Paradise Lost: The Ghost Hotel of the Low Tatra

The valley is gentle and green, located in the middle of an area surrounded by dozens of high mountains, ski resorts and the last impenetrable jungle regions of Eastern Europe. The Low Tatras Mountains are by no means much lower than the famous High Tatras. But the place flies under the radar of tourists because the mountains are standing in the shadow of its legendary sister mountains.

Here, of all places, you can find what vacationers and explorers are looking for. God-forsaken spots with no crowds. Deep forests, towering peaks, wolves, lynxes and bears, small villages that no one from outside ever seems to enter. And abandoned accommodation, which shows that the area many years ago it was less forgotten and abandoned than it is today.

Untouched nature

A monument of this time stands in the small town of Krpáčovo, which is characterized by widely spaced houses, small hotels and untouched nature all around.

On the edge of a valley, the deepest part of which is an idyllic lake that was artificially created many decades ago, rises the Hotel “Junior”, an architectural monument from a time when socialism still reigned here, in a region, that this time was a part of the Czechoslovak Republic, a communist state formed after the Second World War.

In an excellent location within sight of Lake Krpáčovo, which is a popular place for tourists and bathers of all generations in summer, the social administration built  one of those buildings that were considered modern at the time.

Every room with a balcony

In the “Hotel Junior” every room has a balcony, all facing the sunny side. There is a swimming pool in the basement, a sauna, a large dining room and a variety of play and leisure options from sports to various restaurants. By socialist standards it was a luxury hotel that didn't accommodate everyone. In order to vacation here, guests had to have good connections to the state party - or a lot of money.

But that was of little use when Czechoslovakia split into two states and the “junior” suddenly found itself in the smaller Slovakia. For 15 years, business was still going reasonably well.

The carefree days of socialist and post-socialist tourism were over, but although there was a lack of money to carry out necessary repairs and renovations, the beautiful surroundings still attracted numerous guests.

Journey into Trouble

But little by little the hotel got into trouble. The owners changed, but no one brought with them enough money to resolve the investment backlog that had arisen in the last few years of operation. The two figures of the workers' monument standing in front of the house watched helplessly as the magnificent house with its modernist charm crumbled, molded and decayed.

Repairs only helped for a short time because they were always only makeshift. The surrounding area, once well-kept and pretty, also fell into disrepair.

At some point it stopped working. The Hotel “Junior” closed its doors in 2006, and since then it has become a dark, lifeless lost place, a ghost hotel that offers a sad sight, precisely because you can still get an idea of how wonderful everything must have once been here.

But instead of the hustle and bustle of holidaymakers, today there is a dance of death around the rusting, decaying building, which is surrounded by tall grass and is even being conquered by moss and young trees growing on the balconies.

Target of Urbexers

Even among Urbexers, the house is still a secret to this day; it is far too deep in the forest to come across by chance and far too remote to drive here specifically. Surprisingly, the power supply inside still works - but that could also be because construction workers have been showing up every now and then to remove old sheet metal cladding and bend pipes. Scrap collectors or investors?

Neighbors report that the old hotel has had a new owner for a year now, and this time he is probably serious about renovation. His plans include demolishing the Fashrstuhl tower, making the rooms larger and turning the “Junior” back into the tarum house in paradise that it once was.

But there is still a lot to do until then, because the “Junior” is already very run down, there are leaks everywhere and water is running on the walls inside the hotel and along the carpets. The floors are already completely soaked and the walls are completely moldy in places.

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