Formerly the soviet-owned Intourist Hotel, this 1974 building lies abandoned in the heart of Moldova’s capital.
Another day, another abandoned hotel in a major city! I stumbled upon this gem while exploring Chișinău on foot. According to the internet, the Hotel Nacional was part of the “Intourist” Soviet hotel network until 1992, and then became state property between 1992 and 2006. Today it is, clearly, in disrepair.
At the time it was built, the 4-star property was one of the most iconic and modern in Chișinău and was frequented by foreign tourists and Soviet celebrities! Now, it’s 15 stories are abandoned, and I can report there are zero tourists or soviet celebs in sight at the time of my visit.
I did encounter one random man on the third or forth level, although it was unclear what he was doing. The inside was cool, but I found the shapes and colors of the outside to be even more compelling.
The National Hotel was planned to be demolished in 2021, but the plans were put on hold and remain on hold today, or so says Wikipedia (actually the article is kind of interesting).