Abandoned Hotel Añaza - Acoran, Tenerife

1975 was quite an extraordinary year.  Why?  Well, for starters, that's when yours truly arrived on planet Earth.  It was also the year that a certain German businessman walked away from this true monstrosity in Acoran, near Santa Cruz, in Tenerife.  

If you've read about my previous visits to abandoned Canarian hotel developments, you'll know that vacant shells like this are nothing unusual.  There's a whole back story here, as with the other places that you can read about on the site.  

There is a slight twist with the Añaza hotel though.  What you see here, is all that Tenerife ever got, as far as this development goes.  Nothing has been stolen, ripped out or otherwise vandalised since construction began in 1973 and abruptly ended in 1975 with our German friend declaring himself bankrupt and walking away - well - fleeing, actually, back to his homeland.

Go on then, tell us what happened..

I knew you'd want to know sooner or later!  

We already know that the Canary Islands became a wild west backwater when it came to palm greasing and back handers as Spanish communist rule ended following the death of General Franco.  In the few years leading up to Spanish Caudillo General Franco's death in 1975, he was a seriously ill man - everyone knew it, but few challenged his authority, even though he was physically and mentally incapable of governing in his twilight years.  Spain was in limbo.  Opportunists gathered in the Canary Islands ready to fill the power vacuum.  Many of these people were simply interested in making money from what was rapid growth in tourism in the Canaries, as domestic tourism in UK and Northern European hotspots collapsed following the foreign boom of the jet era. 

This was in the early to mid 70's - well before the likes of renowned British gangster John Palmer arrived and with him the ensuing tribal feuds between Canarian (but mostly UK originated) crime syndicates.

No, it could be said that the property developers of the 70's were fairly clean cut compared to what the 80's had in store.  The developer of the 70's was simply in it to make money.  Yes, they cut corners, with things like planning permission, but they weren't criminals, in the nasty sense. 

That's what happened here at the Añaza.  The hotel was built on a pretext of a confused Spain in the early 70's..without planning permission and, as it turned out, without the necessary finance in place.  Let's read on..

Graffiti, Street Art or Vandalism - what would you call it?

The ground floor reception area

The hotel is located in a relatively quiet area of northern Tenerife, a few minutes south of the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island capital.  It's far enough south to catch the sun (the north can be distinctly rainy and a lot cooler), but far enough north that had it opened, it would have been away from the southern bustling holiday resorts. 

There is some strong metal fencing around the entire perimeter of the hotel but on the day I visited in May 2023, someone had quite literally left the door open!  To complicate things further, ownership of the land is now resting with the local council as nobody ever really wanted control.  As such, there is limited (read zero) security on site - and the CCTV that was promised never materialised.  So you're free to wander around and when I was there, several others were exploring the site too.

Tragedy strikes / what you see is what you get

Urbex'ing (urban exploring), is a pastime that has garnered massive interest since the inception of social media.  For those who follow urbex'ers, will know that sometimes the people involved can be foolish and take unnecessary risks.  But rarely does that result in the tragic loss of a life.  Sadly, a man lost his life recently at the Añaza doing just that - urbexing.  

I normally save the health and safety warnings until the end of the article but it seems like the right time to tell you that this hotel is indeed one of, if not the most, dangerous urban explorations that I have ever done.  The reason is simple and goes back to the start of the article.  What you see, is what you get.  This hotel was only ever developed to a bare skull that you still see today.  The development never got as far as those tiled bathrooms or doors as we've seen in previous urbex's.  The lift shafts are there, the 10th floor bedrooms are there - all unguarded and with the prevalent wind in this part of the island, anything could happen.  And it did happen to a poor young man who fell to his death.  

These kinds of things are rare in urbexing.  Sites like the Añaza are also quite rare - most of the sites I explore are either low rise or have some kind of railings in place to guard against falls - but there is inherent danger in everything related to urbexing.  The sad death here underlines the need to be ultra cautious in this hobby.

Conclusion

Urban exploration is one of those things that comes with a certain level of risk.  But with common sense, it's no more dangerous than axe throwing or flame eating - as long as you know what you're doing, it should, in theory, go ok.

This is a very interesting site to visit given its history.  In one sense, you could say it's your classic case of a businessman having a dream, then going bankrupt.  The Canaries are littered with such dreams.  But then again, this one is unique in that it really never got off the ground at all - what you see now, is all this development ever achieved.  There were no tiled bathrooms or decorations put up.  There was nothing to steal, even back in 1975 when progress ground to a halt.

Access to the site was easy when I visited but as with all urbex's that are on the authority radar, this is always subject to change.  

One to see when in Tenerife but do be careful..it is one seriously lethal site if you don't know what you're doing.