TIME CAPSULES
Wallpaper peeling from the walls, moldy ceilings and furniture left frozen in time – these popular destinations for holidaymakers were once filled with buzzing conversation and laughter but now they’ve turned into eerie time capsules. We take a look at the most astonishing abandoned hotels that are now playgrounds for urban explorers, photographers and ghost hunters alike.
HOTEL Y SALTO DEL TEQUENDAMA, COLOMBIA
Overlooking the stunning Tequendama Falls, this hotel opened in 1929. For decades it welcomed thousands of wealthy tourists, who came to see the spectacular waterfall, but as the Bogotá river got increasingly contaminated with sewage and other liquid waste, the tourist numbers slowly dwindled. The hotel closed in the early 1990s but a museum exhibition about biodiversity was recently set up in the abandoned space.
HÔTEL BELVÉDÈRE DU RAYON VERT, CERBÈRE, FRANCE
This ship-like Art Deco building first opened its doors as a hotel in 1932 but closed during the Spanish Civil War and, unable to regain its former glory, closed down for the final time in 1983. Part of the building is now restored into holiday apartments retaining the original features, however the rest of the hotel remains unused. It’s open to visitors most afternoons and can be freely explored inside.
GROSSINGER’S CATSKILL RESORT HOTEL, LIBERTY, USA
A kosher establishment, catering primarily to wealthy Jewish clients from New York, Grossinger’s grew from a Victorian hotel in the early 1900s to the first ski resort in the world to use artificial snow in 1952. The hotel closed in 1986 after Grossinger's descendants sold it and has laid empty ever since.
MOONLIGHT MOTEL, SALTON SEA, CALIFORNIA
Salton Sea in California used to be a bustling resort town in the 1950s. After a series of unfortunate events, which began with Hurricane Kathleen in 1976, the town was cleared out. Now only empty diners, abandoned motels and deserted hotels remain.
LEE PLAZA HOTEL, DETROIT
The Lee Plaza opened in 1928, facilitated by local developer Ralph T. Lee, however both Lee and the hotel suffered during the Great Depression and he ended up bankrupt in 1935. In the coming decades the hotel was turned into a senior citizens’ home until it was closed in 1997.
DUCOR PALACE HOTEL, MONROVIA, LIBERIA
Built by the Intercontinental Hotels chain in 1960, the Ducor Palace Hotel had 106 rooms and for many years was one of the few 5-star hotels on the entire African continent. It closed in 1989 due to political turmoil and since has been damaged by two civil wars, looters and squatters, leaving it in the state of disrepair you see today.
COCO PALMS RESORT, HAWAII Originally opened in 1953, this resort became extremely popular after it appeared in the 1961 Elvis Presley film Blue Hawaii. It was closed in 1992 when Hurricane Iniki swept across the island. It’s scheduled to reopen in 2018 as a luxury resort under Hyatt ownership.
KUPARI, CROATIA
One of the pioneers of Croatia’s tourism, Kupari holiday village was a military resort for the elite of the Yugoslav army from the 1960s. When the Croatian War for Independence broke out in 1991, the army fled and the resort was heavily bombed. It has been a popular attraction for urban explorers, but this won’t last for long – the old ruins are set to be replaced by a new 5-star Marriott resort.
BOKOR PALACE HOTEL, CAMBODIA
One of the buildings in the French colonial resort known as Bokor Hill Station, the Bokor Palace was built as a mountain retreat for the colonial residents in the early 1920s. It was first abandoned by the French in the 1940s and was then used as a stronghold by various political movements until the early 1990s. Modern infrastructure has made the mountainous region accessible again, so redevelopment is due to start soon.
PUENTE DEL INCA, ARGENTINA
Located by the spectacular Puente del Inca rock formations and hot springs, this hotel was built in 1925. Every room in this luxury retreat had its own spa until the frequent landslides disabled the trans-Andean train service and it was abandoned in 1965. Now only a small part of the original building survives.
PRORA NAZI RESORT, GERMANY
Built between 1936 and 1939, this beach resort spanned an astonishing 2.8 miles along a lagoon separating the continent from the Baltic Sea. A particularly striking example of the architecture during the Third Reich, the eight holiday buildings were actually never used for their intended purpose. Since 1945, when the Soviet Army took over, the complex has been subject to various uses: one of the buildings has been repurposed as a residential development and four others are in the process of redevelopment, while another serves as a youth hostel and three still stand abandoned.
SANZHI UFO HOUSES, TAIWAN
Initially intended as a resort for the US military, this project was never finished due to financial troubles and the deaths of several construction workers in the 1980s. The pod-like houses have become a tourist attraction due to their unusual appearance.
PENN HILLS RESORT, PENNSYLVANIA
Originally founded as a tavern in the Pocono Mountains, the resort expanded to include a ski resort and a golf course. It closed when its co-founder Frances Paolillo died in 2009 and the county took over the estate due to unpaid taxes. It has been abandoned ever since.
MAYA HOTEL, JAPAN
North of Kobe in Japan, the Maya Hotel sits atop Mount Maya. Built in 1929, it was only accessible via a cable car and when that was suspended during World War II, the hotel closed too. Since then, damaged by a typhoon and a strong earthquake, it has become a popular spot for urban explorers.
RESORT IN GAGRA, ABKHAZIA
First established as a health retreat in the early 20th century, Gagra was intensely developed as the Soviet Riviera along the coast of the Black Sea during the 1920s. The resort town was immensely popular with holidaying Soviets, but also served as a rehabilitation site for soldiers wounded in the war. The town was abandoned in the late 1980s, when tensions grew between different ethnic communities in the region. The resort suffered heavy damage during the Abkhazian-Georgian war in 1992.
CASTELLO DI SAMMEZZANO, ITALY
Notable for its unusual Moorish décor, this Italian palazzo in Tuscany was built in 1605. Redeveloped into a luxury hotel in the post-war era, the stunning building was abandoned in 1990 and has been neglected for more than 20 years. Though its Moorish beauty remains, with colorful tiling and murals throughout.
VAROSHA, CYPRUS
Before the Turkish invasion in 1974, Varosha – situated in the southern quarter of Famagusta – was a thriving holiday destination filled with resorts and hotels. When the Turkish army invaded, its inhabitants and visitors fled and the once-popular tourist destination has been uninhabited ever since.
HOTEL BELVEDERE, CROATIA
Dubrovnik, Croatia’s most popular tourist destination, is a thriving city, attracting millions of visitors every year. However, just a few miles outside this UNESCO World Heritage Site, this 5-star, once-luxury hotel has been abandoned since the Croatian War of Independence in the early 1990s.
BUCK HILL FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA, USA
Another abandoned holiday resort in the Pocono Mountains, the Buck Hill Falls was originally founded in 1901. Financial troubles and several fires led to the closure of the 400-bedroom resort in 1990 and it has been abandoned since.
DIVINE LORRAINE HOTEL, PHILADELPHIA
One of the first high-rise buildings in the city, the Divine Lorraine first served as a luxury apartment complex before it reopened as a hotel in 1900. In 1948 the hotel was bought by spiritual leader Reverend M. J. Divine (or Father Divine, as he was also known), who turned the hotel into the first fully racially-integrated hotel in the USA. It closed in 1999 and is now reduced to a hollow shell, with no windows, doors or floors remaining.
HOTEL MONTE PALACE, SÃO MIGUEL, PORTUGAL
Opened in 1989 to lure tourists to the then-unknown Azores, Hotel Monte Palace only operated for just over a year before it was shut. Since then, the mountaintop resort has been abandoned and it's a popular destination for urban explorers.
KOZUBNIK, POLAND
Built in the 1960s, Kozubnik was a communist party holiday resort complete with swimming pools, saunas, restaurants, bars and even a bowling alley. After communism fell in Poland, it was sold to a private company, which closed the hotel when it went bankrupt in 1996.
VILLA CANNAERT, BELGIUM
Captured here by urban explorer and photographer Yannick Vandermolen, Villa Cannaert used to be a 4-star luxury hotel and restaurant. It was sold to private investors, who have since fled the country after being caught for tax evasion. “The place has been seized by the authorities and is now up for auction. While this beautiful place is waiting for a new owner, it makes the joy of urban explorers,” Yannick said..
GRAND HOTEL REGNIER, BELGIUM
This Belgian hotel was built in 1904 and could hold up to 80 guests in its once-luxurious rooms. When Yannick photographed the building he met the owner too: “He told me that it closed because it went bankrupt, that no one volunteered to take over the hotel and that he wasn't able to afford the cost of maintenance. He seemed very sad about it, this hotel must have been a big part of his life.”
ALLA ITALIA, BELGIUM
Another of Yannick's fascinating finds, this spa resort is almost 150 years old. Once known as a "thermal institute", it closed when a new spa resort opened nearby. It never actually had a name, so the urban explorer (or urbex) community gave it the nickname Alla Italia – probably due to the beautiful painted ceilings and columns, according to Yannick.
MOLD HOTEL, GERMANY
Another urban explorer and photographer, Brian runs the website preciousdecay.com and captured this dilapidated scene at a former boarding house in Germany. Little is known about the property, but Brian has given it the name "Mold Hotel" – and it's clear why.
PENSION SACHSENRUH, GERMANY
Untouched for 20 years, this ski resort in Saxony was frozen in time as soon as it was abandoned. During Brian’s visit, he captured not only the deteriorating inside but also discovered a room still filled with old ski equipment.
REFUGIUM POMPOS, GERMANY
This castle in Germany – also known as Villa Woodstock thanks to its glorious wooden interior – used to be a hotel and spa built in 1883. From 1990 it was used as a home for the elderly until it closed in 2012 and was left abandoned.
"RESORT EUPHORIA", POLAND
Very little information about this resort is available as it has been abandoned for many years and its original name has been lost in time. Brian, who captured this shot, says there are actually several abandoned buildings covering a large area.
HOTEL PINES, GERMANY
Opened in 1900, the hotel had its own pastry shop, a Viennese restaurant and numerous tennis courts. Since then, the hotel has undergone several renovations and was finally demolished last year. In this picture, Brian captured the lost soul of the hotel bar by illuminating it with colored glow sticks.
