Its name may derive from that of Rodrigo Mas de Palomar, a settler and soldier from Majorca, or from Francisco Palomar, a Genoese friend of Alonso Fernandez de Lugo who purchased 87 Guanche slaves from Güímar and settled in the area.
The place is the result of an ambitious development project, organized in the form of an International Ideas Contest (opened to any member of the International Union of Architects), and held in 1961 under the auspice of Alejandro del Castillo, owner and promoter of most of the space under construction. The contest was won by the French office S.E.T.A.P. (incl. the urbanism Langueneau and the economist Michel Meill) and covered the 1.060 Ha and 19 km. of coast that constitute the core area of Maspalomas - Costa Canaria. The contest paved the way for a particular way of understanding touristic urbanism that served as model for later touristic developments in other Canary Islands.
Unlike the Resort-like development model later extended to other locations in the Canary Islands and the Caribbean, Maspalomas has a personality on its own, as it evolved into a fully equipped touristic town much closer to the touristic concept of destinations like Palm Springs, California or Palm Beach, Florida. It has a variety of infrastructure and public donations rarely seen in other touristic areas, including hospitals (2) and private clinics, local and foreign schooling institutions (Spanish, English and Swedish schools), shopping & convection centers, casinos (2), golf courses, sports centers, thematic parks and a Summer University (in collaboration with the university of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, mainly focused on tourism-related activities). It has a wide range of accommodation on offer (3*, 4*, 5* and Luxury Hotels, Beach Resorts, Boutique and Thematic Hotels, Bungalows and apartments), although the urbanism concept speaks of a horizontal expansion (Bungalows) rather than high rises.
The area includes the Natural Reserve
