The abandoned Berengaria Hotel may be found near Prodomos, the highest settlement in Cyprus. Queen Berengaria, Richard the Lionheart’s wife, was married there, and the hotel bears her name.
Mr. Kokkalos, a native of Prodomos village, constructed the hotel in 1930 after recognizing that vacationing in the highlands was becoming more and more popular with tourists. The Berengaria Hotel first opened its doors in 1931. The hotel is also known as “The Hotel of The Kings” because it once had a reputation for drawing notable visitors, including Pharouk, the Egyptian king, and Ezer Vaisman, the president of Israel.
The Berengaria Hotel is surrounded by many stories. There was curiosity in the hotel’s history because it was said that the three brothers’ deaths all occurred in enigmatic and unusual circumstances. The hotel is said to be haunted as a result.
Another legend claims that a hotel manager committed suicide and that his spirit now prowls the hallways hunting for fresh victims. Others claim that the hotel is still inhabited by the ghosts of the dead. Visitors and some locals have reported seeing shadows, hearing screams, and sobbing.
Another legend claims that a mural within the hotel showed the dance of hell and that anybody who saw it would be damned for the rest of his life. The Berengaria hotel has become a popular destination for ghost seekers and explorers as a result of all these tales.
Regrettably, once Ioannis Kokkalos, the hotel’s original owner, passed away in the middle of the 1980s, mounting debts forced the closure of the establishment. Due to its disuse, those that came into the region eventually looted it.
Closed since 1984, the property was left to the elements since investors showed little to no interest in undertaking one of Cyprus’s most difficult and dangerous undertakings. Its appearance today is very different from what people recall it to be like in its heyday since portions of both its inner and exterior walls have crumbled.
The abandoned structure was purchased by Limassol-based Prime Property Company in 2020 for an estimated €2.2 million, and the new owners confirmed their intention to give the building a fresh lease of life. There are plans to make the most of the surrounding acreage by creating luxurious villas and support structures that will make running the hotel easier.
