If you love a mystery and love a good old Urbex, then this is a must see when you're in Lanzarote. For a walking tour of the hotel, head over the video I made of the seven wonders of Lanzarote but for the time being, let's take a look around whilst you're here.
The abandoned Atlante del Sol, or sometimes referred to as Hotel de Los Charcones, is one of the many abandoned buildings that some say blot the landscape across the Canary Islands. I prefer to call them fascinating relics of times gone by.
Whilst a complex web of mystery surrounds the origins of the hotel and what became of its founder, it shares all the hallmarks of the classic Canarian abandoned hotel: started but never finished, left to bake in the Canarian sun, and explored by hundreds of fascinated Urbex'ers and other interested parties every year.
What we know for certain is that a German businessman set out in the 70's to build a Donald Trump Turnberry-style golf resort in the sun, and called it Atlante del Sol. The hotel was going to have about 300 rooms and would provide year-round sunshine for the amateur and pro golfer alike. The theory was brilliant and indeed, other similar Canarian golf resorts have since proved to be extremely popular and critically, viable. Hold on to that word 'viable'.
So where did it go wrong?
For those who can, cast your mind back to the 70s. If you lived in the UK, you had a choice of three television channels. If you phoned someone (for those who had a telephone), you dialled a number from a large immobile lump on your living room table. And if you needed to go somewhere, you got an A-Z map out, hoping you wouldn't meet any traffic along the way.
Nobody had a mobile phone. Sky TV was still two decades away. As for satellite navigation - still 30 years in the future.
Critically, the understanding of life and science was progressing, but nowhere near as advanced as it is today. Here's the thing. Our German friend didn't understand that to make a golf course work, you needed a plentiful supply of water, either rain or naturally from the soil. Unfortunately, without doing much research, the hotel build commenced on rather arid land. Without much rainfall in the Canaries, and with very dry volcanic soil, there were very limited options to get water naturally - and the cost to install water pumps and extensive piping in the 70s was astronomical.
"Underfoot hazards such as sudden drops are all quite common"
Entrance to the hotel has been sealed off many times over the years, but the determined Urbex'er always breaks through.
As with all Urbex type installations, you have to be very careful as you wander around. Underfoot hazards such as sudden drops are all quite common. This site in particular is very hazardous, so do be careful.
As with many abandoned buildings in the Canaries, heavy vandalism is rife
The history of the Atlante del Sol is quite the mystery with neither any historian nor fellow Urbex'er being able to tell me exactly what happened here, other than what we know and written in this article already.
Theory one and probably the most plausible is a simple one. A German architect and businessman started developing his dream resort including a 300 room hotel with a championship golf course. With limited knowledge of hotel development he commenced building, and got quite far, certainly in terms of room fittings. What he hadn't factored in was the need for fresh water, to keep the greens lush. The theory goes that, facing certain ruin, the German architect fled the Canaries back to Germany and went bankrupt, never to be heard of again.
Theory two is certainly very possible. Following the death of Spain's communist ruler and dictator, General Franco in 1975, and with it the liberalisation of hotel development, hotels sprang up almost overnight and huge competition amongst hotels ensued. The second theory is that our German architect turned up with his grand idea to build a golf resort. As with many other foreign builders at the time, he began building the hotel without planning permission (a problem across the Canaries that still exists today), on the assumption that he would be given planning permission retrospectively. When planning permission didn't materialise and wasn't likely to, our architect went bankrupt and fled back home.
Theory three is somewhat outrageous but makes for an interesting story nonetheless. It is said, that the German architect was working late one evening on his hotel when his tools mysteriously started moving. It is said that this was due to the hotel being built on possessed land. Being spooked out, he fled the islands and was never seen again. It's an unlikely story, but to this day some still believe it.
Access to the grounds is very easy and you're free to wander as you please
Entire sections of the hotel have collapsed, as seen here. Yet transient people continue to live in some of the rooms that they have sealed up with pallets. It is said that a second generation of squatters now lives here at the Atlante del Sol.
Whilst I didn't meet any residents during my visit, you could see quite clearly where they were living and I chose not to disturb them.
Conclusion
The Hotel Atlante del Sol is certainly worth a visit for the curious tourist or the more determined Urbex enthusiast.
As far as abandoned skeletons go, this place is about as good as it gets both from a physical exploration point of view as well as the mind boggling array of theories as to what happened here.
Access to the site is open albeit the dirt track leading to the hotel isn't the easiest to navigate either from a driving or walking approach.
WARNING: I need to warn you on the state of the place. Whilst it is a fantastic site to see, the building is in a serious state of disrepair. There is real risk of something falling and hitting you or indeed, the risk of you falling through a fragile or even open floor to the floor below.
You should exercise extreme caution when visiting this site
Directions:
From the LZ-701 head up the Avenida Faro Pechiguera through the small town of Playa Blanca. Keep driving along what becomes fairly open land - you get the sense that the road has been built with the foresight of many more houses yet to be built.
You'll come to where you can see the hotel from the main road and a dirt track off to the right. From here you have a choice. You can park at the entrance to the dirt track or at any point right up to the hotel itself. Do be warned though that the road is very bumpy with sharp stones which risk a puncture. Personally I parked near the entrance to the dirt track, but you can drive closer if you wish.
Recommended visit time: 1 hour
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