There’s something oddly magnetic about a hotel that never made it, a resort that got swallowed by dust and silence, or a grand building left behind when the money (or the guests) stopped coming. Below are some of the most fascinating abandoned hotels and resorts featured on Unusual Places—each with its own story of ambition, collapse, and quiet after the crowd.
Never Opened & Left Behind
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Igloo City (Alaska): The Igloo Resort Town That Never Was
A concrete igloo on the highway—meant to be the heart of a resort town, but abandoned before the dream could fully launch.
Abandoned Resorts in the Wild
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Zzyzx (California): An Abandoned Desert Resort with a Quirky Name
A strange little oasis story in the Mojave—springs, a “health resort,” and a place that still feels like a desert mirage.
Once Abandoned, Now Reborn
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Canfranc Estación Hotel (Spain): The “Titanic of the Mountains” Revived
A once-abandoned mega train station turned into a luxury hotel—proof that some forgotten giants can return.
Dark-History Hotels (Closed / Notorious)
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Hotel Cecil (Los Angeles): A Wicked Refuge or a Refuge for the Wicked?
A historic downtown hotel wrapped in scandal and tragedy—one of the most infamous hotel stories in America.
Want more unusual stays?
If you love strange lodging (not necessarily abandoned), you might also like these:
- Jules’ Undersea Lodge (Florida): The Only US Hotel Underwater
- Shanghai Wonderland Hotel (China): An Underwater Quarry Resort
- The Seelbach Hotel Rathskeller Room (Kentucky): Historic Hotel Hidden Space
Explore Related Themes
If you’re browsing unusual stays and forgotten resorts, you may also want to explore related collections across the site: