— projects · hotel · la vila joiosa · 2023

hotel castelar.
an 18th-century house.

The ancestral house of the Aragonés family in La Vila Joiosa, documented since the mid-18th century. It stands next to the Portal gate of the old walls, opposite the church, and it kept the image of Santa Marta carried in procession. Today it is a hotel, and its suites bear the names of the family’s daughters. What had value was kept: the gate, the arch, the railings, the handrail and part of the original floor. The corridors hold ashlars taken from the Roman forum. At the entrance, a timber floor, where the horses once came out. The new stone had to live with all of that.

materials: rojo alicante · negro marquina · blanco ibiza
applications: flooring · stairs · skirting · reception · bar
2023 · before bala

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — lobby: Blanco Ibiza and Negro Marquina chequerboard, original arch and gate, and the Rojo Alicante bar behind — the lobby: blanco ibiza and negro marquina chequerboard, the original arch and gate and, behind, the rojo alicante bar.

— the original

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — original 1897 gate — **gate**original, dated 1897

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — original floor and Negro Marquina skirting — **original floor**the house’s stone, with new negro marquina skirting

— the new stone

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — Rojo Alicante bar — **bar**rojo alicante

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — Rojo Alicante reception and chequerboard floor — **reception**rojo alicante over the chequerboard

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — Negro Marquina spiral stair — **spiral stair**negro marquina

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — Negro Marquina stair and chequerboard — **stair**the chequerboard at its foot

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — Negro Marquina step — **step**negro marquina, up close

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — bush-hammered, fluted Rojo Alicante bar front — **bar front**rojo alicante, bush-hammered and fluted

a 1930s café.

The bar was meant to feel like a café from 1930: hence the rounded shape, a nod to art deco. I advised matt finishes, because under the LEDs a polish would glare. The fluting gives volume to a small bar. And the honed top ages well: everyone who leans on it slowly polishes it and leaves their mark.

rojo alicante · matt, fluted and honed

— the extension

In the building next door, for the new rooms.

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — extension entrance with Rojo Alicante and Blanco Ibiza chequerboard — **entrance**rojo alicante and blanco ibiza chequerboard

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — Rojo Alicante stair in the extension — **stair**rojo alicante

— on site

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — bar protected during the works — **bar**protected until the end of the works

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — installing the bar — **installation**the bar

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — installing the reception — **installation**the reception

Hotel Castelar, La Vila Joiosa — installing the Rojo Alicante front — **installation**the rojo alicante front

two days on site.

I chose and supplied the stone, took it to the workshop and to site, supervised the installation and spent two days there fitting it. It was 2023, before Bala existed. Recovering memory, caring for detail, the right stone for each circumstance: for me, this is where Bala began.

the right stone, not the available one.

a building with history? let’s talk→

photos: hotel castelar · installation: ray ródenas

© 2026 bala material studiolegal noticeprivacycookiesinstagramlinkedin

let’s talk

hotel castelar.an 18th-century house.

hotel castelar.
an 18th-century house.