Tenerife Hotel Reclaimed from Squatters, Left Ruined
Owners have regained control of the Hotel Callao Sport in southern Tenerife after police removed the last squatters, but the property is in a terrible state with extensive damage and estimated losses exceeding 100,000 euros.
The Hotel Callao Sport in southern Tenerife, which had been taken over by squatters, is now back in the hands of its owners. Last week, police removed the last few people remaining inside the complex. Most squatters had already left after receiving an eviction notice, leaving just over a dozen behind. After months of worry, the owners can finally access their hotel, but it's in a terrible state.
Content creator Ricardo Marichal, known as Ratatour, has posted a video that completes his three-part series on the hotel. He had previously tried to film there without success, and then filmed a second time with the squatters present. This time, the owner's son joined Marichal to show him the inside of the building. The hotel had been closed since 2020 due to the pandemic but was not abandoned and had active security when the squatters first entered.
According to the owning family, the occupation began after cameras and alarms were broken, leaving the building unprotected. This allowed dozens of people to gradually move in. From then on, the hotel was used as makeshift housing, without proper utilities or basic hygiene.
The video shows parts of the hotel turned into a rubbish dump. Even areas where many squatters slept were full of trash. The kitchens, spa, and bathrooms were all piled high with rubbish and mattresses. Inside, rooms are destroyed, industrial machinery has been stolen, wiring ripped out, common areas burned, and waste has built up. This means a huge amount of cleaning and damage assessment is now needed.
During the occupation, at least three fires broke out. One fire seriously injured a person who needed intensive care. The owners believe one fire started due to unsafe electrical wiring, while another was reportedly linked to an argument over a room.
The owners estimate their losses from utilities, taxes, lawyers, and fees already exceed 100,000 euros, and this doesn't even include the full value of stolen or destroyed items. They also say that most of the identified squatters are thought to have no money, making it difficult to claim any financial compensation.
The family, who ran the hotel for over ten years before it closed, stressed that it's a family business, not a big hotel chain. They are saddened that the project has been completely ruined. They plan to take legal action to hold people accountable and are calling for a review of how authorities handle illegal occupations in the Canary Islands.