Fasnia will have a tourist and youth hostel in the La Zarza neighbourhood, a project that the City Council has put out to tender for an amount exceeding 200,000 Euros. This is a project aimed at the youth with which the Fasnia City Council aims to meet the needs of a growing segment of visitors interested in activities such as hiking and nature tourism.
Another objective set by the municipal government led by Luis Javier González is to promote and enhance the La Vieja Escuela Museum, located in this neighbourhood in the high area of Fasnia. In fact, the hostel will occupy the ground floor of this building. For its adaptation, the project has received a grant from the Tourism Department of the Government of the Canary Islands.
As of today, it consists of two floors. The ground floor is at street level, from which the building is accessed. The semi-basement is currently abandoned and does not have direct access from the street or from the ground floor, a level associated with a small plot of land overlooking the ravine and from which part of the valley can be seen.
Infographic of the tourist and youth hostel of La Zarza, in Fasnia / EL DÍA
The Layout
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This is the situation of the La Vieja Escuela Museum building. The project of the tourist and youth hostel will be developed on three levels. The first, corresponding to the street-level floor, will allow the reuse of the lateral volume of the museum and will serve as a space dedicated to providing reception and information services. It will have direct and controlled access to the museum. The entrance to the hostel will be located on the semi-basement floor, through an outdoor patio where the necessary ramps and stairs to access the rest of the facilities will also be located.
The second level will house the area designated for leisure space and a camping area, where tents will be set up. This floor will also accommodate an area that will be used as a living and meeting space, equipped to place a barbecue and enjoy rest and communal moments, taking into account that the use of a lookout terrace is favoured for enjoying a partial panoramic view of the valley.
On the third level, the dormitory area of the hostel will be located, a space that will accommodate six people distributed in three bunk beds and will also be equipped with a locker. Additionally, the kitchen and dining room will be located in the intermediate room, an area equipped with a furniture for the tableware and a table. The smallest room will be used as an adapted bathroom and changing room.
Facade of the Old School Museum. / EL DÍA
The tourist and youth hostel in La Zarza will adapt to the topography and existing resources. To achieve this, the current bathroom in the reception area will be demolished and replaced with a toilet and a small storage room. The ground level will be lowered to achieve, on one hand, accessibility to the building and, on the other hand, to reduce the height difference between the two levels of the building, enabling communication between the different areas of the complex.
In the area specifically used as a hostel, the project includes the demolition of the facades of the three existing spaces, in order to allow for the opening of the necessary openings, combined with the reinforcements required to ensure the stability of this set.
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The Mayor of Fasnia, Luis Javier González, highlights that this initiative aims to create the small hostel and enhance the La Vieja Escuela Museum, “bringing together two complementary tourist activities with which, likewise, an effort is made to promote the revitalisation of the La Zarza neighbourhood”.
