The municipality of Vila Real de Santo António, through its municipal company VRSA SGU, launched the public procedure for the contract for the rehabilitation of the emblematic Hotel Guadiana, located on the riverside of the city.
The municipality is thus continuing the refurbishment of the centenary building – already classified as a building of municipal interest since 2010 – ensuring its reopening and its transformation into a charming hotel.
Luís Gomes, president of the Chamber, told the Sul Informação that, after these requalification works, which are "the Municipality's responsibility", "the hotel's operation" will proceed by the South African chain Grand Africa, which is owned by a Portuguese, as our newspaper reported, first hand, last February.
“The building expropriation process has been completed and the contract with this South African hotel group has been signed, and they have delivered the required guarantees. Therefore, now, the process of requalification of the Hotel Guadiana is irreversible», guaranteed the mayor.
For Luís Gomes, «the operation is part of the strategy to recover the city's built heritage and the installation, in its Historic Center, of reference hotel units, promoting superior quality and cultural tourism».
«In the case of the Hotel Guadiana, we are going to re-qualify its interior and adapt it to the current characteristics of a five-star unit, putting an end to the scenario of degradation of this building, which is a calling card for the riverfront», continues Luís Gomes .
The contract has a base value of two million euros and will be financed by the Jessica initiative, a financial engineering instrument developed by the European Commission in collaboration with the European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank, and completion of work in December 2016.
This redevelopment provides for the maintenance of the façade and the main decorative elements of the French-style building designed by architect Ernesto Korrodi, whose construction took place between 1918 and 1921.
In addition to reactivating the property's original use, the urban planning operation intends to maintain its original volume, allowing the installation of 31 rooms, spread over 15 double rooms, three junior suites and 13 single rooms with the comfort and requirement standards of international brands .
The contract also includes the restoration of a building in Ponta da Areia, which will serve as a bathing support area.
The project fully complies with the guidelines of the Detailed Plan of Safeguarding the Pombalino Nucleus of Vila Real de Santo António, as well as the measures established in the Urban Rehabilitation Area (ARU) of the Historic Center of VRSA, which was, in fact, the first to be launched in the country.
In parallel with the recovery of the Hotel Guadiana, it is the intention of the Municipality of VRSA to transform the Historic Center into a reference in terms of tourism, and an ambitious project is therefore underway to convert the old buildings, owned by the Municipality of VRSA, into a set of charming accommodation units.
A little history of the Hotel Guadiana:
Located on the Vila Real de Santo António riverfront, the Hotel Guadiana marked Algarve tourism in the early 1918th century, having been designed by the Swiss-born architect Ernesto Korrodi. It was built between 1921 and 1923 and opened in XNUMX.
Its existence is due to the canning industry Manuel Ramirez, who verified the need to accommodate national and foreign traders in VRSA.
Its construction also bears witness to an urban historical evolution and its architecture is characterized by the mixture of various styles in keeping with the taste of the time, showing a transition between the aesthetics of Art Nouveau and Classical Composition.
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