A SINGAPOREAN multinational wants to open a six-star hotel and golf resort in Valencia's Juan Carlos I Royal Marina, complete with a museum made of glass, and gardens.
ARC Resorts also wants to help get the Formula 1 European Grand Prix back in Valencia, saying the extra revenue from the hotel will 'more than justify' its presence.
With an investment of €200 million over the next three years, the hotel complex will be 'the best urban resort in Europe' with 8,000 permanent new jobs, 754,000 extra tourists a year, private investment of up to €1 billion if the golf club and surrounding luxury residential estate planned is able to be built, an increase in Spain's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of €284m a year, rising to €5.6bn over 15 years.
The existing Docks building would be used, but the city council and regional government would have to agree to amendments to development and gambling regulations, given that the resort would probably include a casino.
According to ARC Resorts, the hotel would contain 120 suites, each measuring 400 square metres - about four times that of a spacious apartment or twice the floor area of a small villa – with a spa and sun terrace, but with the design always remaining in keeping with the original features of the Docks building, which was constructed in the year 1927.
It would include a casino, a 2,000-square-metre glass atrium, the only Global Glass Artist museum in Europe – which would be open to the public as well as hotel guests – limousines, yachts, and other services to 'meet the demand for top-end luxury'.
A huge concert and event arena with a souvenir shop selling fan merchandise, an indoor market and shopping centre 'three or four times the size' of the San Miguel one in Madrid, an arts and conference centre in the Veles e Vents building, a yacht club, offices and a sailing training centre in the Team Alinghi building, and another hotel – although with fewer than six stars – of 500 rooms are included in ARC Resorts' proposals.
The company would also modernise the park, gardens and landscape in general of the Marina.
ARC already has similar complexes up and running in Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan, and another built in the port of the city-State itself has turned Singapore Marina Bay into a booming and élite tourism and residential centre (pictured top left), whereas prior to its opening in 2003 the area was just a commercial harbour.
Valencia is 'ideal' for the project, because it boasts the necessary infrastructure, excellent weather and local cuisine and is very geared-up to tourism already, but the Marina, which 'could be the jewel in its crown' is 'lacking content'.
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