Hotel Puntagrande

Hotel Puntagrande stands on a tongue of lava that pushes out into the Atlantic at Las Puntas, on the El Golfo side of the La Frontera municipality. The building went up in 1884 as a warehouse and customs house serving the old landing point, and the original structure dates back to 1830, which is why the Government of the Canary Islands protects it as a listed cultural asset. In 1984 the Guinness Book of Records named it the smallest hotel in the world: it covers around 600 square metres of built area and rises no more than 9 metres.

Inside there are four double rooms and one suite, and each of them looks straight out over the water, since the sea surrounds the building on three sides. The decor is assembled from maritime salvage, with mirrors framed in driftwood and bedside tables built from ship porthole glass. The exposed setting is part of the stay, as wind and northern swell hit the rock directly. Even for travellers who are not staying the night, the building is a point of interest along the El Golfo coast road.

It operates as an adults-only boutique hotel and, besides the rooms, has its own restaurant, Alma Marina, opened in June 2025 and facing the Atlantic, plus a lounge bar and a cigar club. The house is listed in the Michelin Guide for the Canary Islands and belongs to Historic Hotels of Europe and to Rusticae, the association of hotels with character. Booking is handled online through its own website, and the hotel states a commitment to sustainability and to removing single-use plastic.