Sant Adrià revolutionises its hotel offer and starts a new aparthotel

Sant Adrià de Besòs is undergoing a genuine hotel transformation. In just two years, the city has gone from 65 to 1,306 available beds and construction has begun on a new aparthotel that will be ready in 2028. This growth responds to the economic boom driven by Fira de Gran Via and the proximity to Barcelona, taking advantage of the hotel moratorium in the Catalan capital.

At present, Sant Adrià has 4,759 rooms in different categories, almost triple the supply at the beginning of the previous decade. To control this rapid development, the council has temporarily suspended the granting of licences for new hotels and tourist apartments with fewer than 30 beds, seeking to prevent homes from being converted into tourist accommodation.

Work began in January on the Kora Sant Adrià aparthotel, promoted by the Basque company Kategora in the La Catalana neighbourhood. The project, with an investment of €50 million, provides for 270 apartments with hotel licences, equipped with kitchens and areas of between 24 and 34 square metres. The building will have six floors and 19,400 square metres, including a commercial area of almost 1,000 square metres with shops, restaurants, a gym and spaces for entrepreneurs.

Mayor Filo Cañete has emphasised that the complex is designed to integrate into the neighbourhood, with an interior square open to residents. At Kategora, its development director, Eneko Balda, hopes that the project will stimulate the local economy and offer new opportunities for the business network and entrepreneurs in La Catalana.

The hotel boom is also reflected in recent openings such as the four-star Tembo hotel, with 280 rooms in La Mina, and the luxury SLS Barcelona, with 471 beds opposite Port Fòrum. All of this forms part of the urban transformation planned until 2030, which includes Inditex offices and new projects around Tres Xemeneies.

The new aparthotel also seeks to respond to neighbourhood dissatisfaction caused by tourist flats in La Catalana. The Asociación de Vecinos supports the initiative, convinced that it will help to revalue the area and prevent the neighbourhood from becoming a mere dormitory. Stays will be limited to a maximum of one year, and the establishment will have 24-hour reception and services to minimise the problems associated with tourist rentals.