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Broken tiles and rogue plants line the curving walls of an empty swimming pool. The dusty timber boards of a bowling alley are strewn with debris. Sculpted concrete piers are stained gray, branded by unrelenting sea spray. Graffiti coats the walls of a derelict courtyard. Elevators stand frozen, their doors wedged open — out of order for eternity.
The Haludovo Palace Hotel, a classic example of brutalist architecture, now stands crumbling on the Croatian island of Krk. The development was a lavish pet project of Bob Guccione, founder of Penthouse magazine, who invested $45 million to create a luxury hotel and casino on the scenic shore of the Adriatic Sea. Opening in 1972 in Josip Broz Tito’s Yugoslavia, the resort was designed by Croatian architect Boris Magaš to attract Western tourists in search of a glamorous vacation destination.
Haludovo Palace Hotel in its glory days …
… and after; via Media Collective and Estudio Mimic.
The hotel’s architecture was designed to match the opulence of its program: striking, cantilevered canopies project out toward a pristine pool, while elegant columns with curved capitals support the former accommodation blocks. Inside, multiple lounging areas were integrated into the design, with indoor pools and a spa available to guests. No expense was spared, as Basement Geographer describes: “100 kg (224 lb) of lobster, five kg (11 lb) of caviar and hundreds of bottles of champagne were consumed each day by resort guests. Reportedly, one of the swimming pools was filled with champagne.”
The Haludovo’s casino hall has seen better days; via LA76.
A grand, triple-height hall housed the Adriatic Club casino, the centerpiece of the complex and intended as the main source of income for the resort. Unfortunately for Guccione, while Westerners enjoyed the luxurious amenities and stunning surroundings, they stayed away from the blackjack tables and roulette wheels. The money did not come rolling in as expected, and the casino was declared bankrupt in 1973, only one year after opening.
Derelict bowling alleys
The indoor pool, long bereft of water
Midcentury modern façades
Striking ceiling details on the hotel terrace
Magas’ distinctive style evokes visions of many icons of the profession, from Oscar Niemeyer to Eero Saarinen. Numerous contemporary projects have also incorporated details that recall the bold formal features of the Haludovo: the concrete cantilevers of Ensamble Studio’s Hemeroscopium House and the curving columns of Herzog and de Meuron’s Jade Signature hotel touch on the heady days of Magas’ era.
Staircase to the penthouse suite
A vandalized courtyard
The elevators, now frozen in time
Wonderful views across the Adriatic Sea
The hotel continued to operate without the Penthouse label for a further 20 years, before falling into a state of disrepair in the 1990s following the Croatian War of Independence. Now the realm of urban explorers and mischievous vandals, this forlorn structure stands as a wistful reminder of Guccione’s pursuit of hedonism in Eastern Europe.
Enjoy this article? Explore more aging icons of contemporary design in our ongoing series “Modern Relics”:
The Brutalist Ruins of Casa Sperimentale, Rome
The Postmodern Giants of Paris
The Abandoned Pavilions of Jinhua Architecture Park
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Photographs courtesy of Nate Robert’s Yomadic blog, unless otherwise stated.