The once-thriving holiday hotels left abandoned and frozen in time by war
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Croatia has become a popular holiday destination over the past couple of decades – and visitor numbers are climbing steadily. Data from the country’s eVisitor system shows that the first half of 2025 saw 7.5 million tourist arrivals and 29.3 million overnight stays – 27 million of which were in regions around the Adriatic coast. But one particular resort town, while continuing to welcome visitors, also offers a reminder of the country’s turbulent past througha string of hotels which have long been abandoned. Read on to find out more about Kupari…. (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Located around 12 kilometres from Dubrovnik, Kupari features a half-moon beach and spectacular views of the surrounding Adriatic. At one time it was also home to an exclusive resort for high-ranking members of the military and their families to take their holidays. More recently though the luxury hotels have been lying abandoned and in ruins. (Picture: Getty Images)
The transformation of Kupari began in 1911 when Czech businessmen Jaroslav Fencl and Jana Masa bought an extensive stretch of land there – as well as the Srebreno beach to the east – with the aim of building a resort. The first hotel, The Strand (later known as the Grand Hotel) opened in 1921. The other hotels arrived between the 1960s and the 1980s. (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Construction of these began when Communist leader Josip ‘Tito’ Broz ordered the complex to be built for members of the military, leading to a further six hotels springing up. The Pelegrin hotel – the largest in the region at the time in terms of volume and capacity – opened its doors in 1963, followed by Kupari, Goričina, Goričine II, Mladost and Galeb. (Picture: Getty Images)
For lower-ranking members of the military there was also a nearby campsite with space for up to 4,000 people where they could enjoy vacations, while civilians who had connections to the army could also stay in the complex. Tito himself was such a big fan of the resort that he also holidayed there, having his-and-hers holiday villas built for himself and his wife Jovanka – and even playing host to such VIP guests as Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The celebrity couple stayed there in 1971 when Burton was due to play him in The Battle of Sutjeska, with the actor describing the leader in his diaries as ‘most formidable’. (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
However it all came to an end in the 1990s, as Yugoslavia plunged into conflict, with the site being shelled during the Croatian War of Independence between 1991-1995, as the Yugoslav People’s Army set about bombing their own resort in a bid to flush out Croatian soldiers. After the war ended three of the hotels – the Goričina, Grand and Pelegrin – served as a base for the Croatian army between 1998 and 2000. (Picture: Getty Images)
However they have sat unused since they left, with locals helping themselves to useful items from the remains of the building, such as tiling and piping. Unsurprisingly the shells of the formerly opulent hotels have fallen into disrepair over the decades. (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Not only are the fixtures and fittings a shadow of what they once were as the buildings lie derelict and grafitti-strewn, but other parts of the complex have been overrun by weeds and ivy. Evidence of the war which decimated the complex also remains, with shrapnel and bullet holes from the 1991-92 siege of Dubrovnik still visible in some parts. (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The resort remains a source of interest for many. The BBC included the Kupari bay hotels in a list of the world’s most fascinating abandoned sites in 2024, while YouTuber Mr Beast also filmed a video there entitled I Survived 7 Days In An Abandoned City, which has now been viewed 312 million times. The 2022 Kate Winslet movie Lee, a biopic of the World War II photojournalist Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller, was also partly filmed in Kupari, with the resort standing in for 1945 Normandy. (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Meanwhile, the future for the abandoned bay of hotels may be looking up. The Guardian reported in March this year that the site is set to get a makeover as part of a new development costing around €150m (£130m), with a Singapore-based consortium working with the Four Seasons hotel group leading the project. (Picture: Getty Images)
According to local website Croatia Week, plans are in place for the old crumbling structures to be replaced with a modern resort boasting around 400 beds. Speaking to the Observer, Marko Dabrović, the architect overseeing the plans, said: ‘It has been an eyesore for 30 years, so everyone is pleased it will be developed and it will offer local employment. But after 10 years of on, off, stop, start, will it, won’t it happen, they are waiting to see if it really does.’ (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto) Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
