El Algarrobico beach ghost hotel

This is not a pleasant sight for tourists visiting El Algarrobico beach in the Almería region. Just behind the beach, on a steep slope, towers a 21-story concrete colossus.

The plaster is peeling in all directions, the once shiny white colour has turned yellow, and construction cranes are still standing around. These are the remains of a planned luxury hotel with 411 rooms, which was to attract tourists from all over the world. But it was never finished.

A long-term legal battle

The history of the ghost hotel in Algarrobico began in 2003, when the local authorities gave the hotel group's developers permission to implement the project. Even then, there were voices of protest from environmentalists. The construction site is located within the Cabo de Gata Protected Natural Park and too close to the coastline. Greenpeace led an intensive campaign to stop the construction. Environmental activists described the Algarrobico beach hotel as "illegal" and placed posters to that effect on the already partially completed building. Numerous protest actions were organised, including those using boats. In 2005, ecologists achieved their first success: the court ordered a halt to construction works.

Years of legal wrangling followed. In 2012, the Supreme Court of Andalusia in Granada declared the construction illegal. However, in 2016, the Spanish Supreme Court finally confirmed that the construction of the controversial hotel complex was illegal. Judges ruled that the site on one of the last pristine beaches in the Carboneras area should not be developed.

However, the court process did not resolve what should happen to the ruins. As the tourist portal Traveltomorrow.com writes, as part of the judgment, the court only asks the Carboneras city council to change and revise the building permit issued almost two decades ago.

In July 2021, the Andalusian Supreme Court rejected another request by Greenpeace to demolish a hotel on Algarrobico beach. According to the judges, the activities can only continue if the Carboneras municipality cancels the construction permit issued in 2003. However, this has not happened yet.

As reported by Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the socialist government of Carboneras refused to acknowledge that Algarrobico was built illegally until the Spanish general elections in May 2023. As the months pass, the half-finished and increasingly dilapidated hotel building continues to blight Algarrobico's seaside area.

Environmentalists persist

Environmentalists from Greenpeace describe the construction on their website as "a symbol of coastal destruction" and as "one of the biggest scandals in urban development."

The Supreme Court's judgment in February 2016 confirmed that the hotel had been built illegally in the middle of a nature reserve, despite the inaction of the responsible authorities.

"Despite election promises for immediate demolition in March 2008 and promises by the environment ministers and presidents of Andalusia, the hotel still stands," writes Greenpeace. He adds, " According to research, the demolition and subsequent reconstruction of the surrounding areas will create about 400 jobs."

When the Algarrobico beach ghost hotel chapter might finally be closed is still uncertain. The justice system will probably have to deal with the case first.

This article was originally published on Onet Travel.