Commissioned as a royal summer palace for Spain's Alfonso XIII and completed in 1926 to designs by Fernando Guerrero-Strachan, the white Eclectic-Baroque edifice on Málaga's La Caleta waterfront spent much of the twentieth century as a courthouse before its restoration returned it to hospitality. Gran Hotel Miramar reopened in 2017 after a painstaking conversion that preserved Guerrero-Strachan's ornate façade — its gilded crown, heraldic cartouche, and Andalusian tilework portal all intact — while adding a contemporary pool terrace and 200 rooms across seven stepped floors that cascade toward the Mediterranean. The interiors draw their palette directly from the sea visible through every balconied window: rooms are finished in polished white marble floors and lacquered white joinery, with accent colours shifting between turquoise and coral depending on orientation, ocean-motif cushions and starfish wall medallions keeping the references literal without becoming cartoonish. Perforated Moorish-inspired screen panels flank the headboards, filtering light in a nod to Málaga's Nasrid heritage. On the sea-facing terrace restaurant, black cross-back iron chairs and white-clothed tables sit beneath oversized white parasols, the balustraded parapet framing palm fronds and open water beyond — an arrangement that has the ease of a private villa rather than a grand hotel dining room. The building's reflected silhouette in the pool, visible from the garden side, delivers the full weight of Guerrero-Strachan's palatial ambition in a single, still image.

No travel notes provided yet.

The Gran Hotel Miramar Resort & Spa 5*GL; with the principal entrance facing the Mediterranean Sea, offers marvellous views over the Bay of Malaga and is just 5 minutes from the cityEs top museums (including the Picasso; Carmen Thyssen; Centre Pompidou and Hermitage) It is considered the masterpiece of architect Fernando Guerrero StrachanEs work and took five years to complete, finally being opened in 1926 by King Alfonso XIII under the name "Hotel Principe de Asturias". From 1936 until 1939, it was used as a hospital during the Spanish Civil War. It then returned to being a hotel, under the moniker Hotel Miramar, until it closed for business in 1967. During the period of 1987 to 2007, it was used as a courthouse. This beautiful historic building has welcomed illustrious guests from amongst European nobility, the world of the arts and Spanish high society.