Historic Art Deco hotel on Europa Road overlooking Gibraltar Botanic Gardens.
The Rock Hotel is a historic Art Deco hotel on Europa Road in Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory. Opened in 1932 and set within 3.6 hectares of landscaped gardens, it has 104 rooms and limited parking, overlooks the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens, and is operated by the Bland Group.
The Rock Hotel, also known as Rock Hotel, is a historic hotel in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Opened in 1932, it was built by John Crichton‑Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute. The hotel stands in a 3.6‑hectare (8.9‑acre) landscaped garden and contains 104 rooms. It occupies a large white Art Deco building along Europa Road, overlooking the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens, and has limited parking. In its early years, under manager Rudolph Richard, the Rock Hotel gained a reputation as one of the finest hotels in Europe. During the 1930s and 1940s it offered guests views of military activity around Gibraltar, including Royal Navy manoeuvres during the Second Italo‑Abyssinian War, observed and filmed from the hotel by American journalist Westbrook Pegler. In July 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, the hotel suffered minor damage from a shell‑triggered landslide and from a reported bomb dropped by a rebel aircraft. During World War II, military officials stayed at the hotel while war tunnels were blasted into the Rock of Gibraltar. The hotel was damaged again in April 1951 in the explosion of the RFA Bedenham munitions ship. Since 1959, the Rock Hotel has been operated by the Bland Group.
