'World exclusive' Hilton Curio hotel opens in Alicante

The newly-opened Casa Alberola Boutique Hotel offers unrivalled views of the seafront and yacht marina in Alicante, from floor-to-ceiling shuttered windows with balconies, and takes full advantage of the original architecture of the late 19th-century building which went up at a time when well-to-do Europeans would spend their winters in the city.

Part of the Hilton Curio Collection, the Casa Alberola has been restored to its original splendour with more besides by developers Balazs Companie, S.L.

Hilton Curio Collection hotels are the chain's top-of-the-range boutiques, carefully selected for their distinctive character and unique nature and for being a 'personification of the area' where they are based, the company explains.

At present, only 79 Curio hotels operate worldwide, of which four others, besides the recently-opened Casa Alberola, are in Spain – in Madrid, Ibiza, Barcelona, and Málaga.

Marble floors and walls, velvet and elaborate sculpture and relief work are among the decoration, which is partly inspired by the 1920s when élite tourism in Alicante truly began to take off.

The rooms are the size of a small UK flat.

Its 'exclusive' nature is in its décor and location, however, not in its price: these start from €85 a night per room during off-peak season.

Photographs by Hilton Curio Collection