Walking through the lower Albaicin, historic quarter in Granada you can see fabulous views across to the Alhambra. Carrera del Darro is often referred to as the prettiest street in the world. Next to the riverbank, this chamring cobbled street lies directly below the Red Castle on the Sabika hill.
As you walk towards the end of the street, you may have noticed an abandoned building, on the other side of the river. The Carrera del Darro changes it name someway along to Paseo Padre Manjon. Officially named yet known by locals as Paseo de los Tristes. (Walkway for the Sad). It got this name as grieving relatives would walk along this street to the cemetery nearby.
Paseo de los Tristes
Along this part of the street many stop to notice the abandoned building known as Casa de los Espejos. (House of the Mirrors) It´s also referred to as Carmen de Santa Engracía, Carmen del Granadillo or even by locals as Hotel Reuma.
Another name given by locals is the Casa de la Maleta. The Suitcase House. As it looks like a little suitcase when you see it from a distance. Some call it the dolls house. It seems to be small, dwarfed by the perspective when you see it from the Mirador de San Nicolas or from the Albaicin district.
(seen on this photo below on the right)
Casa de la Maleta
Many locals and visitors question how this building can be abandoned. Currently it is in a state of disrepair. Especially when it occupies such a wonderful location in Granada. Directly below the Alhambra Palace itself and on one of the busiest areas for tourism in the city.
I wanted to find out more about this mysterious building so I begin investigating.
Hotel Reuma
First we´ll deal with all those names!
The estate was originally Carmen de Santa Engracia. On one side there was another property called Carmen el Granadillo which made up part of it. These were separated and owned separately. The area has almonds trees, fruit trees, land as well as the Hotel Building.
Carmen houses are typical in Granada, especially around the Albaicin neighbourhood. You can read more about them here: Typical Carmens in Granada
Hotel Bosque de la Alhambra
This elegant building on the bank of the Darro River was built in 1908 just below the Comares Tower. It opened on the 20th May 1910. The name of the Hotel at the time of opening was the Alhambra Woods Hotel. In Spanish Hotel Bosque de La Alhambra.
Designed as a luxury hotel and described by the first visitors in the opening week as a ´Delightful Mansion´. It was a time in which the city was attracting it´s first tourists. Just for information, the very first hotel in Granada built in 1898 was Hotel Victoria and it still occupies it position in Puerta Real today, managed by the NH hotel group.
Many visitors were looking forward to visiting the Alhambra Woods Hotel for the first time for the Corpus Christi festival in June that year. To get to the hotel entrance you accessed it by crossing the Chirimias bridge. (seen above)
The hotel was well received initially, but not long after its opening months the guests began to leave. Nicknamed by the locals as the Flu hotel. (Hotel Reuma) this name is still used even today. The damp problems in the guests rooms, the chilliness from the river and the dark shade of woods didn´t suit the guests at all. It is understood that 1912 it stopped operating as a hotel. Just two years after its inauguration.
The hotel closed definitively in 1916 although details are sketchy. The hotel was owned by Don Manuel Antonio Reyes Clavero, a Building Surveyor whose wife had owned the land.
Carmen de Santa Engracia
Since the closure of the Hotel Bosque de la Alhambra the building has been used for different purposes.
- It´s said that the Composer Manuel de Falla was living on the estate of Carmen de Santa Engracia during the summer of 1921. During this time he was often visited by Granada poet Federico Garcia Lorca.
- During the Spanish Civil war in 1936 the building was used as a Hospital.
- Later in 1940 it was used as a base for a Masonic Lodge, named Alhambra. At the time there were three masonic groups in the city, Federico Garcia Lorca is rumoured to have been a member. It was even known to have been used as dressing rooms for theatre performers and artists at one point.
- Then around the years 1950 to 1960 part of the building it was used as a factory for making ropes from cannabis plants. It was also known to have housed a soap factory too.
- Up until the year 2000 the building was in a state of abandon, that year it was taken over by the Alhambra management comittee and now destined to be used as a centre related to the monument.
The Building Today
The recent plans drawn up by the Granada council and the Andalucian local government promise to improve the general aspect of the area. The idea is to recover the bridge of Chirimías, so that it regains it´s original appearance, as well as renovating the building. The building will offer cultural activities related to the Alhambra Palace and have temporary or permanent exhibitions.
Building and renovation work began in August 2025.
Please Note:
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. All thoughts, feelings and opinions shared on this blog and in this post are my own.
