The Monte Palace Hotel on São Miguel Island opened in 1989.
Perched up 500 or so meters above sea level, the hotel offered panoramic views of Lagoa das Sete Cidades. It had 88 rooms, two restaurants, a bar/nightclub, and a total construction area of approximately 13,104 m². Notably, it was the first luxury five-star hotel in the Azores. And in 1990 it was even awarded "Hotel of the Year" in Portugal.
Then, the place closed — just 18 months after its opening.
Today, it looks like this:
The Monte Palace Hotel on São Miguel Island opened in 1989.
Perched up 500 or so meters above sea level, the hotel offered panoramic views of Lagoa das Sete Cidades. It had 88 rooms, two restaurants, a bar/nightclub, and a total construction area of approximately 13,104 m². Notably, it was the first luxury five-star hotel in the Azores. And in 1990 it was even awarded "Hotel of the Year" in Portugal.
Then, the place closed — just 18 months after its opening.
Today, it looks like this:
Supposedly the hotel failed for a number reasons. It was hard to get to. It lacked on-site amenities. It didn't, for example, have a pool. And the unpredictable (and often foggy) weather of the Azores made it so that a lot of the time you couldn't even see the main attraction, which was the view. The sponsors may have also overshot the market at the time.
In 2017, the abandoned property was finally listed for sale at €1.5 million. Level Constellation ended up buying it for an undisclosed amount at the end of the year. They are a Lisbon-based developer founded by Chinese entrepreneurs. The plan was/is to reopen another 5-star hotel, but that hasn't happened yet. Though there's certainly no lack of visitors to the property today!
I don't know how you address the weather thing, but nowadays there are many other 5-star hotels on the archipelago. Regardless, my bet is that the existing structure will end up being demolished. I mean, it's been abandoned and unmaintained for about 35 years.
Bianca's maternal lineage is Portuguese — specifically the Azores.
Sinfully though, she had never been. But that is changing right now. We're all here, and I was fortunate enough to get an invitation. Thank you! One thing I didn't appreciate until recently is that a large majority of the Portuguese in Toronto (70%?) are of Azorean descent, particularly from the island of São Miguel (which is the largest and where we are right now).
This is the result of a major wave of immigration that occurred between the 1950s and 1970s, where Azoreans came for economic opportunity and to fulfill a labor shortage in Canada. This strong connection between Canada and the Azores can be found all around the island. In fact, the first restaurant we walked into had this plate prominently displayed on the wall:
As soon as I saw it I said to the owner, "I like your license plate!" And she replied with, "thank you, yes, Toronto!"
I've also been spotting Canadian flags all around the island, including this hybrid Portuguese-Canadian one:
São Miguel is a beautiful place with stunning landscapes, warm and welcoming people, and incredible food. (If you've had lapas grelhadas before you'll know that it's an optimal delivery mechanism for butter and garlic.) I'm excited to share my photos with all of you, both here on the blog and on Globizen's Instagram page. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the card reader for my Fujifilm, and so my best photos will have to wait until I'm back in Toronto.
Stay tuned.
Supposedly the hotel failed for a number reasons. It was hard to get to. It lacked on-site amenities. It didn't, for example, have a pool. And the unpredictable (and often foggy) weather of the Azores made it so that a lot of the time you couldn't even see the main attraction, which was the view. The sponsors may have also overshot the market at the time.
In 2017, the abandoned property was finally listed for sale at €1.5 million. Level Constellation ended up buying it for an undisclosed amount at the end of the year. They are a Lisbon-based developer founded by Chinese entrepreneurs. The plan was/is to reopen another 5-star hotel, but that hasn't happened yet. Though there's certainly no lack of visitors to the property today!
I don't know how you address the weather thing, but nowadays there are many other 5-star hotels on the archipelago. Regardless, my bet is that the existing structure will end up being demolished. I mean, it's been abandoned and unmaintained for about 35 years.
Bianca's maternal lineage is Portuguese — specifically the Azores.
Sinfully though, she had never been. But that is changing right now. We're all here, and I was fortunate enough to get an invitation. Thank you! One thing I didn't appreciate until recently is that a large majority of the Portuguese in Toronto (70%?) are of Azorean descent, particularly from the island of São Miguel (which is the largest and where we are right now).
This is the result of a major wave of immigration that occurred between the 1950s and 1970s, where Azoreans came for economic opportunity and to fulfill a labor shortage in Canada. This strong connection between Canada and the Azores can be found all around the island. In fact, the first restaurant we walked into had this plate prominently displayed on the wall:
As soon as I saw it I said to the owner, "I like your license plate!" And she replied with, "thank you, yes, Toronto!"
I've also been spotting Canadian flags all around the island, including this hybrid Portuguese-Canadian one:
São Miguel is a beautiful place with stunning landscapes, warm and welcoming people, and incredible food. (If you've had lapas grelhadas before you'll know that it's an optimal delivery mechanism for butter and garlic.) I'm excited to share my photos with all of you, both here on the blog and on Globizen's Instagram page. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the card reader for my Fujifilm, and so my best photos will have to wait until I'm back in Toronto.
Stay tuned.
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