Inside the eerie abandoned Benidorm street with desolate nightclub & mini golf course left to rot
BENIDORM is famed for being a boozy Brit hotspot but one abandoned street in the famous town has been left untouched for years.
Once a thriving tourist haven, Lepanto Street is now lined up with desolate attractions from a deserted nightclub to a rotting mini golf course.
On a quiet warm June day, the street stands out next to some of Benidorm’s busiest areas.
While the nearby tourist hotspots are packed with holidaymakers and locals, this one is frozen in time, with no one strolling through.
Overgrown weeds have taken hold of the strip as graffiti and litter swamp the street and reminisce of construction work remains.
What caught our eye was an old nightclub with a fearsome blue tiger plastered on the front – now abandoned and empty, with locals telling us it used to be called “Leon.”
One of the biggest attractions along the dust-laced street was Cafe Benidorm – known as one of the best and most magical nightclubs in Alicante.
The bar is often seen as a must-visit spot in Spain for stag-do revellers, boozy Brits and even locals.
But since welcoming the likes of Bruno Mars through its front doors the club has been abandoned for several years.
It previously closed down in 2020 during the pandemic and after a brief reopening in August 2021, the entrance lights were turned off for good.
Now it sits in the middle of the strip surrounded by bordered-up shops and restaurants.
Outdated banners and rusting tables and chairs still adorn the outside seating area.
The once bright and shiny welcome signs enticing thousands of tourists are now just dark, lifeless and gloomy.
Elsewhere on the disregarded strip sits reminders of the former tourist haven which attracted rowdy Brits almost every year.
Catering to their most common visitor several British restaurants are scattered across the street.
An aptly named “The Famous British Chippy Benidorm” was once brimming with hungry tourists looking for a bite to eat before heading home.
Today, the black and dusty shutters are all that can be seen alongside the fading pictures of food and scuffed signs.
Next door sits a banner advertising the Premier League from a bygone season with Harry Kane still in a Tottenham kit and Mason Mount donning a 2021 Chelsea strip.
For tourists looking to sober up after a big night out in the clubs and pubs a cute mini golf course was available to play on the cheap.
But since the tourists stopped returning the course’s manager decided to follow swiftly.
Depressing pictures show one of the holes covered in overgrown weeds with masses of rubbish scattered along the greens.
Dead trees can also be seen slumped on the ground with the hole’s main obstacle – a small pink house – crumbling away.
Most abandoned spots end up quickly falling victim to graffiti artists looking to scrawl symbols and messages across failed businesses.
The eerie street of Avenida de Mallorca has faced the same miserable fate.
Yellowing spray paint can be seen in almost every direction sprawled across decaying bricks, ripped tarpaulin and even closed shutters.
Benidorm has reportedly seen a steep decline in tourism in certain areas after the pandemic caused havoc for business owners and overseas renters.
This caused many homes, apartments and offices to be left empty and even led to several people to begin squatting across the Costa Blanca.
A British expat has even started to run a stray animal sanctuary in the ruins of an abandoned Benidorm villa due to how accessible and cheap they are.
SPAIN’S TOURISM CRACKDOWN
It comes as Benidorm authorities recently started to impose fines of up to £650 on people caught drinking on the beach.
Two Brits are thought to have become the first victims of the stringent beach booze ban last week.
Along with the alcohol bans, anyone caught smoking on the beach will be slapped with a £1,700 fine as using soap or shampoo while on the sand will leave you with a £560 fee.
If you’re seen riding a scooter, making graffiti or are caught nude in non-nude spaces, you can also be given a hefty fine.
Benidorm’s strict policing is just the latest in a line of measures looking to crackdown on problem tourists across Spain.
The Balearic Islands, which hosts millions of UK holidaymakers every year, have been rolling out similar restrictions in some resorts.
Since early May, tourists have not been able to get their hands on booze between 9.30pm and 8am in parts of Majorca and Ibiza.
There is a “total ban of the sale of alcohol” in popular tourist hotspots like Palma de Mallorca, Magaluf, Sant Antoni in Ibiza and Llucmajor.
Bars and restaurants in the area will also have to comply with the stringent restrictions, forcing them to shut from 9.30pm to 8am.
There is also limits on organised drinking in communal areas.
Local authorities have confirmed the clampdown will stay in place until at least December 31, 2027.
Anti-tourism protests have erupted throughout Tenerife and Majorca since summer started.
Over 15,000 people stormed through the Majorca’s capital Palma jeering at visitors as they sat down for meals.
Stickers have been plastered around the island, reading: “More tourists? No thanks”, “Stop Tourism” and “Tourist go home — you are not welcome here”.
Protesters have told The Sun their recent action is just the start, and say they will keep up their campaign until holidaymakers stay away.