The Ariau Towers is an abandoned boutique hotel in Brazil. It is located 60 km northwest of Manaus on the Rio Negro, a major tributary of the Amazon River. The concept for the property was that of Dr. Francisco Ritta Bernardino.Ariau Towers Amazon The property featured 6 towers, with all 291 rooms elevated from the rain forest floor by approximately 10-20m and connected by approximates of catwalks. Amenities included two restaurants and three swimming pools.ARIAU AMAZON TOWERS HOTEL
The hotel complex was one of the oldest and largest jungle lodges in the Amazon.Larry Rohter, "Into the Amazon -- a journey with a bit of comfort", The New York Times, October 12, 2007. It became known for its luxury accommodations and celebrity guests.John Henderson, "Rooms With a Jungle View:Deep in the rain forest is the Ariau Amazon Towers Hotel, an elaborate, luxurious lodging where rooms and catwalks at tree level allow a closer walk with wildlife", Los Angeles Times, May 9, 1999. Describing it as "the ultimate treehouse", travel writer Patricia Schulz included the hotel as one of her "1,000 Places to See Before You Die".Patricia Schulz, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (Workman Publishing, 2003), , pp. 818ff. Excerpts available at Google Books. On the other hand, the editors of Frommer's South America severely criticized the hotel for its "mass-market" offerings and its lack of environmental sensitivity, calling it "all that is wrong with Amazon 'ecotourism'".Nicholas Gill et al., eds., Frommer's South America, 5th ed. (John Wiley & Sons, 2010), , p. 346. Excerpts available at Google Books. The hotel closed down in 2016.Ariau Towers Manacapuru, Brazil, Permanently Closed
Structure The hotel had 288 units split amongst apartments, suites (located in the towers) and tree houses. The tallest of the units, the Tarzan House, was built on top of a living mahogany tree, at the height of 22 m from the ground. The towers were interlinked by a wooden catwalk system of approximately , all within the canopy of the rainforest. Other facilities within these tree tops included 2 swimming pools, two observation towers high and a panoramic auditorium for 450 people. There were also restaurants serving regional foods, bars and convenience stores.Ariau Amazon Towers - The Amazon rainforest - nature, adventure, native indians and animals
Activities The hotel had various tours available within the forest, such as canoe walk, jungle walk, piranha fishing, visit to native's houses, and observation of nightlife animals. Visitors could also observe the Meeting of the Waters, where the Rio Negro and the Solimoes River meet, but because of density and different temperatures don't get mixed. The separate shades of water run side by side for a length of more than four miles (6 km) without mixing. Macaws and various species of native and non-native monkeys are common around the towers.
Closure In 2015, the government seized the property and planned to sell it to pay off its debt, with an asking price of US$8.3 million.Ariaú Amazon Towers A news item in May 2017 stated that the property would be sold by auction in September of that year with a suggested price of US$2.3 million, and a minimum bid of 2 million.Ariau Tower will be sold this month in online auction with a minimum bid of two million A real estate listing in August 2019 indicated that the property was then for sale for €2.5 million. The description provided these specifics:[A hotel like a movie, in the Amazon jungle Brazil PROPERTY ID 17212]The Ariaú closed the doors in 2016, despite the abandonment, the facilities still impress, with an architecture totally adapted to the forest and the river ... with all the advances would make this hotel again a unique hotel worldwide. All the usable materials of the hotel, inside and outside, were stripped for re-use by locals by 2022.
References
External links Ariau Amazon Towers' website Ariau Amazon Towers Hotel website Photos of Ariau Amazon Towers