Hotel Silver Swan, Austria

The Hotel Silver Swan is an abandoned hotel, lost in the snowy embrace of the Austrian Alps. It used to be a glamorous hotel and part of a thriving ski resort. A well-known performer and her husband once owned the hotel itself. Ultimately, the hotel went bankrupt, closing its doors in the early 2000s. For years, it stood empty and decaying. My photos show a snapshot of what it looked like in 2016, when I visited. In the intervening years, the hotel changed hands between various developers, all with grand plans to reopen it. Eventually, in 2022, someone saw its potential. An Austrian real-estate company acquired the site with big plans. They say it’ll reopen in 2025, but at the moment, it is unclear if the present building will be demolished or renovated.

Inside the abandoned Silver Swan Hotel

The hotel was likely primarily intended as a ski resort. It features traditional wooden decor found in these types of hotels. The hotel is built in a mountainous area, overlooking fantastic views of the valleys below.

The Hotel Silver Swan banquet hall has an exquisitely carved wooden ceiling. In the middle of the ceiling, there is a prominent ceiling rose and central chandelier. The tattered red curtains sway in the breeze. Vines and vegetation encroach through a broken window. There are two lonely chairs stand in the middle of the otherwise empty room.

Abundant stained glass windows adorn the hotel. The doors to the banquet hall feature a stylised scene of a stag among mountains. The corridors have semi-circular windows featured colourful fruit and autumn-coloured leaf motifs.

In the basement is a large swimming pool. The large windows overlook the mountain views and the nearby town.

We arrived at Hotel Silver Swan just as the light failed, on a summer’s night in 2016. We decided to camp half-way up a hill behind the hotel. The only sound was the distant “clink” of cowbells in the distance. We spent the evening with a few beers and enjoying the stars. In the morning a spectacular panoramic mountain vista greeted us, with the abandoned hotel at its centre.