorca.
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