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No. 4 in the Top 20

Gran Delfín

The Gran Hotel Delfín was one of Benidorm’s first luxury hotels. In 2025 it was demolished, along with its famous dolphin mural. In its place the Gran Delfín is rising – set to be the tallest tower directly on Benidorm’s seafront promenade.

Gran Delfín, Benidorm
Pictured: the neighbouring Delfín Tower (2022). Photo: José Antonio Cardoso Lagares · CC BY 2.0 via Flickr
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 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 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 Old town

The story

Felipe Pastor was a fresco painter before he became a hotelier. In 1957 he bought the plot at the western end of Poniente, and in July 1963 the Hotel Delfín opened. He painted the four geometric dolphins on the north façade himself. Guests included Juan Perón, the Nobel laureate Severo Ochoa, Julio Iglesias and Rocío Jurado; in 1966 Manolo Escobar shot scenes for ‘Beso en un puerto’ here.

In 2023 an attempt to have the mural protected failed. Demolition began in March 2025. The new owner, Goya Real Estate, which had already built the Delfín Tower next door, promised to carry the dolphin motif over into the new building.

The Gran Delfín is designed to look like two sails on a single mast: 158 metres, 44 floors, with apartments and an NH-branded hotel. In 2026 the project received just under €10 million in state regional aid.

Good to know

  • At 158 metres it would be exactly as tall as Torre Lúgano – the two would share third place in Benidorm.
  • Felipe Pastor also built the Hotel Los Dálmatas, today’s Hotel Port Benidorm.

Open questions

  • The architect and the current state of construction are not known.
  • Completion: originally planned for 2027; no current date available.

Sources