The Nobu Hotel in San Sebastián opened its doors last August, in the middle of Semana Grande, as the third five-star hotel in the city and with prices per night that were around 2,000 euros. Three months later, however, this hotel has had to temporarily cease its activity after the San Sebastián City Council issued a closure order for failing to comply with urban planning regulations.
This establishment belongs to the Nobu chain, of which the actor Robert de Niro is one of the majority shareholders, and is located in a villa overlooking La Concha Bay. The hotel has 17 rooms and has a luxury oriental restaurant run by French chef Yannick Lohou and Japanese chef Hideaki Mizushima.
The key to the litigation has to do with the establishment's activity license, a permit that it has not yet obtained as it has not responded to the requirements that have been demanded from the local Administration. The hotel had been operating without a license and thanks to prior communication for three months.
The requirements that the San Sebastian City Council has demanded of this establishment have to do, especially, with security and it is understood that these are important elements, since this institution has adopted a significant measure, such as the obligation to temporarily close, and an evident media impact at the local level.
The mayor of the city, Eneko Goia, has acknowledged that the hotel has been operating "with communication for three months", since "it had been pointed out which were the issues that had to be resolved at that time and which were the most fundamental, which are those related to security".
"At the expense of obtaining the first use license, due to the damage that may be caused by not being able to operate, it has effectively operated with a communication, what has happened is that when it has not been corrected, and they expressed their will and willingness to correct what had been pointed out to them, but they have not done so, since obviously this situation cannot be prolonged and therefore its closure has been ordered," he stated.
Goia has also indicated that the appeal for reconsideration presented by the Hotel Nobu before the City Council "is alleging that prior communication is sufficient." "However, that is not the case, legally the first use license must be processed and must meet all the conditions determined by law," he added.
Indeed, Hotel Villa Miraconcha, S.L., tenant of the Hotel Nobu San Sebastián, has made public that it has presented an appeal for reconsideration "in a timely manner", while alleging that "the resolution of the San Sebastián City Council is void, as consequence of the deprivation of the right of Hotel Villa Miraconcha, S.L. to present allegations prior to the issuance of the resolution; the first use license must be understood to have been granted due to administrative silence, and the lack of proportionality of the resolution."
In any case, both the tenant and the Company have indicated that they will carry out "whatever actions are necessary" to be able to resume their activity.
Meanwhile, the Áncora heritage defense association has denounced the destruction of the rear façade of the town and both sides “in almost its entirety,” leaving the historic building “reduced to its minimum material expression, equivalent to a thin front sheet.” . This entity emphasizes that these actions violate the Special Plan for Built Urban Heritage (Peppuc) and that they are not covered by the demolition license.
The temporary closure of this luxury hotel has revived the debate about the exponential increase in hotels in San Sebastián and, in general, the “touristification of the city”, a term used by critics of the enormous development that the tourism sector is having in the city in recent years. The impact of tourism is generating obvious externalities, especially in relation to the price of housing and living (critics speak of "elitization"), and the debate about the direction it should take is recurring.
The City Council announced in March the suspension of the granting of new licenses for the opening of hotels and homes for tourist use in the city. Likewise, Eneko Goia has been emphasizing that the city does not seek to grow in the number of visitors, but rather "focuses on taking care of the destination."
In any case, it is evident that there is concern about this, if not anger, on the part of a good part of San Sebastián. A survey carried out by the City Council itself detected that 65% of San Sebastian citizens believe that the city “has reached its ceiling” in terms of tourist influx and that it should not try to attract more visitors.
