America's abandoned resorts are monuments to leisure that time abandoned — grand Catskills hotels where Mel Brooks and Jerry Seinfeld launched their careers from stages now open to the sky, a San Antonio mineral spring resort where Sarah Bernhardt bathed in sulfurous water and a Majestic Hotel in Hot Springs Arkansas whose baths drew Al Capone. Here are the 5 best abandoned resorts in the USA, selected from our Abandoned Places Map USA — 5,000+ GPS locations across the United States.
1. Nevele Grand Hotel – 1901 Ellenville, New York — Borscht Belt Resort of 900 Rooms, Olympic Pool Still Filled, Grand Ballroom Stage Still Standing, Sullivan County (Known Location)
The Nevele Grand (the name is "eleven" backwards — the number of original bungalows) grew from an 1887 boarding house to a 900-room Catskills resort empire serving New York City's Jewish community through the Borscht Belt's golden era. Comedy legends and Motown artists performed in the grand ballroom; the Olympic pool served thousands of summer guests. When cheap air travel made Florida accessible, the Nevele collapsed like the rest of the Catskills. It closed in 2009; the grand ballroom stage still stands, the Olympic pool still holds water and 900 rooms of Catskills hospitality decay in the Sullivan County forest. One of the most atmospheric abandoned resorts in the USA.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Nevele Grand Hotel
2. Majestic Hotel Hot Springs – 1882 Hot Springs, Arkansas — Al Capone's Favorite Spa, Closed 2006, Eight-Story Facade Still Intact Above a Gutted Interior (Known Location)
Hot Springs was the original American spa city — its thermal bath houses drew presidents and gangsters alike from the 1880s through the 1960s. The Majestic Hotel served them all, with Al Capone reportedly maintaining a suite for extended stays in the 1920s. Closed in 2006 after decades of decline, the eight-story Beaux Arts facade still stands on Central Avenue while the interior is gutted. The surrounding Bathhouse Row — the most intact collection of early 20th-century spa architecture in America — provides extraordinary context. One of the most historically layered abandoned resorts in the USA. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in the USA →
3. Hot Wells Hotel Ruins – 1901 San Antonio, Texas — Sarah Bernhardt Bathed Here, Fire-Damaged Arched Ruins Still Standing, Original Spring Still Flowing, Bexar County (Known Location)
Opened in 1901 after an 1892 oil well struck sulfurous artesian spring water instead of petroleum, Hot Wells became San Antonio's most fashionable resort — Sarah Bernhardt, William Howard Taft and Tom Mix among those who bathed in the naturally hot mineral waters. Fire damaged the main hotel in 1925 and again in subsequent decades; the arched brick ruins are now Bexar County park with the original spring still flowing alongside the photogenic remains. Freely accessible as a public park. One of the most atmospheric and most accessible abandoned resorts in the USA.
4. Abandoned California Inland Sea Resort – Once the State Riviera, Toxic Lake Killed the Fish, Yacht Clubs Decaying at the Waterline (Exclusively on Our Map)
In the 1950s marketed as California's Riviera — marinas, yacht clubs and resort communities serving Hollywood celebrities. When agricultural runoff raised salinity and killed the fish population, the resorts emptied within years. The abandoned yacht clubs, motel signs and swimming pools on the Salton Sea shoreline create one of the most post-apocalyptic resort landscapes in America. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
In the 1950s the Salton Sea was marketed as California's Riviera — a yacht club, marinas and resort communities drawing Hollywood celebrities to Southern California's inland sea. When agricultural runoff raised salt levels and killed the fish population, the resorts emptied within years. The abandoned yacht clubs, motel signs, swimming pools and fish-bone beaches of the Salton Sea shoreline are now one of the most post-apocalyptic and most photographed abandoned resort landscapes in America. Bombay Beach — a partially inhabited ghost resort town on the eastern shore — is the most accessible point. One of the most visually extraordinary abandoned resorts in the USA. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
5. Abandoned 1870s Steamboat Mineral Spring Resort – Gilded Age Visitors by Steamboat, Spring Still Flowing, Railroad Killed It Overnight, Florida (Exclusively on Our Map)
- Salton Sea toxicity: the shoreline contains arsenic, selenium and pesticide residues — never swim and wash hands thoroughly after any visit; avoid disturbing the dusty shoreline soil
- Structural hazards: resort hotel buildings often have multiple compromised floor levels — never enter above ground floor without confirming structural integrity
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person
❓ FAQ
What was the Borscht Belt?
A collection of Jewish summer resort hotels in Sullivan County, New York's Catskill Mountains, serving New York City's Jewish community from the 1920s through the 1970s. The resorts launched careers including Jerry Seinfeld, Mel Brooks and Don Rickles. When cheap air travel made Florida and the Caribbean accessible, the Catskills collapsed within a decade.
What happened to the Salton Sea resorts?
In the 1950s the Salton Sea was promoted as California's Riviera — marinas, yacht clubs and resort communities serving Hollywood celebrities. When agricultural runoff from Imperial Valley farming raised salinity and killed the fish population, the resorts emptied within years in the 1970s-1980s. The abandoned shoreline is now one of the most visually post-apocalyptic landscapes in America.
Why did Al Capone frequent Hot Springs, Arkansas?
Hot Springs had an unusual status in early 20th-century America — an officially tolerated wide-open city where gambling, prostitution and illegal activities were conducted openly under a corrupt local government arrangement. The Majestic Hotel and the surrounding bathhouse district served both legitimate spa-goers and the criminal class simultaneously through the Prohibition era.
🎯 Summary
America's abandoned resorts range from a 900-room Catskills palace where comedy legends performed in a ballroom now open to the sky, to Al Capone's favorite Arkansas spa and a California Riviera turned toxic lake with yacht clubs decaying at the waterline. Each of these 5 abandoned resorts in the USA captures a different era of American leisure — and the precise moment it ended.
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