RO: De fapt si de drept, oprirea la hotelul abandonat Monte Palace ar fi trebuit sa fie parte din articolul dedicat partii de vest a insulei Sao Miguel. Dar ce sa-i faci, cand umpli un articol cu mai bine de doua zeci de poze dintr-un singur loc, e semn ca se cere articol separat 🙂 Si adevarul e ca locul este fascinant pentru poze. Desi complet periculos si-am zice noi chiar aproape de inconstienta a autoritatilor din zona, hotelul abandonat a devenit o atractie turistica in sine. Nu mai e asa abandonat cum pare in poze. Nici nu e de mirare, avand in vedere faptul ca nu mai este pazit de ceva vreme, iar oamenii pot intra nestingheriti in cladire. Doar cateva semne rosii de “No go!” au grija sa nu se intample vreo minune.

EN: Frankly, the visit to the abandoned Monte Palace hotel should have been part of the article dedicated to the western part of the Sao Miguel island. But what can you do, when you have more than 20 pictures from one place, a second article is definitely needed 🙂 And to tell you the truth, this place is absolutely fabulous for taking pictures. Although extremely dangerous and even close to inconscience of the local authorities, the abandoned hotel has become a touristic attraction. It is no longer so abandoned as it looks in the pictures. No wonder, as the place is no longer guarded and people can go loose inside the building.  Just a few red “No go!” signs prevent something really bad from happening.



RO: Istoria hotelului incepe nu atat de departe cum am crede. Hotelul a fost terminat undeva prin anii ’80 si surpriza, a falimentat la numai cativa ani dupa. De ce? Nu stie nimeni. Cert e ca daca nici macar acum nu sunt Azorele cele mai turistice insule de pe mapamond, e lesne de inteles ca in urma cu 30 de ani n-aveau nici in clin nici in maneca cu turismul. Da’ uite ca totusi s-a ridicat un hotel de nspe stele, in care s-au bagat la de-a bani de nu ne putem imagina, iar la scurt timp ce sa vezi… s-a dus totul pe apa sambetei. E ceva putred in Danemarca asta azoriana!

EN: The history of the hotel begins not so long ago as we would think. It was built somewhere in the ’80s and surprisingly it went bankrupt few years later. Why? No one knows exactly. One thing is for sure. The Azores are not the most touristy destination on the planet, so we can imagine that 30 years ago few people came here. But even so, a 5 stars hotel was built, tons of money were spent and in the end… it all went down the drain. Something is rotten in this Azorean Denmark!






RO: Si daca n-a fost o spalare de bani de zile mari, a fost cu siguranta cea mai proasta afacere a secolului. Localnicii spun ca turistii (cei putini si foarte putini) ar fi fost incantati de ideea de a sta la un hotel de 5 stele, cu priveliste dementiala catre laguna, insa din cauza climei specifice, de cele mai multe ori privelistea nu prea era. Pentru ca (am vazut-o si noi cu ochii nostri) nu de putine ori se intampla ca in varf de munte sa fii acoperit complet de nori densi, de nu vezi nici la un metru in fata ta. Been there, done that la Miradouro da Grota de Inferno, imaginea de carte postala din Azore, unde pur si simplu nu ne vedeam noi intre noi, daramite privelistea. Asa ca fie el turistul cat de bogat (si fraier), parca nu-i venea tocmai usor sa scoata teancul de euroi ca sa doarma in nori.

EN: And if this wasn’t a huge money laundering, it was for sure the worst deal ever! Locals say that the tourists(the few tourists) would have been thrilled to stay in a 5 stars hotel, with gorgeous views towards the lagoon, but due to the specific climate, most of the time there was no view! Because it often happens to be on the top of the mountain and to have everything around you covered in a thick, compact cloud, which makes it impossible to see anything. Been there, done that at Miradouro da Grota de Inferno, the classic postcard image from the Azores, where we simply could not see each other, not to mention the view. So no matter how rich (and foolish) the tourist might be, it’s not precisely easy to pay hundreds of euro just to sleep in the clouds. 






RO: Si ce-o sa se intample cu hotelul? Ei bine, am crede ca pe masura ce turismul in Azore o sa creasca (pentru ca incepe sa creasca), s-o gasi un investitor care sa vina si sa repuna pe picioare toata nebunia asta de hotel. Si-apoi s-avem iarasi hotel de 5 stele in varf de munte la Sete Cidades. Ei bine, nu. Nimeni nu vrea sa investeasca intr-o cladire veche de peste 30 de ani, in care nu s-a facut niciun fel de mentenanta, asa ca soarta cea mai probabila (si cea mai trista) va fi demolarea. Am gasit un articol pe internet in care omuletul, un danez, vizitase hotelul chiar la inceputul sfarsitului. Inca se mai vad piese de mobilier, acte, facturi, iar in comparatie cu pozele noastre, vopseaua si zugraveala erau intacte 🙂

EN: And in the end, what will happen with the hotel? Well, we’re tempted to think that as the tourism will start growing in the Azores (because it’s already starting to), there will be an investor who will be willing to pick up the hotel’s crumbs. And we’ll have again a 5 stars hotel on the top of the mountain at Sete Cidades. Oh well, not really. No one wants to invest in such an old building, where there haven’t been any maintenance work done for more than 30 years, so the most likely fate (and the saddest) would be the demolition. We found an article on the internet where a Danish guy  has visited the hotel right at the beginning of the end. You can still see some pieces of furniture. documents and bills, and in comparison with our pictures, the painting was still intact 🙂