Jerma Palace Hotel

The Jerma Palace Hotel, located in Marsaskala, Malta, opened its doors in 1982. The massive, luxurious four-star hotel was built by the Libyan Foreign Investment Company, and the ex-leader of Libya once had his own presidential suite in the hotel.

The opulent hotel was responsible for transforming the once-sleepy fishing village of Marsaskala into a larger town of over 10,000 people. It was closed in 2007 in a move that was supposed to be temporary, but never wound up reopening. It was sold for $21 million the following year.

After Jerma’s closure there were several redevelopment proposals, including plans to turn the site into residential buildings, new hotels, and even a public park. The local council repeatedly failed to approve these ventures, however, and in the 2010s the Planning Authority ordered the owners to demolish the structure. Just like the redevelopment, the demolition never came to fruition.

There are purportedly still talks of converting the site into an apartment complex, but only time will tell if this will be Jerma’s long-overdue rebirth or another false start. The hotel currently lies abandoned, falling into increasing disrepair. The inside has been stripped of anything of value (carpets, marble, tiles, and even bricks taken long ago), and some areas appear to have been burned in a fire. As with most abandoned buildings the hotel is now home to a variety of graffiti, ranging from vandalism to impressive art. It also houses a good deal of trash.

If you dare venture up the exposed staircases to Jerma’s roof the views are incredible, providing a stunning, if not slightly terrifying, perspective of the crumbling hotel juxtaposed against Malta’s pristine coast.