Galician hotel got 'Prestige' payout despite being unbuilt

The Spanish state paid out 740,000 euros to a hotel in Galicia in compensation for the consequences of the Prestige oil-tanker spill - despite the fact the building was still under construction at the time of the 2002 disaster.

The story of the Tálaso Atlántico, a hotel specializing in thalassotherapy (the curative use of seawater), is riddled with absurdities, including the fact that just months before the Prestige spill the company had delayed the building work in order to be eligible for subsidies.

What's more, the licenses for the hotel complex were declared void by the Galician High Court two years ago because of irregularities in their registration.

In spite of all of this, the hotel became the only business of its kind to receive a compensation payment from the government for the Prestige disaster, due to the "negative psychological effect" such an oil spill would have on its customers, among other reasons.