Palma.The hotel chain intends to invest 135 million euros in completely transforming Magalluf, which has not enjoyed any kind of financial injection of this scale since it began to become popular some 40 years ago.
The mega-resort project was yesterday presented by the vice-president of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer, and it was immediately welcomed by the local authorities.
The government has even declared it a project of regional interest which means it will get all the administrational support and backing it requires.
Meliá owns 13 hotels in Calvia and eight of those are in Magalluf.
The key to the mega-resort is to link six of the hotels up in a giant luxury complex.
As the image shows, those marked in red will be brought together in the Sol Calvia Resort and improved access will be created to the two hotels marked in blue.
The macro-project will involve the refurbishment and improvements of all the existing hotels as well as improving the overall urban appearance of the area and the beach which stretches in front of the future resort complex.
Existing shopping centres will also be remoulded and refurbished and new gardens, car-free boulevards linking the various areas of the mega-resort and a giant surfing centre with special wave pools are going to be built.
The primary aim of the project is to breathe new life into Magalluf which has enjoyed little investment over the years and reinvent the popular holiday destination as a luxury resort. Gabriel Escarrerr also said that Meliá is prepared to bring in the world-leading brands it works with in the world of entertainment and gastronomy. The move will offer high quality attractions and services which in turn will attract a different class of tourist, Escarrer said.
In principal, the project will be privately funded by Meliá Hotels International and its partner Evertaas, but Escarrer, who took the President of the Balearics, Jose Ramon Bauza on a tour of the resort to show exactly what his company intends to do, is open to some public financial assistance considering the current economic climate and the massive commitment Meliá is prepared to make to Magalluf and Majorca in general.
The Mayor of Calvia, Manuel Onieva and Bauza gave their full backing to the project beacuse it will serve to revive the resort's fortunes.