English Version

They were on the dock of Captiva Island. Facing an emerald sea, Dewy, Charlotte, and Enêri, through the magical Skype, were asking me about the hotels in Málaga from more than half a century ago. I promised them that one day I would return to that marvelous world, to that distant kingdom by the sea, La Caleta of Málaga, where the Hotel Casa del Monte once stood. Today, I fulfill that promise. Several years have passed, and this has been good. Back then, I didn’t know, as I do now, the descendants of a lady whose memory is more necessary than ever: Doña María Eugenia Gross Loring. "The last lady of industrial Málaga," as the master Alfonso Vázquez called her in an unforgettable article in La Opinión de Málaga (27.1.2013), which I recommend you read (found below).

Thanks to another master, the illustrious Dr. García Verdugo, I met the daughter-in-law of Doña María Eugenia, the brilliant translator and researcher Olga Mendoza. I also discovered that Doña Olga's husband, Jorge Benthem, the son of that lady who loved Málaga so much, was George, my friend from the early days in Torremolinos, in the distant years of the ‘Big Bang’ of the Spanish Costa del Sol. Miraculous years that made the prior existence of magnificent places like the Málaga hotel, La Casa del Monte, or the Santa Clara of George Langworthy, which we also remember as the Castle of the Englishman of Torremolinos, possible.

It's a pleasure, a very Proustian pleasure, to return to those memories. The only paradise that no one can destroy. And these corners of memory have acquired special vividness thanks to these friends I mentioned with immense gratitude. They told me that one day, the then-consul of France in Málaga, Monsieur Simon Arbelot, awarded, on behalf of the French Academy of Gastronomy, the prestigious 'Coq d'Or' to that wonderful hotel. La Casa del Monte, a hotel born with a strong vocation to be a beautiful and always elegant Mediterranean mansion. The hotel opened its doors in the summer of 1952. Its location was perfect, facing the sea, in that idyllic place of magnificent Málaga, which is the Monte de Sancha. The 22 rooms of the hotel (initially there were 10, due to the huge success of the house, an immediate expansion was advised) were simply perfect. Elegant and very comfortable. All had private bathrooms and telephones, not common in those days. It was an eminently attractive, civilized, and kind hotel. It could have been on the French Riviera or next to a Swiss lake or in northern Italy. It offered its guests a library and a beautiful garden for the sunny days of the mild Málaga winter. Not forgetting an esteemed kitchen. The one the French consul so deservedly awarded on behalf of the august Parisian academy.

Like so many important things in this world, it was a lady who made this wonderful place possible, where some of the most important people on this planet felt more comfortable and happier than in their own homes. The vision and admirable entrepreneurial ability of Doña María Eugenia Gross Loring, always with the support of her husband, Don Ignacio Benthem, worked miracles in that isolated and very poor Spain in so many ways. She furnished and equipped her small great hotel with authentic treasures. Among them were furniture acquired from the best antique dealers in London, English porcelain dishes, and silver cutlery. The sheets and bedspreads, 'beautifully embroidered,' came from France and Belgium. As did the table linens. Besides the splendid work of the nuns from Málaga convents, true masters in the art of embroidery.

Like many of the greatest hoteliers in history (including Cesar Ritz), Doña María Eugenia was self-taught. Her passion for culinary arts and the good advice of the chef at the house of the Marquises of Casa Loring, Don Guillermo Moyano, and the reading of the indispensable cookery manual by Mrs. Beeton, allowed her to train very good professionals in the art of hospitality, both in service and in the kitchen. She supervised market purchases with all the wisdom of a great hotelier, as well as the exceptional quality of the fish, thanks to the help and good work of the fishermen from nearby beaches. As also she achieved - professional excellence - with the housekeeping staff. Not a few of them later became highly valued governesses of large hotels on the coast. By the way, all hotel personnel were housed in very correct rooms that the owner very generously made available to them.

Of course, it wouldn’t be fair not to mention Don Ignacio Benthem, Doña María Eugenia’s husband. Very cultured, besides being a distinguished and always kind man of the world, with a great personality. He was a very important figure at La Casa del Monte and in Málaga of those years. His contribution to the hotel's success and great fame was extraordinary.

As Don Simon Arbelot had already noted, La Casa del Monte offered excellent, solid gastronomy, confirmed by the success of its famous three-course lunches and dinners with varied desserts. Not forgetting its wonderful 'afternoon teas,' among the best in Europe, so admired by British residents and visitors of Málaga. And which the IV Marquis of Casa Loring and his wife never missed.

The charm of that unique hotel began to attract very important figures to Málaga. Among them, the Marquis of Ivanrey, Don Ricardo Soriano, creator of modern Marbella. And his cousin, Princess Piedita Iturbe de Hohenlohe, mother of Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe and related to Doña María Eugenia Gross Loring. The hotel also hosted the very illustrious guest, the Count of Villapadierna. Don José Villapadierna was a lifelong friend of Don Ignacio Benthem. The count was a significant international figure due to his friendship with Prince Aga Khan, also a regular guest at La Casa del Monte. After her divorce from Prince Aga Khan, the very famous actress Rita Hayworth stayed to rest at that Málaga hotel from which she had heard wonders. She would always thank Count Villapadierna, as would actress Ava Gardner. Or Infanta Cristina, daughter of Don Alfonso XIII, a regular visitor to the hotel, with family ties to its owner.

The British were staunch admirers of La Casa del Monte. Many of those people chose to settle in Málaga. And even end their days in that friendly city where they felt in a privileged place in every sense. Many distinguished writers and artists, especially English ones, were frequent guests of La Casa del Monte. As was the great Sir Francis Hackett, author of the splendid biographies of Henry VIII and Francis I, with his wife, also a writer, Signe Toksvig. Or the unforgettable British diplomat Cristopher Lance, who saved so many Spanish lives during the terrible years of our Civil War.

Many years have passed since then. La Casa del Monte remains in our memory, as it was: a miracle of intelligence, sensitivity, creative ability, and good taste, supervised by exceptional individuals. It was a good seed, very important for Málaga, the one that was planted. In these complicated, sometimes dark times, we are comforted to recall those who made it possible. And very especially Doña María Eugenia Gross Loring and her family. This admirable lady passed away on January 14, 2013. She was 99 years old. It was said that the founders of La Concepción and the dynasty that made it possible left the tourist Málaga with two treasures: that astonishing place and the example of her great-granddaughter, Doña María Eugenia Gross Loring. May she rest in peace.