To tell you the truth I was intrigued! A ghost hotel? You don’t usually get this things in Cyprus, so I decided to make the trip. My daughter is still 6 y.o so of course I didn’t give her all the ghost stories, I just stuck to it’s obvious “we will visit an abandoned hotel”. But for older children it’s a hell of a story!
Here is how it begins: Once upon a time in 1931 a hotel was build in Prodromos village, a village well known for being the best winter resort in Cyprus. It took its name from Queen Berengaria, the queen of England as the wife of Richard I the Lionheart. The couple married in Limassol, Cyprus in 1191 and it is said that they had their honeymoon in Prodromos village.
The hotel was built by Mr Kokkalos (Greek word for bones!). This luxurious hotel was also known as “the hotel of Kings” as it looked like a crown on top of the hill – it is situated on the top of Troodos mountain - and because famous guests have visited like Pharouk, the king of Egypt, the president of Israel, Ezer Vaisman as well as top businessmen of the time.
The property of the Hotel was huge and it had a massive dinning rooms, night club, pool, playground, tennis court and state of the art furniture and décor. The Hotel closed in 1984 due to bad business and huge profit loss.
Here are some of the various stories: After the owner died, the hotel passed to his three sons which where filled with greed and jealousy for each other. As stories say the 3 brothers died from mysterious and suspicious circumstances. Another story is of a manager who killed himself in one of the rooms and another one of a merchant’s wife who was found dead in the swimming pool who now seeks to avenge her death and a fair maiden with black raven hair dressed in white linen and visible only during the dusk hours leaning against one of the windows. These stories make the hotel a must place to see.
Now the Hotel stands forsaken, derelict and violated with its stone structure beginning to crumble. Even though there are signs to inform visitors not to enter due to its bad, unstable and dangerous construction, visitors still seek the thrill.
I can assure you my daughter loved it, as something exciting that she never saw before. Me on the other hand still feel some chills down my spine and during my visit with every little sound you had me running!
Have a nice exploring!
How to get there: Very easy ride by car to Prodromos village. You will reach a mini round-about were you can see the majestic hotel.
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