Next winter, the Hotel El Alcázar will open in the medieval fort of Castellar de la Frontera, a wall complex situated at 248 metres above sea level, overlooking the Straits of Gibraltar and the African coast.

The hotel located in the castle has nine rooms overlooking the battlements. It will have a swimming pool and terraces in the large fortified towers. It will be ready to open to the public in winter as the building work is in its final phase.

Castellar de la Frontera is a village with 160 inhabitants that dates back to the 10th century and is located in the Los Alcornocales Natural Park, the best conserved forest on the Iberian peninsula, according to scientists.

The hotel, a 13th century building, will be managed by TUGASA (Turismo Gaditano S.A.), a company that Cadiz Provincial Council created to build and manage tourist accommodation. It currently operates ten establishments, all of which are situated in locations with character or hallmark buildings as a way of recovering the historical heritage and promote inland tourism.

The castle will operate as the flagship of the rural complex that TUGASA already manages in Castellar and which includes the El Aljibe restaurant and 9 cottages that can sleep up to 38 people. When El Alcázar opens, TUGASA will manage 50 tourist beds within the walled complex.

The work to restore the fortified complex began four years and has cost two million euros. It has been backed by the European Union and by José Maria Pérez, Peridis, a cartoonist at El Pais newspaper and architect, who has overseen the refurbishing project.

www.tugasa.es