A new 5-star unit planned by the Spanish group, Meliá Hotels International, for Monte Gordo in the eastern Algarve awaits the green light from the Portuguese Environment Agency before building can start.
The 'Meliá de Monte Gordo' will have 170 rooms and will overlook the beach at the western end of the town where the tennis courts currently are located.
The manager of Hoti Hotels Group, Miguel Proença, said the plan is to start construction this year so that the hotel will start operating in 2018 or 2019.
The new hotel is part of the Vila Real de Santo António council plan to renovate the town, especially the front line beach area, to attract more tourists.
If the hotel goes ahead, this will be the second 5-star in the council area as the Hotel Guadiana, which is nearing the completion of a total refit, also should end up as a 5-star.
The Algarve soon will have a further 23 hotels in Silves, Portimão, Lagoa, Loulé and Lagos council areas. Of these, 13 are new builds and the remaining 10 are refurbishments of tired or failed units.
The tender documents for the redevelopment of Monte Gordo was issued last autumn with an expected €200 million spend on projects that aims to propel the resort from a largely unplanned mixture of beach installations, hotels, camping facilities and bars into a modern wonder.
The new plan includes a two kilometre boardwalk with lighting, green spaces, shops and restaurants - all part of a design that acocrds with the Coastal Zone Management Plan (POOC) Vilamoura - Vila Real de Santo António released in 2005.
The redevelopment of Monte Gordo is the largest such project ever undertaken on the Algarve's coast and will change the image and face of one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. This new Spanish hotel is just the beginning.
