Vertical construction insured that coastal views would be guaranteed for most of the city instead of just the beachfront buildings. The council also decided to build large avenues instead of small streets in order to accommodate large influxes of tourists. Pedro Zaragoza Orts is considered as a visionary by many historians and tourism economists for the project he designed for a town that just had its beaches as a tourism resource.
In the mid 1960’s Benidorm changed drastically as Swedish and British tourists arrived seeking good weather and low-priced accommodations. At this time they arrived via Manises airport in Valencia, until 1967, when Alicante Airport (El Altet) was opened.
In 1975 the A-7 highway was opened which allowed for Benidorm to be connected with all of Spain and Europe. The arrival of tourists from Spain, Sweden, U.K, Holland, France Germany, etc. led to the necessity to build more hotels. Strangely enough, before 1970, there were only a handful of hotels available in Benidorm yet due to this massive demand over 100 hotels were built between 1970 and 1975. The Hotel Don Pancho was one of the hotels in Benidorm built during this period of massive growth.
The Name Don Pancho
The
Torrubia family is originally for Benidorm, and all of them, are in love with
their city. Their passion for tourism
led the Torrubia brothers to launch a long-desired dream; the construction of a
landmark upscale hotel. Thus was born
the Hotel Don Pancho, one of the first four star hotels in the city, located
just a few meters from the beach, and donned with an exclusive character. They
wanted a prestigious hotel that would give a different kind of quality and
exclusivity to its guests.
The
story that gave the hotel its name is also very important to the family. The
great-grandfather of the brothers who founded the hotel was a sailor who
traveled the world, and on one of his trips to the Philippines he became
infatuated with a woman named Panchita, very different from any woman he had
met before. He asked her to return with him to his hometown, Benidorm, and she
was delighted.
Panchita
had a brilliant personality, lush beauty, and had very pronounced cheekbones
and an uncommon magnetism. She always wore white, wielding giant hand-held
fans, also white as she was superstitious, and flaunted smoking big cigars.
Panchita was unique and very ahead of her time.
What at
first was reluctance soon turned into acceptance and she was embraced amongst
the population of the city, despite her different customs. Over time everyone
adored her and went on to nickname her Grandma Panchita. Even decades after her
death, Panchita is still remembered thanks to her great personality.
Due to
this, when years later the brothers Torrubia founded the hotel they decided to
name it Don Pancho in honor of this charismatic and legendary woman who fell in
love with the city of Benidorm.
The Legendary Hotel Don Pancho
On May 13th, 1972 the Hotel Don Pancho opened its doors to its first guests. The 251 room hotel offered fantastic sea views and an upscale setting to its guests. On the day of the inauguration a rare appearance was made by Spain’s Minister of Tourism, Señor Sanchez Bella. In fact, The Don Pancho is the only hotel in Benidorm which has ever been inaugurated by Spain’s Minister of Tourism.
The Don Pancho has hosted guests including famous bullfighters, actors, singers, and entertainers from around the globe. Some of the most famous people to stay at the Don Pancho are actor Terry Savalas and singer Julio Iglesias.
Hotel Don Pancho
4 Star Hotel in Benidorm
http://www.hoteldonpancho.es/en/index.php
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