Hotel Estoril ineligible for protection

The members of the Cultural Heritage Council have overwhelmingly voted in favor of the government’s decision not to list the old Hotel Estoril for protection as a cultural heritage site.
The President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Ung Vai Meng, told TDM that 13 delegates of the 15-member council had agreed that the deteriorating building had no architectural or historical value. Ung added that throughout the Estoril’s lifetime, the building had undergone numerous architectural revisions and had now lost the cultural characteristics it once had.
However he noted that there had been not been a decision on whether the iconic façade of the building would be preserved.
Another council member, Carlos Marreiros, admitted to the broadcaster that demolishing the hotel is now the most likely course of action.
The Hotel Estoril, located in Tap Seac Square, opened in the 1960s but has been in disrepair for more than two decades.
Meanwhile the government is likely to now move forward with its plans to transform the site into a youth center and a space of cultural and educational activities. DB