An Irish expat claims he has lost £1.5million after Spanish officials blocked his refurbished countryside hotel from reopening.
Michael Walsh, 40, bought the iconic Malaga business to run alongside his wife and three children, who moved to the southern city four years ago.
He had hoped to re-open the charming Finca La Mota, in Alhaurin El Grande, at the end of May.
But just a week before they were set to reopen he was told it ‘did not have a hotel licence’, despite it being run as a hotel for three decades.
‘They lied the whole way through, it’s absolutely disgraceful. They’ve stopped me from opening my business and it’s bankrupting us,’ he said.
‘It was just one excuse after another. I knew it would take years to fight in court,’ he added, claiming the local bureaucracy had avoided giving official refusal and were targeting him ‘because we are expats’.
Former Cork hotel owner Michael (left) moved with his wife to Malaga four years ago
They had planned to reopen the countryside retreat set amid mountainous parks in May
But he was told it ‘did not have a hotel licence’, despite being run as a hotel for three decades
The former Cork hotel owner told the Olive Press: ‘They lied the whole way through, it’s absolutely disgraceful.
‘They’ve stopped me from opening my business and it’s bankrupting us.’
He claims he has ‘lost the entire summer season’, having to return over €300,000 (around £250,000) in cancelled bookings, including 16 weddings, worth €150,000 (£125,000).
He claims the renovation work alone came to €650,000 (£550,000) and added he had to pay 25 employees for a week’s work out of his own pocket.
The successful rural hotel and restaurant had formerly been run by American and Dutch owners.
‘I cannot understand what has gone wrong,’ said the previous owner this week. ‘It has always been a popular hotel regularly visited by local politicians to eat. We never had a problem.
‘It really makes no sense.’
Walsh claims the hotel licence was first granted by the official Andalucian tourist registry in Sevilla 32 years ago.
Officials from Alhaurin town hall claim, however, the licence is no longer ‘valid’ due to a subsequent bylaw requiring hotel properties to measure at least 25,000m2.
They ignored a clear caveat, claims Walsh, that overruled this law if a licence was granted before it was introduced.
When Walsh pointed this out to officials, he claims they said there were also ‘noise complaints’ and warned they would impose a ‘hefty fine’ if he tried to open.
As he tries to fight the council alongside his lawyer, he says he is losing at least €5,000 (£4,200) every week to keep the property.
The rural hotel and restaurant had formerly been run by American and Dutch owners
Walsh claims the hotel licence was first granted by the tourist registry in Sevilla 32 years ago
He said he has ‘lost the entire summer season’, having to return €300k+ in cancelled bookings
‘They won’t give us an official refusal and I can’t figure out why the town hall doesn’t want 25 extra jobs here. It is because we are expats,’ he asked.
He has so far had seven meetings with officials and is ‘determined’ to fight, even enlisting support from a European Council lawyer who has approached Spain’s Minister for Tourism.
‘I love Spain, I’ve never had any regrets about moving here. Everyone is so welcoming, friendly and we are completely integrated into the community, but this is so unfair,’ he added.
Alhaurin town hall failed to reply to numerous phone calls and emails.
Neither the local police nor Guardia Civil would comment on alleged noise complaints.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
