Closed in 2006, newspaper articles suggest there was something untoward as supposedly 61 former employees have since ‘passed on’. Despite attempts by the government to sell and redevelop the site in 2009 it continues to slowly decay.

It is a strange design with not a straight line in sight, all curves and circles, impressive if not actually attractive. Also it occupies a large central position on the Boulevard and the real estate must be worth a fortune.

I was briefly detained by a security guard with rifle who phoned his superiors to work out what should be done with the ‘Blanche’ with camera from the hotel next door. He then asked me to show him my photos and requested I delete each image of the hotel. This is the only photo that escaped his attention.