The touristed south of Gran Canaria is set for some urban transformation with the licensing of a new five star hotel in the popular resort area of Meloneras, marking a major developmental milestone for the destination. The Urban Planning Council of San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council plans to grant six Major Works licenses following their approval in the Government Board meeting to be held this Thursday November 30, granting Lopesan Touristik a license for a new 533-room hotel, representing a €61 million investment. The planned five-star establishment will be located on the plot Meloneras 2A behind the ExpoMeloneras Convention Centre, and will be the first new hotel in the area since 2009. It promises to combine leisure and commercial facilities over a sprawling 48,276.26 square meters, featuring a seven-story hotel and three-story commercial and office space.
The new development is part of a larger plan involving five major construction licenses, amounting to over €74 million. These projects for the south, which include the rehabilitation of the Hotel Beach Club San Agustín and the reform of Los Dolores apartments, signal a significant economic investment, projected to increase municipal revenues by nearly €2.4 million.
Davinia Ramírez
Deputy Mayor Alejandro Marichal commended the “excellent work of the technical and legal team of the Urban Planning Department” and emphasized the initiative’s role in generating employment and modernizing the tourist destination. He went on to add that this will be the working dynamic of this Council, “extending a hand to investors, as this not only generates income for the municipal coffers but also creates jobs and modernizes our tourist destination.” Urban Planning Councillor Davinia Ramírez (CC) noted that the licenses end a period of stagnation, marking a pivotal moment in expanding and improving the accommodation offerings for Maspalomas. She highlighted the return of investor confidence in the municipality, reflecting a commitment to both new construction and the refurbishment of existing establishments.
The development initiative represents an apparently renewed focus on tourism and urban growth, revitalizing an area that has seen little development over the past two decades. It underscores the local government’s commitment to fostering investment, creating jobs, and enhancing Gran Canaria’s appeal as a prime tourist destination of global standing. The investment to be made by the developer Lopesan Touristik, who receives the first license granted since 2020, is for the construction of a new hotel establishment in Meloneras 2A. This project involves building the first five-star Congress Hotel in Gran Canaria, which will also include leisure and commercial offerings.
This development initiative is part of a much larger urban transformation. All the way back 2021, the previous town hall administration of San Bartolomé de Tirajana municipality sought to unlock the development of significant hotel and commercial zone in Meloneras, which it would then hoped would lead to three major resorts. At that time this development was touted with the potential to bring more than €1 billion in investment and create 3,000 direct and over 2,000 indirect jobs. After 20 years of negotiations and legal disputes, the local government and Lopesan, the promoter, had already appeared to resolve the key issue of ceding green spaces and free spaces to the municipality, redesigning the Meloneras 2A sector and improving its urban layout. This latest announcement appears to be a realistic first step in those earlier aspirations, with Davinia Ramirez’s departement having agreed to license the first new hotel in the area for more than a decade.
The Meloneras 2A sector, in its entirety spanning 120.4 hectares (1.2 million square meters), includes established hotels and commercial centers. The agreement first reached back in 2022 has started to bear fruit beneficial for both San Bartolomé and the island.
