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British hotelier in Marbella slams mayor for persecuting his popular business
| Published: | 20 Sep at 6 PM |
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The British businessman owner of an upscale Marbella hotel popular with expats and tourists has been forced to sack 50 Spanish employees after the local authority withdrew his music license.
The Sisu Hotel, mysteriously the site of a firebombing attack earlier this year, was recently refused renewal of its music license by reinstated local mayor Angeles Munoz. As a result of the ban on entertainment, British owner Neil Acland was forced to let 50 of his local staff go and is missing the last few weeks of the popular holiday destination’s summer season.
Ackland is making strong claims that the license cancellation is part of the discrimination against foreigners now becoming evident in the town. In an interview with Olive Press, he said he believes the mayor refused to renew his music license due to growing anti-tourist sentiment, adding the move will have made the official look good to the local people.
He pointed to Starlite Festival, another music venue with loud music up until the early hours, saying it had just been granted another 10-year license, and complained he’d been given just 10 days to prove he’d been complying with noise pollution laws. Ackland’s situation hadn’t been helped by an article in the local press accusing him of disabling the hotel’s sound limiter, an accusation he vehemently denies in addition to hitting out at a reported 700 complaints by local residents.
Finally, he insisted the hotel’s music stops at 8 pm every night, and is blaming the entire issue on a dispute between him and his landlord. The hotel recently featured on local media front pages after CCTV footage of a firebombing attack was released on social media.
Ackland’s lawyers are fighting to have the Sisu’s music license reinstated for at least a year, but he seems to have more that the above problems to deal with, including rumours the hotel is connected with Colombian or Russian mafia gangs and drug dealers. He insists his upscale hostelry charges 400 euros a night and attracts moneyed tourists, thus benefiting the local economy, and is blaming the actual owners of the hotel for the firebombing, accusing them of taking revenge over a legal dispute concerning unpaid rent.
The Sisu Hotel, mysteriously the site of a firebombing attack earlier this year, was recently refused renewal of its music license by reinstated local mayor Angeles Munoz. As a result of the ban on entertainment, British owner Neil Acland was forced to let 50 of his local staff go and is missing the last few weeks of the popular holiday destination’s summer season.
Ackland is making strong claims that the license cancellation is part of the discrimination against foreigners now becoming evident in the town. In an interview with Olive Press, he said he believes the mayor refused to renew his music license due to growing anti-tourist sentiment, adding the move will have made the official look good to the local people.
He pointed to Starlite Festival, another music venue with loud music up until the early hours, saying it had just been granted another 10-year license, and complained he’d been given just 10 days to prove he’d been complying with noise pollution laws. Ackland’s situation hadn’t been helped by an article in the local press accusing him of disabling the hotel’s sound limiter, an accusation he vehemently denies in addition to hitting out at a reported 700 complaints by local residents.
Finally, he insisted the hotel’s music stops at 8 pm every night, and is blaming the entire issue on a dispute between him and his landlord. The hotel recently featured on local media front pages after CCTV footage of a firebombing attack was released on social media.
Ackland’s lawyers are fighting to have the Sisu’s music license reinstated for at least a year, but he seems to have more that the above problems to deal with, including rumours the hotel is connected with Colombian or Russian mafia gangs and drug dealers. He insists his upscale hostelry charges 400 euros a night and attracts moneyed tourists, thus benefiting the local economy, and is blaming the actual owners of the hotel for the firebombing, accusing them of taking revenge over a legal dispute concerning unpaid rent.
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