What was meant to be a symbol of luxury tourism in the popular Central American country of Costa Rica, set to become the biggest condo project in the region’s history with over 200 units, quickly descended into a nightmare as its investors from around the world pulled their funding. Today, the abandoned site is heavily guarded with fences, barbed wire and 24-hour security.

The Sonesta Jacó Resort and Beach Club hotel project, led by Joshua Ten Brink’s Riverside Developers, was set to cost $70 million (£53 million) and its 200 condominiums ready for use by early 2009. Its main goal was to create a sense of luxury living within a tropical setting, boasting oceanview homes, infinity pools, a spa and wellness centre, a gourmet restaurant and private beach access. However, construction came to an abrupt end in 2010, leaving those who had invested in limbo.

In 2007, the Sonesta project was financed by the prestigious Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). A year later, the project had already completed 84% of its construction and three-quarters of the condominiums had already been sold.

However, a year later, CABEI, alleging a breach of the loan agreement signed between the parties, accelerated the debt repayment without giving the company a chance to get off the ground. The situation ended up in the Costa Rican courts, with the banks suing for damages.

Today, Sonesta stands abandoned, with clear signs of neglect, posing a safety concern. Meanwhile, the project’s failure hit many of the 155 investors hard, with several facing losses of about $16 million (£12 million).

Costa Rican lawyer and one of the mediators, Humberto Fallas, emphasised that what happened in Jacó “is a bad example that should not be repeated,” according to The Costa Rica News.

Costa Rica is the most visited nation in the Central American region, with 3.14 million foreign visitors in 2019, declining to 2.11 million in 2022.

This comes as another huge project, the world’s tallest abandoned hotel, has also never received a single guest. Towering 1,080 feet over the skyline of Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, the Ryugyong Hotel stands as one of the most striking and mysterious buildings in the world. For decades, the hotel has stood unfinished and empty, and is often dubbed the “Hotel of Doom”.

It was intended to house five revolving restaurants and either 3,000 or 7,665 guest rooms across 105 floors, according to different sources. It is said to have already cost the nation an eyewatering £559 million. Today, it remains a concrete shell.