The Secretary of State for Tourism, Rosario Sánchez Grau, accompanied by the President of Paradores, Raquel Sánchez Jiménez; the Delegate of the Government in Castilla-La Mancha, Milagros Tolón; the Mayor of Oropesa, Rubén Zapardiel, and the General Director of Tourism of the Junta, Ana Isabel Fernández, visited on Tuesday the restoration and rehabilitation works that are being done in the parador of this Toledan town, and in which more than 12 million euros are being invested.

The Parador de Oropesa is one of the most emblematic establishments of the hotel chain because since 1930 it hosts the first parador located in a historic building, a parador that would create a new style in the Spanish hotel industry.

The Oropesa establishment closed its doors last March to undertake these important remodelling works that will involve a total investment of 12.3 million euros, of which Paradores will contribute 3.8 million euros and Turespaña 8.5 million euros, financed with Next Generation funds of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Government of Spain.

Rosario Sánchez Grau has highlighted that this performance is a sample “the great bet” of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism for the maintenance, restoration and conservation of cultural and historical heritage, as well as for interpretation works that improve its tourist use and so that it can be visited in the best conditions. “Spain is also a tourist power due to its culture and historical heritage”, he added, “a type of tourism that has enormous positive impacts on the cities and territories of destination, as is the case of Oropesa”.

Raquel Sánchez Jiménez, for his part, said that “this is an action that demonstrates our firm commitment to the conservation of heritage and the modernization of facilities to strengthen their role as an engine of economic and social development for the locality and its environment” said Raquel Sánchez.

The delegate of the Government has highlighted the commitment of the Government of Spain to the tourism development of Castilla-La Mancha that is concretized in investments that reach 200 million euros between the actions in the paradores located in the region, the tourism sustainability plans, the conservation of heritage with tourist use and other programs of support to the sector.

Modernization plan

The intervention in the Parador de Oropesa is part of the historic transformation process that the public hotel company is undertaking in order to celebrate its centenary in 2028, with a plan that will involve the reform of more than 50% of its buildings and an investment of more than 250 million euros to improve the customer experience from all points of view: accessibility, sustainability, interior design and conservation of the most emblematic buildings, promoting a tourism model that protects and enriches the environment.

The works undertaken by Paradores have focused on the replacement of air conditioning equipment, the renovation of the entire electrical installation and pipes, and the adaptation of the boiler room to change fuel from diesel and propane to natural gas. Interventions carried out to improve energy efficiency in a building of these characteristics. This installation will reduce the Parador’s energy consumption in heating by around 20% and a reduction in the carbon footprint of 87 tonnes of CO2 per year.

In addition, the dining room room located on the ground floor and 10 room bathrooms will be refurbished to modernize their facilities and replace the bathtubs with shower trays in order to improve the comfort of use and accessibility for customers. The intervention of Paradores also includes a redecoration project to update the image of the establishment.

Patrimonial works

For its part, the actions that Turespaña will carry out will focus on the conservation and enhancement of the Parador in different areas such as the facades, patio de armas and walls given the status of Monument declared Asset of Cultural Interest of the Property in the category of Palace and Castle.

The works will focus on the cleaning and restoration of the façades and walls to improve the state of conservation of its stone elements, the urbanization and restructuring of the courtyard of arms, the recovery of vaulted galleries in the New Palace of the sixteenth century, the recovery of the northwest door of the wall and restoration of access to the palace, and the improvement of monumental lighting.

To these interventions will be added the integral renovation of the roof, the transfer and construction of a new laundry and warehouses, as well as the relocation of the reception space with a new elevator and staircase. These works will also include the construction of a new suite and another room that will be added to the existing ones, as well as the construction of the new Tourist Office of the City of Oropesa that will occupy the space of the old reception of the Parador. In parallel with these interventions, a Conservation Master Plan has been developed that allows to know in depth the building, the castle and its needs, as well as prioritize the necessary actions.

The intervention of Turespaña in the Parador de Oropesa aims to consolidate itself as a reference action in Heritage Conservation and Tourism Exploitation, maintaining the essence of its origins and proposing resources so that the interaction path strengthens the “emotional engagement” of the visitor, preserving the state of conservation of the whole.

Occupation

The Parador de Oropesa has maintained the upward trend of the company despite the fact that the works began in October 2024 and its closure since March 1.

In 2024 the parador has reached an occupancy rate of 70%, representing 4 more occupancy points compared to the same period of the year 2023. More than 11,000 people chose the Parador de Oropesa to stay, mostly national customers. The cutlery sold during that exercise exceeded 26,000.