37 Abandoned Resorts From a Bygone Era You Can Still Visit

22. Polissya Hotel: Silent Witness in Pripyat

Within the haunting Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine stands the Polissya Hotel, a prominent landmark in the abandoned city of Pripyat. Built in the mid-1970s, it served visitors to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the burgeoning city. Following the catastrophic nuclear disaster in 1986, the entire population was evacuated, leaving the hotel frozen in time. Images of its decaying lobby, empty rooms, and the surrounding ghost city have become iconic symbols of the tragedy. Visiting (via guided tour) offers a deeply sobering experience, exploring a place of modern life abruptly halted by unseen danger.