Environmentalists Call Land Restoration a "Death Blow" to La Tejita Hotel Project

The environmental group Salvar La Tejita has called the requirement to restore land within the public coastal area a "death blow" to the La Tejita hotel project.

Spokesperson and president, Rubén Pérez Flores, described it as a "partial success." He added, "We will be vigilant to see if the dune field is truly restored, which is what we demand," referring to the area where an excavator had been working. "We celebrate that two years later, the developer agrees to repair the damage caused."

According to the environmentalists, this means the company "is recognizing and complying with the fact that they will not be able to complete 196 hotel beds." Pérez Flores reminded everyone that the original permit was for "a project in its entirety. Not one bed more, not one bed less can be built, and at this moment they will not be able to build the hotel as they had planned," because part of the construction is on public land.

Regarding the restoration of that area, the Salvar La Tejita platform wants "the land to return to its previous state, which is what the two-year-old stop order dictates. What was there previously was a dune field. So, we will see what they do: whether they leave a poorly constructed embankment as it is done here, or if they really remove the fencing so that the sand can flow and the works are adapted to help the sand cover the dune," he explained.

For Salvar La Tejita, "the priority here must be conservationist. It is a dune field that is fulfilling its function, which is to transport sand from one beach to another. No type of obstacle that impedes the passage of sand can be placed," elaborated the president of the environmental association.

However, the National Court ruled last June 2025 that the administration must automatically grant the La Tejita hotel builder a concession for any public coastal land that could be affected by this complex, according to Article 13 bis of the Coastal Law.

This Friday, January 23, the group also mentioned the fines imposed on their supporters for an unauthorized demonstration on March 15, 2024, at the plot currently being restored. The group claims they had provided urgent notification for the protest.

The platform reiterated that its main objective since 2015 has been to prevent any hotel rooms from being built in the area. "We recognize that the license, as it was granted, cannot be executed. Thus, we have it in the courts in an administrative dispute and we want to annul the entire project," claimed the spokesperson.