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No. 66 of 84 in the list

Edificio El Olivar

El Olivar I and II stand at Avenida del Xixo 3 on the first line from the Playa de Poniente. The two 26-storey towers are often confused in skyscraper databases with their neighbours Balcón de Poniente.

Benidorm skyline drawn from building data: heights to scale, west to east Poniente Levante TM Tower · 230 m Intempo · 187.1 m Gran Hotel Bali · 186 m Gran Delfín · 158 m Torre Lúgano · 158 m Sunset Sailors Tower 1 · 151 m Neguri Gane · 148 m Edificio Kronos · 140 m Benidorm Beach · 126 m Edificio Don Jorge · 124 m El Mirador del Mediterráneo · 123 m Torre Levante · 120 m Costa Blanca I · 116 m Miragolf Playa 2 · 115 m Gemelos 26 Torre I · 114 m Gemelos 26 Torre II · 114 m Torre d'Oboe I · 114 m Torre d'Oboe II · 114 m Sunset Sailors Tower 2 · 113 m Sol de Poniente 2 · 112 m Beni Beach · 110 m Sunset Cliffs Torre 2 · 106.2 m Miragolf Playa I · 105 m Playa Azul · 105 m Torre Pinar · 105 m Residencial Islamar 2 · 104 m Residencial Islamar 3 · 104 m Torre Poseidón · 103 m Sunset Waves I · 101.5 m Sunset Waves II · 101.5 m Hotel Port Benidorm · 101 m Las Terrazas de Benidorm 1 · 101 m Las Terrazas de Benidorm 2 · 101 m Torre Doscalas · 100.4 m Gemelos 22 Torre 1 · 100.2 m Gemelos 22 Torre 2 · 100.2 m Coblanca 41 · 97 m Delfín Tower · 95 m Hotel Flamingo Oasis · 95 m Gemelos 20 Torre 1 · 94 m Gemelos 20 Torre 2 · 94 m Torre Coblanca · 94 m Sol de Poniente 1 · 92.7 m Tropic-Mar · 92.6 m Edificio Ónice · 92 m Sunset Drive East · 92 m Sunset Drive West · 92 m Londres II · 91 m Torre Sakura · 91 m Costa Blanca II · 90 m Coblanca 40 Torre 1 · 89.3 m Coblanca 40 Torre 2 · 89.3 m Hotel Meliá Benidorm · 89.3 m Hotel Meliá Benidorm Torre 2 · 89.3 m Principado Marina · 89.3 m Edificio Circo · 89.2 m Torre Benidorm · 89 m Cibeles 1 · 88 m Cibeles 2 · 88 m Sunset Cliffs Torre 1 · 86.7 m Balcón de Poniente 1 · 86 m Balcón de Poniente 2 · 86 m Coblanca 37 · 86 m Eagle Tower · 86 m Edificio El Olivar 1 · 86 m Edificio El Olivar 2 · 86 m Sierra de Bernia 1 · 85.9 m Sierra de Bernia 2 · 85.9 m Torre Capri · 85.9 m Torre San Remo · 85.9 m Gemelos 12 Torre 1 · 85 m Gemelos 12 Torre 2 · 85 m Las Damas · 85 m Sandos Benidorm Suites · 83 m Residencial Miranda 1 · 82.6 m Residencial Miranda 2 · 82.6 m Hotel RH Victoria · 82 m Parque Europa 1 · 82 m Parque Europa 2 · 82 m Parque Europa 3 · 82 m Torre Europa · 82 m Coblanca 32 B · 81.1 m Old town

The story

The towers are 86 metres tall and have 26 floors each, ranking 55th and 56th in the list of tallest buildings in Benidorm. No source gives a year of construction. On booking portals the complex also goes by the name ‘Los Olivares II’. It is advertised with direct beach access, sea views, a sun terrace, pool, concierge and parking. The Las Rejas golf course is about one and a half kilometres away.

The mix-up

On SkyscraperPage the two towers are called ‘Balcón de Poniente 1 and 2’. The database SkyDB assigns the same entries differently: the towers at Avenida del Xixo 3 are El Olivar I and II, the two just east of them at Armada Española 11 are Balcón de Poniente I and II. All four have 26 floors. The Wikipedia list treats both pairs separately, each with 86 metres and no year of construction. Whether the four towers were a joint project is not documented.

Who built and designed El Olivar is not recorded. There is no source on the origin of the name either. Today some of the apartments are let to holidaymakers; one provider used the name ‘Edificio El Olivar by Sonneil Rentals’ for a time.

Good to know

  • 86 metres, 26 floors, year of construction unknown.
  • Address: Avenida del Xixo 3, also Avenida de la Armada Española 13; Playa de Poniente.
  • Second name on booking portals: ‘Los Olivares II’.

Open questions

  • Year of construction, developer, architect and contractor are not documented.
  • SkyscraperPage lists the towers as ‘Balcón de Poniente 1/2’; SkyDB as El Olivar I/II – the coordinates in the brief (38.5373/-0.1445) are in the right place.
  • Portals contradict each other on the pool (infinity pool, seasonal pool, no pool).
  • One portal advertises direct beach access but at the same time gives 18 minutes’ walk to the Playa de Poniente.

Sources