Have you suffered a hotel accident in Spain? A slip in the lobby, a fall near the pool, or a broken chair on the terrace can quickly ruin your holiday and lead to serious injuries. If you are a tourist or foreign visitor, you have clear rights under Spanish law to claim compensation after a hotel accident in Spain.
Whether you are a hotel guest, café customer, or just visiting someone, Spanish hotels are legally obliged to ensure your safety. In this article, I explain how hotel liability works in Spain, what evidence you should gather, and how to calculate fair compensation if you suffer a hotel accident in Spain.
In Spain, hotel liability covers both contractual and non-contractual relationships. If you are a paying guest or a café customer, you have five years to claim compensation based on a contract (Articles 1101 and following of the Civil Code). If you are a casual visitor without a contract, you have one year to claim based on tort liability (Article 1902 CC), counted from when your medical condition stabilises. Acting quickly, preserving evidence, and seeking professional legal advice can make the difference after a hotel accident in Spain.
A slip in the pool area, a fall in the hotel lobby on a wet floor, a broken chair on the terrace… these are far more common than you might think, and can ruin a well-deserved holiday or even cause serious injuries. As a lawyer specialising in hotel claims for tourists and foreign visitors, I want to send you a clear message: you are not powerless.
In Spain, hotels have a legal duty to ensure the safety of guests and visitors. If you suffer an accident, you may be entitled to compensation — whether you are a paying guest, just having a coffee at the bar, or even visiting a friend.
Deutsche Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung: Unfall im Hotel in Spanien – Ihre Rechte
Ein Unfall im Hotel, etwa durch Ausrutschen auf einem nassen Boden oder defekte Möbel, kann den Urlaub ruinieren. In Spanien haften Hotels grundsätzlich für die Sicherheit ihrer Gäste und Besucher.
Als Hotelgast oder Konsument (z. B. Café-Besucher) besteht ein Vertragsverhältnis, wodurch das Hotel nach Artikel 1101 ff. CC haftet. Die Verjährungsfrist beträgt hier 5 Jahre.
Als bloßer Besucher ohne Vertrag greift die außervertragliche Haftung nach Artikel 1902 CC mit einer Frist von 1 Jahr, gerechnet ab Stabilisierung des Gesundheitszustands.
Wichtig ist, Beweise möglichst früh zu sichern, etwa ein ärztliches Gutachten, Fotos vom Unfallort, Zeugenangaben und Rechnungen. Bei komplizierten Fällen, zum Beispiel Baumängeln, sollte zusätzlich ein technisches Gutachten durch einen Anwalt begleitet werden.
In Spanien wird die Entschädigung nach dem Baremo de Tráfico (Gesetz 35/2015) berechnet, das u. a. Dauer und Schwere der Verletzung, bleibende Schäden, Alter des Betroffenen sowie moralische Einbußen berücksichtigt.
Seit April 2025 gilt zudem, dass man vor einer Klage zwingend einen außergerichtlichen Einigungsversuch (MASC) nachweisen muss – auch für ausländische Touristen, außer bei triftigen Gründen wie Sprachproblemen.
Fazit: Nach einem Hotelunfall haben Sie als Tourist die gleichen Rechte wie Spanier. Schnelles Handeln und eine anwaltliche Beratung sind entscheidend, um Ihre Ansprüche durchzusetzen.
👉 RBS Legal unterstützt internationale Urlauber dabei, Entschädigungen erfolgreich gegenüber Hotels und Versicherungen in ganz Spanien geltend zu machen.
(Dieser Text dient nur zur Information und ersetzt keine individuelle Rechtsberatung.)
📌 What responsibility does the hotel have?
✅ If you are a guest or a customer of the bar/café
There is a contractual relationship, and the hotel is liable under contract law (Articles 1101 and following of the Spanish Civil Code). You have 5 years to make a claim.
✅ If you are a casual visitor
Then the liability is based on general tort law (Article 1902 CC), with a claim period of 1 year from when your medical condition is stabilised.
Keep in mind that any compensation may be reduced if you contributed to the damage yourself (for example, through clear carelessness).
🕒 When can you claim?
- 5 years if there is a contract (guest or café customer).
- 1 year if there is no contractual relationship.
Important: this one-year period starts after you finish your medical treatment, not on the date of the accident.
My advice: start the process as soon as possible and formally document the incident right away.
🩺 What evidence should you collect?
- Full medical report with diagnosis, recovery days, and any permanent injuries.
- Photos of the accident site (ideally with geolocation data).
- Witness details, emergency records, medical bills, etc.
- In complex cases (for example, defective flooring), a technical expert report coordinated with your lawyer will be highly valuable as legal evidence.
💶 How is compensation calculated?
Spain uses the Traffic Accident Compensation Scale (Law 35/2015) to assess personal injuries. It takes into account:
- Days of impairment (very serious, serious, moderate, or basic).
- Permanent after-effects.
- Age of the injured person.
- Medical costs, rehabilitation, prostheses.
- Moral damage and any loss of holiday enjoyment.
An experienced lawyer can help you calculate your compensation fairly and realistically.
📝 What is the claims procedure?
1️⃣ Out-of-court claim addressed to the hotel or its insurer.
2️⃣ Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): from April 2025 onwards, this will be mandatory in Spain, even for foreign tourists.
3️⃣ Court proceedings if no settlement is reached.
🌍 What if you are a foreign tourist?
You have exactly the same rights as a Spanish resident. From April 2025, you will also have to prove that you tried to resolve the matter amicably (ADR) before going to court, unless you have a justified reason (language, lack of representation, etc.).
✅ If you have suffered an accident at a hotel while on holiday, do not miss the chance to claim compensation. Acting quickly and preserving evidence is crucial to get what you are entitled to.
At RBS Legal, we have many years of experience supporting tourists and foreign residents all over Spain. We can help you claim against hotels and insurance companies with confidence.
📩 Not sure if your case is claimable? Feel free to write to me with no obligation, and I will review it for you.
