SHIOBARA GRAND HOTEL [JP]

Exploration #288 Shiobara Grand Takinoyu Hotel. Shiobara Grand Takinoyu Hotel is a former hot-spring hotel in Shiobara, Japan. Once part of the town’s long spa tradition, the large complex later closed and remained standing as one of the area’s most visible abandoned hotels.

Shiobara has developed around its hot springs for centuries, and the hotel belonged to the modern phase of that tourism economy. Its scale is deceptive from the street: photographs show a much larger complex extending behind the main façade, with several levels built into the slope. Little reliable information survives about its opening date or final years. A 2017 photographic record already described the building as disused and noted that it appeared to have been abandoned for some time. Period accommodation listings indicate that the hotel once operated as a substantial resort, with rooms overlooking the Shiobara area and rates of around ¥15,000 per night.

I found the hotel completely by chance while walking through the town. Its size and silent windows immediately stood out among the active buildings around it. What began as an ordinary walk became an unexpected exploration of a place that still reflects the rise and decline of Japan’s large hot-spring hotels.

MOTEL FUURIN [JP]

Exploration #272 Motel Fūrin (モーテル風林). Motel Fūrin is one of the most intriguing abandoned love hotels in Japan, located deep in Kimitsu City, Chiba Prefecture.

Once it was a vibrant stop for travelers and couples. Inside, there were themed suites, rotating beds, bold 1970s décor, and glass-walled baths. Evidence suggests that Motel Fūrin opened around 1973 and operated until roughly 2000, reflecting the rise and fall of Japan’s love hotel boom. Today, however, most of the structure has collapsed, leaving only scattered remains of its former charm. Even in ruins, the abandoned Motel Fūrin stands as a haunting time capsule of Showa-era culture and one of the most photogenic and historically fascinating love hotel ruins in the country.

HUNTERS HOTEL [DE]

Exploration #139. Legal visit. The Hunters Hotel is a disused hotel set on a hill, deep and remote in the German forest. It worked from the fifties until the mid nineties of the last century. The hotel was then abandoned but a gentleman is trying to take care of the structure. The hotel is a real time capsule: nice pastel colors are still decorating the bedrooms, whereas a stunning dining hall features carved wood panels and features, with many stuffed animals mounted on the walls.

ALBERGO TERME P [IT]

Exploration #121 Albergo terme P. We are in Tuscany, in an area rich in thermal springs. The present buildings, now in ruins, were built at the beginning of the 20th century on a site where there were already very ancient baths, well known since the Middle Ages. Some testimonies state that they were owned by the Republic of Florence and visited by Lorenzo De Medici himself, known as “Il Magnifico”.
The thermal waters, which still flow beneath the abandoned buildings, are classified as medium-mineral, sulphurous-bicarbonate-alkaline-earthy. With a temperature of about 41 degrees Celsius, they are said to be indicated for the treatment of rheumatic and skin diseases.

The former Albergo Terme included several rooms for overnight accommodation, a large restaurant and several small rooms used as a spa. It had its moment of glory at the beginning of the 20th century when it was frequented by a large number of guests from all over Italy. Following disputes with the owners due to the urgency of renovation and modernisation works, it closed in 2002. Since then, without any maintenance and completely abandoned, mould and moisture, mainly caused by the still active thermal springs and severe damage to the roof, have been transforming the interior of the buildings. The walls are painted in the colours of the mould and the various layers of plaster underneath, while what remains of the furniture is slowly crumbling to the floor. It was a very interesting exploration of this spa, even if it was difficult due to the high temperatures in the thermal rooms, which made it difficult to take pictures. It is a pity that these waters, which are still available, are not exploited in a different way.

HOTEL ALPENHOF [AU]

Exploration #50. This hotel was built in 1899 on the side of a very nice lake in the Austrian mountains. It had 70 room, 35 with mountain view and 35 with lake view. In addition to the guest rooms there were still dining rooms, lounges and a garden pavilion. In 1929, the interiors were rebuilt whereas the appearance did not change much. Only the dining room got an extension. It must have been a beauty in those days: it was very popular and a lot of wealthy and royal visitors booked a night in here. Also Christian Heurich, the Washington DC’s most dominant brewer (he established in 1872 the Christian Heurich Brewing Company, the largest brewery in the District of Columbia) stayed in this hotel.

Unfortunately the hotel had to close in the 1960’s due to owner’s problems and since then it is empty and decaying. The condition of the building seems to have worsened massively in the last years but as of early 2018 all entrances were locked and some works happened inside. Maybe there will be a prospective buyer.

HOTEL BIOSPHERE [DE]

Exploration #41 Hotel Biosphere. Hotel Biosphere place was born as a children’s camp named Ferienheim Botanik. During the DDR-time it was owned by a company as a family hotel for its employees. After the reunion of the Germany, it was open as a pension named “Pension Alte Molkerei”. But business went bad, probably due the insufficient tourism in the area and it closed forever.

The structure had a nice hall and many rooms. When we visited it a section was already collapsed whereas others zones were very unstable. By the way Hotel Biosphere has been one of the most rotten, spoiled, mould place I’ve never visited.. and I loved it. 

One room was completely flooded and moss had grown everywhere, both on the walls and on the surviving furniture. It was from this room that the location, Hotel Biosphere, was named as a small new ecosystem. A second very peculiar room was filled with the feathers of mattresses and pillows, as if someone had blown them up. A pity that this location has been demolished.

HOTEL ATLANTIS [DE]

Exploration #28 Hotel Atlantis. The Grand Hotel Atlantis was a magnificent place in a lovely ski resort somewhere in Eastern Germany. In the 1920s, the town flourished under the rise of tourist numbers when snow sports became vastly popular among the wealthy population. The first class hotel offered its guests a huge amount of leisure activities and when it was built it was one of the finest and most modern accommodations in the whole region. It was in a top quality location and beautiful to look at. From the inside as well as from the outside. There was electric lighting and even a central heating system.

The rooms of Hotel Atlantis were big and the hotel had its own restaurants and bars. Around 100 guests at once could find accommodation here. Back then even the local king spent a night in the luxury hotel. Famous winter sports persons and their coaches stayed here too. As in the case of many facilities of the former GDR, the owner of this hotel changed after the German reunification. This was the beginning of the fall of Hotel Atlantis. The trust sold the building complex in 1991. Two years later it was reopened as a sports hotel but the operators became bankrupt only a few years later. Since 1998 Hotel Atlantis is vacant and rotting away.