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Hotel Alción's crossroads: Historic Solís landmark closed since 2016, faces divided opinions
🇺🇾 Uruguay /Culture & Society

Hotel Alción's crossroads: Historic Solís landmark closed since 2016, faces divided opinions

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The historic Hotel Alción in balneario Solís, Uruguay, has remained closed since 2016, sparking debate over its future.
  • While the Medical Union of Uruguay (SMU) has reopened the vacation colony's cabins and camping, the main building's fate is uncertain.
  • Internal disagreements within the SMU exist regarding whether to sell the property or find alternatives to finance its renovation.

The future of the historic Hotel Alción in balneario Solís, Maldonado, remains uncertain more than a decade after its closure in 2016. While the Medical Union of Uruguay (SMU) has recently revived the vacation colony's cabins and camping facilities, the iconic main hotel building is still non-operational, leaving its fate undecided.

structural deterioration of the building

— Daniela PacielExplaining the primary reason for the Hotel Alción's continued closure.

Built in 1939 and owned by the SMU since 1961, the hotel served as a vacation colony for its members and hosted numerous congresses, scientific events, and cultural activities. It also provided services to local schoolchildren and a childcare center, employing residents from surrounding towns. The expansive property boasts 85 rooms, bars, lounges, dining areas, sports facilities, and a swimming pool.

the investment needed to rehabilitate it is very high

— Daniela PacielHighlighting the significant financial challenge in reopening the Hotel Alción.

Sources close to the hotel indicate that discussions about the complex's future have been ongoing for years, revealing "two different conceptions" within the union. Some members voluntarily contributed extra fees for benefits at the Alción, continuing their payments even during the closure. An earlier SMU board proposed selling the vacation colony, a decision supported by an assembly in October 2022.

it is currently inviable, for the moment, to recover it with the union's resources

— Daniela PacielStating the current financial limitations preventing the hotel's restoration.

However, a group of members successfully petitioned for a new assembly in December 2022, reversing the sale decision and appointing delegates to explore preservation alternatives. This tension persists today, with the camping and cabin project now realized, but the "big project" of the hotel still awaiting a financing solution for its recovery. The SMU's medical secretary, Daniela Paciel, stated that the hotel's closure is due to "structural deterioration" and the "very high investment" needed for rehabilitation, deeming it "inviable" with the union's current resources. The SMU has focused on creating new rest spaces for its members, adapting to a "new format" rather than the traditional vacation colony model.

two different conceptions

— Sources linked to the hotelDescribing the opposing views within the SMU regarding the Hotel Alción's future.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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