The Abandoned 7 Cidades Hotel

In 1977, the company Indústria Açoriana Turístico-Hoteleira (IATH), with French and Belgian shareholders, was created to invest in the Azores tourist market and wanted to build two luxury hotels on the island of São Miguel: one in Sete Cidades, the Monte Palace ; and the other in Água d’Alto, the Bahia Palace. The total investment for the construction of the two hotel units was 2 billion escudos (around 10 million euros).

The first to open was Bahia Palace, opened in 1984, but it was also a failure: it opened and closed twice, until reopening as a four-star hotel in 2003. Then, it was Monte Palace's turn to open its doors to guests in 1989.

It was once considered the most luxurious hotel in the Azores. With five stars, it was right in front of Lagoa das Sete Cidades, had five floors and 88 rooms, including a presidential suite, four luxury suites, four double rooms with lounge, 27 double rooms and another 52 suites. In addition, it also had two restaurants: Dona Amélia Grill and the D. Carlos restaurant, which were named to honor the king and queen of Portugal, who visited Sete Cidades in the summer of 1901.

Inside the hotel there were also three conference rooms, a hairdresser, a tobacconist, a bank, a nightclub, a cafe, a bar and even a corridor with showcases full of souvenirs. Fafá de Belém, in fact, went there to sing on the opening day, in 1989. Little did the singer know that, in 18 months, the hotel would stop receiving guests.

It closed its doors the same week it received the award for best hotel in Portugal. The building, with an architecture that perfectly integrated into the surrounding environment, with neutral colors, went bankrupt in 1991. After closing, a security guard and guard dogs were always present on site every day, for 20 years, to prevent vandalism. In 2011, the building was no longer monitored and the robbery was immediate. Furniture, doors, carpets. They took everything, even the elevators.