Monday, 15 December 2025, 14:57
Granada province’s Costa Tropical is getting ready to welcome another Christmas. The street lights are on, Christmas decorations are hanging from the façades of buildings and the hotels are ready to welcome the guests who have decided to spend the festive season in towns such as Motril, Almuñécar, La Herradura and Salobreña.
Despite the usual slump at the end of November and beginning of December, the sector is picking up over the festive period with good occupancy and weather forecasts and a growing trend of business dinners and lunches in hotels, which is proving to be one of the driving forces behind the local economy at this time of year.
According to Jesús Megías, president of the association of hoteliers of the Costa Tropical, the expected occupancy for these dates “seems to be in line with the provincial average”, where holidays and New Year’s Eve tend to increase demand.
The Andalusian regional government’s tourism department puts the occupancy forecast for the week of 25-31 December at 64.5%, although according to Megías there is currently 80% occupancy already confirmed for the holidays. Megías adds: “We will have peaks of 85% on the days of highest demand. On the 30th and 31st there is always an increase, these are dates when people tend to go out”.
Hotels in Almuñécar-La Herradura are experiencing a positive autumn and winter. María Prieto, manager of the Bahía de Almuñécar and Bahía Tropical hotels confirms that both hotels will be “full for the festive season, especially for Christmas and New Year’s Eve”. Prieto acknowledges that at the end of November activity “slows down”, as it does during the first two weeks of December, but she points out that “from the 18th or 20th it starts to pick up again”.
The director adds, “The temperatures are helping a lot, the weather we have is fundamental” and that although bookings have come in from national tourists, “international guests predominate”, especially from other European countries, attracted by the good temperatures.
The good figures are not only affecting the four-star hotels, the smaller ones are also seeing an increase in bookings. Patricia Martín, manager of the Salambina hotel in Salobreña, speaks enthusiastically of a Christmas that they already consider almost as busy as August.
The hotel is almost full, with 80% occupancy for the night of the 31st and more than 200 confirmed reservations for Christmas dinners and celebrations.
At the Hotel Salobreña, owner Manolo Martín says it will be “packed on the 31st”, although he admits that they will not be able to make the most of it due to the fact that part of the hotel is still under construction. Martín says that January is usually one of the most difficult months for the sector: “Most of us take the opportunity to close and make much-needed improvements”.
At José Andrés Fernández’s Hotel Victoria, the current occupancy rate is between 45% and 50% until 22 December. From the 23rd to the 26th it will reach around 95%, before dropping to 70%. By the end of the year, from 30 December to 1 January, the accommodation expects to reach very high figures again, around 97%. “The figures are very similar to those of last year, although a little better,” they point out.
After 6 January, a temporary drop is expected, although from 17 January the hotel will be “practically full” again thanks to bookings from international guests.
Low season closures for renovations
While activity remains strong in the few hotels that remain open at this time of year along Granada province’s Costa Tropical, other places are taking advantage of the low season to renovate their facilities. The Hotel Helios in Almuñécar has closed for the first time at this time of year and is undergoing a complete restoration of its façade, terraces and lighting. Manager Filo Rodríguez confirms that the reopening is scheduled for 16 March “if everything goes according to plan”.