The renewed mayor Luis Barcala, together with the Belleas del Foc -Belén Mora and Inés Llavador- will light this Thursday in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento de Alicante the Extraordinary Lighting of the Bonfires 2023. 50 arches will be illuminated, with more than 300,000 LED bulbs, in blue and white tones that will vary in color to illuminate the square.
It will be the symbolic beginning of the acts prior to the big party in the city, whose tourist establishments are practically guaranteed to be full on the twenty days of the festive week. This year, the cremà, which in Alicante is celebrated the night after San Juan, will begin at midnight on Saturday, June 24.
Barring unforeseen undesirable events, the city will be crowded that weekend, as predicted by the most used booking portals: on Booking, 98% of hotel beds are no longer available between June 23 and 25. On the highly demanded weekends in July, bookings are still at 85%. And that they are offered at much lower prices.
Let's see some examples. It is still possible to get a room for the Bonfires weekend in the two five-star hotels in Alicante, the Hospes Amérigo and the most recent -opened in 2022, Eurostars Pórtico, both located on the same street, Rafael Altamira, very close to the Town Hall and to the heart of the party. And the same double room that the Hospes offers for 806 euros for two nights, on a weekend in July it costs 510, almost 300 less. In the case of Eurostars, the difference is even greater: 800 euros in Fogueres and 480 a month later, on election weekend, which is desirable because it coincides with a long weekend.
We will be calmer, and we will pay less, if we choose a three-star hotel. There aren't many beds left either, but it's still possible. At the Campanile, next to Avenida de Elche, the weekend of June 23 to 25 costs 313 euros. In mid-July, from the 14th to the 16th, the same double room would cost us 238 euros for both nights.
In the event that we opt for a tourist apartment, which have proliferated so much in Alicante, to the point of surpassing hotel rooms in places, the diversity of prices is greater but it is advisable to hurry, because if we narrow the search to those that allow us access on foot to the heart of the party (that's what we're supposed to come to), 97% are already reserved.
In the center there are only nine offers. The most luxurious, a three-bedroom apartment in the old town for 1,131 euros on the weekend. In mid-July, we can get it for 772 euros for the weekend. The cheapest, a studio with a double bed in the Portal de Elche, at 600 euros the two big days of Hogueras, 480 a weekend in July.
