A story about how Aptera Beach became ruins

We recently had an interesting comment on our Lemon Tree piece about the abandoned Aptera Beach resort that is near us.

Daniel from Malmo recently stayed near there, and he heard a story about what happened from the locals. This is what he posted on the site:

"I was of course curious what had happened to the hotel which, in my opinion (and some others i read) is perfectly located close to a beautiful beach. And as I searched for answers I came across an answer not so shocking in these days when it comes to people. Money!

The two male owners of the hotel resort had secretly stolen money from the profits, without either one knowing the other one also did so. Of course this couldn't go on forever and somehow they were exposed. The fighting between them resulted in more disappearance of cash and finally they both left the resort.

The staff struggled against the authorities to run the place and kept the resort going for another 4-5 months after the disappearance of the owners. But they couldn't afford to pay rent for none of these months. If you have something on the beach a monthly beach-license-fee must also be paid and they couldn't afford this either.

Finally the Police had to throw them out! A deadline was given for the staff and guests and then the place was left quiet and empty.

But the contract for the resort, rent paid or not, stretched over 10 years and in Greek law this means the resort cannot be demolished. The spooky empty resort must stand its ground for the entire period of its contract!

Only after a couple of days of emptiness people started to loot and trash whatever was left and the place slowly turned into the ruins they are today.

A very sad story I must say and I visuallized myself starting it up again. A very costly and risky business to get oneself into, but as the contract period expires, which was any time now, I'm sure someone with solid finances will start something again. Hopefully something as beautiful as you describe Aptera was in its time of glory.

This information I gathered from locals living there and it seem logical, but of course one can't be sure its 100 % true."

It is an interesting tale, but like Daniel, I have to express some caution. It is always difficult to separate rumour, fact, and stories that sounds good for tourists - I've myself heard three different versions of how the bird was removed from the top of the Germaniko Pouli war memorial!

Incidentally, our photos of Aptera Beach Resort recently featured on a website which listed 16 abandoned hotel complexes - some of the others look really intriguing too.

Comments

[Gemma]

Whatever the real story, the result is simply so sad! Obviously, this was once a beautiful place! If only it could be again! Unfortunately, money must enter the equation along with a few solid visions!

[maria v]

of the zillions of times that i have passed this resort, i have had exactly the same sentiments as daniel!

[Gary Krall]

So what are the "three different versions"?

[kretafan]

it’s my first visit here,very interesting story.It is realy bad that this place is now not use for have a nice holiday on Crete.