Fingleton’s abandoned Montenegro resort in ruins

A proposed luxury hotel development by former Irish Nationwide banker Michael Fingleton for a Montenegro resort still lies in a dilapidated state, almost a year after he promised local officials he would advance plans for the project.

Photographs supplied to The Irish Times by Australian blogger Paul Erickson illustrate the eyesore that the abandoned Hotel Fjord Kotor has become for the otherwise picturesque coastal tourist town.

The hotel was to have been redeveloped into a luxury five-star resort by Mr Fingleton, who reportedly paid over €5 million in 2006 for control of the project through his firm, New Fjord Developments.

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The abandoned Fjord Hotel in Kotor Bay, Montenegro. Michael Fingleton is an investor and the hotel has been the centre of several legal disputes in recent years. Photograph: Paul Erickson

Last year he told local mayor Marija Catovic he intends to pursue the redevelopment, which had become bogged down in disputes between Mr Fingleton, his creditors and former business partners.

Rubbish-strewn site
But according to Mr Erickson, who visited the area in recent weeks, the Hotel Fjord site remains abandoned and strewn with rubbish. "The only part of it that is used is the tennis court, which some of the locals play on," he said. "The windows are smashed in, anybody can just walk straight in and there is nobody at all on site."

Mr Erickson said locals had told him the tourist economy depends heavily on Russian visitors, although even that could be hit by political tensions.

The Irish Times was unable to reach Mr Fingleton for comment last night.