Benidorm skylines and views

- from Gran Hotel Bali, Palm Beach Hotel, Cala Mal Pas, Playa de Levante (East part), Playa de Poniente (West part) and the Outskirts

Benidorm has a really impressive skyline for a European city. It is the city with the largest concentration of skyscrapers per capita in the whole world, by locals called "Little New York" or "Beniyork"! That is because the city is quite small (only 67 000 inhabitants) but still is filled with highrises and skyscrapers 20-53 floors high, from the West to the East. The idea to build tall buildings started already in the 1970s, and after the mid 2000s a new generation of taller skyscrapers started to be constructed. It is a very narrow city so it doesn't stretch far Northwards, the skyline mostly stretches along the Mediterranean coastline. It can be divided into two parts - Playa de Levante (East part) and Playa de Poniente (West part), separated with the Old Town (city center) in the middle. Of European cities only Paris and London have more hotel rooms then Benidorm.

Since 2002 you can find Europe's tallest hotel in Benidorm, Gran Hotel Bali. That is also is Benidorm's tallest building and Spain's 5th tallest (tallest building in Spain outside Madrid, 2016). Bali has 52 floors and is 210m to the top of the spire. There we stayed for one night, we had incredible views of all over the city from our room and balcony on the 25th floor! There is an outdoor observation deck on top, but it was unfortunately closed due to strong winds! There are also glass elevators on the exterior of the main section building, but they where only accessible for some guests. Gran Hotel Bali is situated in the West part of the city.

Also in the West part of the city you find the incredible new residential skyscraper Intempo, built in 2014, with a golden glass facade, in a shape to resemble an M and 11, commemorating the Madrid terrorist attack on March 11th 2004. It is now Benidorm's 2nd tallest building, the tallest building if counting roof height (189m), and the tallest residential building in Spain. All architects, Perez Guerra and Olcina and Raduan, resigned because of many scandals and accidents during the construction.

Other notable buildngs are Torre Lugano, a 158m tall, 43-storey postmodern skyscraper from 2008, that is dominating the East part, Edificio Neguri Gane, Edificio Kronos, Edificio Don Jorge and El Mirador del Mediterraneo, all among the tallest in Benidorm and built in the 2000s.

East part of the skyline, seen from Playa de Levante (click on the picture for a larger version).