The role of the hotel in shaping a tourist culture in Mallorca (Spain)

Hotels have played an important and necessary role in the creation of tourist destinations since their inception. This role has not been fully studied or recognized, even though the hotel and its various architectural designs are a key element in the articulation of the entire tourism culture. This paper aims to provide knowledge about this role and to serve as a prelude to a broader theoretical study on hotel architecture as a factor of interest in the cultural shaping of tourism. This contribution has been made by analyzing a specific case of tourist culture, such as that developed on the island of Mallorca, through the description of a selective group of representative hotels from different historical periods and corresponding tourist cultures, ranging from the so-called Grand Tour to current bespoke tourism, including a stage of ‘democratization’ of tourism and a more recent phase of mass tourism. The analysis has allowed for the recognition of a hotel legacy of great interest in the history of architecture and tourism.