Do you know who Tomás Girón Morales was, an Almuñécar man who died on the 21st July aged 102?

Well, besides being awarded the Adopted Son of Almuñécar in 2012, he was the manager of Hotel Sexi in the 60s, which occupied the spot where the curved building stands opposite El Peñon de Santo.

On November the 13th, 1954, Hotel Sexi opened its doors becoming a tourist emblem of the region. Francisco Prieto Moreno, an architect from Granada and curator of the Alhambra, was responsible for the work. Those who knew him say that he had a circular terrace that emulated that of the Hotel Paris in Monte Carlo.

Tomás Girón witnessed what he called the “glorious years” of tourism in the area lasting three decades. Apart from Hollywood film stars, (Frank Sinatra, Elke Sommers and Sean Connery) powerful Franco-era politicians and intellectuals, the first wealthy foreigners began to arrive, mainly from Britain and Scandinavia and buy apartments.

Anyway, in 1975 Hotel Sexi was demolished and a block of flats built in its place. The other historical buildings soon followed like Hotel Palace, The Caribe and Hotel Portamar, and then a little later Pension Marina and Hotel Mediterraneo.

Three of the first almost eccentric but highly interesting foreigners to arrive in the 50s were Swedish Ana (who used to play the double bass) Marjorie Horne and Willy Knutsen. Willy had pioneered meteorological forecasts from the Polar Circle during World War Two. Marjorie was Peter Gabriel’s (of Genesis) god mother. She threw a party for him on Playa Tesorillo in the late 90s.

The hotel had such renown that its fame spread up to Madrid and abroad, putting Almuñécar on the map, so to speak.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)