Why £600m 'hotel of doom' was built despite it never having had any guests stay there

Many of us would consider a bad hotel to have a combination dirty bedsheets, run-down rooms and snotty staff.

However, even a crappy bed and breakfast has housed more guests than North Korea's Ryugyong Hotel - the 63rd tallest building in the world at 330 metres.

The 'hotel of doom', located in North Korea's capital Pyongyang, began construction in 1987 and was supposed to open two years later.

Costing approximately $750 million, the hotel was intended to break the record for the world's tallest, which at the time was held by a South Korean company.

ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images

The structure itself was originally planned to house five revolving restaurants, and either 3,000 or 7,665 guest rooms, according to different sources.

But with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, who were funding the building, construction stopped in 1992.

The property was well and truly unliveable, with no windows or interior fittings.

Construction resumed again in 2008 and the impressive exterior - looking like it belonged to a Bond villain - was completed in 2011.

While the opening was scheduled for 2012, it later got pushed back to 2013.

As you might gather from the headline, a new opening date is yet to be finalised.

More than 30 years since work began, the hotel is still yet to open - though one man who's been inside the building has made clear that it's not exactly a welcoming environment.

Liu Zhen/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

Simon Cockerell, general manager of a company specialising in North Korea tours, told CNN: "They took us into the lobby area, where there was a lot of exposed cement. Then we went (on) the one working elevator to the top, which was the 99th floor, I believe.

“It took a long time to get there, because it was a service elevator, not a modern lift with a string of buttons. There was a lift operator who determined where to stop.

“At the top we had a look around, took some pictures and went back down to the lobby again.”

Further work on the hotel took place in 2018, with LED lights fitted to one side, showing animations of North Korean films.

Also in an attempt to make the inhabitable property look a bit more pleasant, there's an LED sign which simply reads: "The Ryugyong Hotel."

It's still not yet open for bookings, though.

We wonder if it ever will be.

Topics: Travel, World News

Anish Vij

Anish is a GG2 Young Journalist of the Year 2024 finalist. He has a Master's degree in Multimedia Journalism and a Bachelor's degree in International Business Management. Apart from that, his life revolves around the ‘Four F’s’ - family, friends, football and food. Email: [email protected]

@Anish_Vij