Pirineu Turístic: restoring buildings, giving them new life and supporting the future of our villages
Behind Pirineu Turístic there’s no big real estate company, investment group or construction firm. There’s a family, countless hours of work, and a way of approaching building restoration and rural tourism that goes beyond just offering accommodation.
Walking through the streets of villages like Borredà or La Pobla de Lillet in Berguedà, you’ll still find old buildings that are part of their history. Some have been preserved, others restored, and some, unfortunately, have been left abandoned to a state of serious decay.
At Pirineu Turístic, we believe these buildings deserve a second chance.
Recovering what seemed lost
A big part of our work is restoring buildings and spaces that, in some cases, were in very poor, almost ruined condition.
We’re not just talking about painting walls, swapping a few pieces of furniture and renting out an apartment. We mean renovations that take time, physical effort, dedication and a lot of patience.
There are tough days with unexpected setbacks, dust and rubble. Days when it feels like the work will never end. But there’s also the satisfaction of seeing a space, long deteriorated, become habitable and useful again.
We try to preserve, whenever possible, the character of the buildings and adapt them to today’s needs, without losing sight of their history and surroundings.
A family behind every renovation and stay
One thing you don’t often see when booking one of our accommodations is all the work behind the scenes.
At Pirineu Turístic, it’s us — a family — who take care of the renovations, maintenance, cleaning and preparation of the rentals.
There are no outside teams handling everything while we just manage bookings from an office.
We’re the same people restoring the spaces and then making sure they’re clean, cared for and ready to welcome guests.
This means many hours of dedication, often doing unseen tasks that go far beyond tourism.
It’s not always easy, but it’s how we’ve chosen to carry this project forward.
Restoring isn’t speculation
Today there’s a lot of talk about property investment, returns and business opportunities. We see things differently.
Of course, Pirineu Turístic is a business and, like any other, it must be viable. But our aim isn’t to buy buildings to speculate, let them gain value and resell to the highest bidder.
The buildings we’ve acquired were not viable for restoration under those terms and remained in ruinous states. We made it possible by dedicating many hours and patience ourselves, without any external aid.
What we want is to recover deteriorated spaces, give them real use and keep them in good condition.
We don’t claim to be saviors of any village. We simply believe restoring a building that was falling apart is better than letting it continue to decay.
And if this work also helps generate economic activity locally, all the better.
Rural tourism can help keep villages alive
Borredà and La Pobla de Lillet are much more than tourist destinations. They are villages with residents, shops, services, traditions and their own history.
When visitors stay in our apartments or farmhouse, they also shop locally, dine at nearby restaurants, visit local businesses and discover activities in the area.
We know rural tourism alone doesn’t solve issues like depopulation, lack of services or housing affecting many municipalities. But we believe that when done with respect and balance, it can help sustain activity.
For us, rural revitalisation isn’t about turning villages into tourist showpieces, but helping them remain living places with their own identity.
A project that keeps growing, renovation by renovation
There’s still work to do. We continue restoring new spaces, especially in La Pobla de Lillet, with the same philosophy we started with.
Each building presents different challenges and each renovation has its own pace. We don’t have a big corporate structure or unlimited resources. We have our hands, our time and the desire to keep restoring spaces we believe are worth preserving.
Sometimes, behind a freshly painted wall or a room ready for visitors, there are weeks or months of unseen work.
And perhaps that’s what best defines Pirineu Turístic.
We don’t just offer rural stays. We dedicate a big part of our lives to restoring buildings that deserve to keep being part of our villages.
No grand speeches or pretensions. Just working day by day, as a family.
Because we believe giving a building a new life is also a way to care for the land we love.
