A source at the hotel group said they expect the €11 million project to have an occupancy rate of 60% in its first year and the hotel is already taking bookings for next Monday onwards.

The official opening is still dependent on the definitive licence, which should be issued in the coming days.

The Portuguese group won an international tender in 2015 to operate the hotel for 45 years and it has completely renovated the building in the iconic Plaza Mayor in the city centre.

The Pestana Plaza Mayor is the group’s second hotel in Spain after the opening of the Pestana Arena Barcelona in 2013 and comes before the opening of the Pestana CR7 Madrid, slated for 2020.

The Pestana group was founded in 1972 and has almost 100 hotels in 15 countries. It had a turnover of €400 million in 2018, 1.5% up on the previous year.