A FOUR-STAR hotel in Spain has been left abandoned for 20 years – after never being able to open to the public.
The ghost hotel in the city of Almería in the region of Andalusia had all of its 411 rooms built and air-conditioning units installed before work on the site ground to a halt.
Built just metres from the coastline in the Cabo de Gata National Park, on one of the country’s relatively few untouched beaches, El Algarrobico was going to have swimming pools and offer stunning sea views.
Located just 50 feet from the shoreline, it was hoped the hotel would become a statement resort for the area.
Spanish company Azata began building the towering structure in 2003 before construction work came to a halt in 2006.
Work ceased on the 21-storey building after environmental activists campaigned against it due to the site being built on protected land in the national park.
Since work stopped nearly 20 years ago, the row has ended up in court on more than 20 occasions.
Nowadays, the white building is surrounded by three yellow cranes – frozen in time from the day workmen put down tools for the last time.
The eerie site could be knocked down in the next few months.
Earlier this year, Spain‘s vice-president, María Jesús Montero, vowed to raze the hotel within months.
However, the demolition won’t come cheap.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”One of Spain’s oldest beach bars that was loved by A-List stars forced to close — as fans say goodbye to €4 beers and sea views” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6368656179112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]According to the Financial Times, it cost the equivalent of €70million (£58million) to build at the time.
Bringing the hotel down is slated to cost a further €7million (£5.8million).
The abandoned hotel is an hour’s drive from Almería, where direct flights operate from London and Manchester.
Last year, Almería was named the happiest city in Spain thanks to its warm and mild climate and its close proximity to hospitals and airports.
The city only gets 29 days of rain every year – making it an ideal holiday destination for Brits.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D110654%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]It is also far less crowded than neighbouring cities like Malaga and Granada.
Almería is the only city in Europe with a hot desert-like climate thanks to its proximity to the Tabernas Desert, the only desert in the continent.
[boxout headline=”Inside another abandoned hotel in Spain”]The 22-storey Añaza hotel sits on the shores of Los Pocitos village, in Tenerife, but has not had a single guest, sitting empty for 50 years.
Construction was started by a German company in 1973, but was abandoned two years later before the Y-shaped building was completed.
What was meant to be a holiday hotspot is now a seaside skeleton, covering an area of 2,350 square metres.
At the entrance, the building is covered with dry vegetation, and graffiti bring the only pop of colour to the walls.
You can read more about the abandoned hotel here.
Meanwhile, here’s another abandoned hotel in Bali.
And here’s an incredible abandoned 5-star hotel on ‘Japan’s Hawaii’ island swallowed by jungle with rusting cars & beds left unmade.
