These splendid resorts were once a resting place for the wealthy. However, they were abandoned for many reasons and still retain their haunting beauty.
1. Sammezzano Castle, Italy
This splendid castle was built in 1605 and was abandoned for nearly 2 decades. Nobleman Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes of Aragon spent 40 years renovating this place in Moorish architectural style, starting in 1853.
Oriental architecture
Located in the Florentine countryside, Castello di Sammezzano combines the essence of Arabic, Indian, Persian and Spanish architecture. Initially, many people ridiculed Ximenes. Florence is the cradle of Renaissance art, they do not understand why Ximenes was inspired by Eastern architecture.
15,000 tourists have arrived here
The castle's 65-hectare garden is planted with many rare tree species. Castello di Sammezzano was converted into a hotel in the 1970s and has not undergone any repairs in the past 20 years. In 2015, the castle owner auctioned this project with a desired price of 40.4 million USD. Currently, the castle is listed for $13.69 million but there are no buyers.
Local people feared that the castle would gradually become abandoned, so they formed a volunteer team of 50 people to maintain this place. About 6-8 days per year, the team organizes tours to visit the castle. From 2013 to present, 15,000 tourists have arrived here.
Sammezzano - bad fate
Sammezzano is not the only case with a sad fate. The unstable global economy has left many luxury hotels abandoned around the world.
2. Hachijo Oriental Resort, Japan
Photographer Shane Thom has captured haunting angles of abandoned buildings in Japan.
Thoms focuses on abandoned, forgotten and derelict luxury hotels across Japan.
Hachijo Island
Hachijo Island was once called “Japan's Hawaii,” where the Oriental resort is located. Having had no guests for about a decade, unable to collect enough funds to maintain operations, the hotel closed in 2005.
Ruined rooms
Dilapidated, musty rooms overlooking the sea. Opened in 1963, the hotel was built according to French architecture , targeting middle-class customers.
A desolate corner of the hotel
During the economic recession of the mid-1990s, the number of visitors began to decline. The hotel has made many efforts to innovate but it has not been effective
3. Fallside Hotel, Niagara Falls, USA
Niagara Falls attracts about 12 million visitors each year, but the Fallside Hotel is a testament to another time.
When it opened in 1957, the hotel had a swimming pool, tennis court, hot tub, conference center and ballroom. Today, the walls are peeling paint and the hotel is abandoned. Antique telephones and paintings on the walls remind of the past.
Fallside will soon be reborn
Currently, the new owner of the hotel has begun to renovate this luxury hotel.
4. Lee Plaza Hotel, Detroit, USA
From a crowded, developed city, Detroit has become poor and abandoned. Lee Plaza Hotel is one of many abandoned buildings here.
4. Abandoned castle, Germany
Photographer Christian Richter spent years exploring abandoned buildings in Germany.
The hallway of a hotel abandoned for 20 years in Germany.
Stairs of an empty mansion in France . Richter has recorded images of more than 1,000 abandoned structures in Germany, Poland, France and Italy .
Sad but beautiful
He said he finds beauty in desolation, especially in abandoned hotels, castles and mansions, "sad but beautiful". In the photo is a mansion that has been lying empty for 24 years in Italy .
5. Grande Hotel, Beira, Mozambique
Overlooking the Indian Ocean, the Grand Hotel became home to 3,500 people after closing in 1963. Opening in 1954, the “pride of Africa” did not attract the number of guests initially expected.
In its current state, it is difficult to imagine the luxury of the hotel in its heyday, when Gande was a lavish place, with impressive Art Deco motifs and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Currently, families live in every corner of the hotel, including the stairs. The hygiene here is very bad.