Spanish lighthouses will become hotels with breathtaking views

387 lighthouses are distributed over the coast of Spain; they became unnecessary due to communication system modernization and introduction of new technologies. Many of those lighthouses have fallen to decay and gradually deteriorate. In order to save historic patrimony for future generations, the Ministry of Development promotes alternative ways of using empty buildings within the framework of “Spanish Lighthouses” project.

Now 28 lighthouses in Spain are used as art, exhibition and museum centres, 12 are education and culture centres, 5 have been converted into laboratories, 7 accommodate cafes and restaurants, one of the lighthouses even has an aquarium.

Guest housing can serve as one more form of lighthouse use. Due to their original purpose, the lighthouses are located on high cliffs with spectacular panoramic views of the sea and nearby territories. Such way of using lighthouses is successful in many European countries, but it is not that popular in Spain with few exceptions (for example, Formentor restaurant in the Balearic Islands). A special technical group with several port administration heads as its members was created in order to elaborate this concept.

The project presupposes turning lighthouses into hotels meanwhile maintaining state patronage considering them as objects of touristic interest. Such investment option has interested several foreign investors. A “Puertos del Estado” chairman Jose Llorca has noted that the lighthouses of the Balearic Islands and Galicia are in the highest requisition. The Balearic Islands port administration informs that 17 requests of foreign investors have been received already. According to Jose Llorca, some of the projects can be put into operation before the end of 2014.

The picture captures the view of Formentor lighthouse, the Balearic Islands.