Abandoned Spanish hotel on one of the country’s most untouched beaches that NEVER opened

A FOUR-STAR hotel located in Almería has been left abandoned for 20 years – after never being able to open to the public.

The ghost hotel in El Algarrobico had all of its 411 rooms built and air-conditioning units installed before work on the site ground to a halt.

Built just metres from the coastline in the Cabo de Gata National Park, on one of the country's relatively few untouched beaches, the hotel was going to have swimming pools as well as stunning sea views from the rooms.

Located just 50 feet from the shoreline, the hotel hoped to be a statement resort for the area.

Spanish company Azata began building the towering structure in 2003 before construction work came to a halt in 2006.

Work ceased on the 21-storey building after environmental activists lobbied to have the hotel project shut down.

This is because the Spanish hotel was being built on protected land in the national park.

Since work came to a halt nearly twenty years ago, the hotel has been dragged through the courts on more than 20 occasions.

Nowadays, the white hotel is surrounded by three yellow cranes – frozen in time from the day workmen downed tools for the last time.

The future of the eerily abandoned hotel could be brought down in the next few months.

Earlier this year, Spain‘s vice-president, María Jesús Montero, vowed to raze the hotel within months.

However, demolishing the hotel won't come cheap.

According to the Financial Times, it cost the equivalent of €70million (£58million) to build at the time.

Bringing the hotel down is slated to cost a further €7million (£5.8million).

The abandoned hotel is an hour's drive from Almería, where direct flights operate from London and Manchester.

Last year, Almeria was named the happiest city in Spain thanks to its warm and mild climate and its close proximity to hospitals and airports.

The city only gets 29 days of rain every year – making it an ideal holiday destination for Brits.

It is also far less crowded compared to neighbouring cities like Malaga and Granada.

Almeria is the only city in Europe with a hot desert climate thanks to its proximity to the continent's only desert.

There are plenty of other things to do in Almeria too, such as Alcazaba , and it's just a half an hour drive from the Tabernas Desert.

Meanwhile, here's another abandoned hotel in Bali.

And here's an incredible abandoned 5-star hotel on ‘Japan’s Hawaii’ island swallowed by jungle with rusting cars & beds left unmade.