ROYAL MESS Inside ghost town with 7-star hotel ‘owned by King Charles’ left to rot in once idyllic resort turned no-man’s-land

 An abandoned ghost town has been left to rot for decades, despite it containing a seven-star hotel believed to have been owned by King Charles.

This luxury building is still untouched as it was the centerpiece of a once-idyllic resort that was quickly turned into a no-man's-land after years of looting and complete neglect.

The ghost town is in the quiet Cypriot town of Varosha which was once a favorite of stars and celebrities of the time.

According to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus government – which controls part of the island – the King Charles Mega is the owner of the Golden Sands Hotel.

The massive hotel complex was first opened in 1974 and was proudly declared "the world's first seven-star hotel".

It was so big that it even had a railway line inside it to take customers from one room to another.

But according to reports, the hotel was open only for a few months and then it was abandoned.

Tables, cabinets, utensils and crockery sets all inside the shiny walls have been gathering mountains of dust for decades.

But unlike the resort's other properties, the Golden Sands Hotel has been left untouched by looters and has been preserved – earning it the nickname "The Untouched Hotel".

It is still closely monitored and patrolled by several guards and permission is required to enter the nearby grounds.

However, the royal family has previously denied that the king owns it.

The Defense Force has also shut down rumors that it is protected by UK security forces.

When the city of Varosha was flourishing in the 1970s, it was considered a leader in state-of-the-art resorts and tourism.

It was also once described as the "Tourist Mecca of Cyprus" and the "Vegas of the Mediterranean".

Elsewhere in the desolate resort there are 45 hotels, 3,000 commercial properties, 60 apartment hotels, 21 banks, 25 museums, 20 theaters and museums, and 99 entertainment venues.

The sheer number of assets left behind has been described as "a monument to diplomatic failure".

One property belonged to Italian Hollywood superstar Sophia Loren and the resort was also a favorite vacation spot of Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Raquel Welch and Brigitte Bardot.

Outside the Golden Sands Hotel, out of more than 3,000 properties, all were vandalized and attacked by looters - leaving them far from their former appearance.

What happened to Varosha?

Turkish forces reportedly arrived in the city to protect Turkish Cypriots from the Greeks.

The residents of Varosha were forced to flee, fearing they might be massacred by the attacking Turks.

Soldiers then cordoned off the area and stopped anyone from entering, warning that it was a "constricted area".

Tourists were banned from entering and taking photographs inside the fenced-off area, but some managed to sneak in to document the decay.

These days, the crumbling buildings and debris on the streets only hint at the city's former glory days.

Since then, the United Nations has used it to try to bring the two warring groups together, but it is controlled by the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar said he expected Varosha to reopen properly soon as it could benefit trade and tourism.

He explained: "Varosha is definitely being opened up. The tide has turned, a new page has been turned.

"We are successfully moving forward on our path. The inventory work is almost complete, we are in the initial phase."

People were banned from setting foot on Varosha until 2017, when only a small part of it was reopened to the public.

Since reopening, people have flocked to the city to see what the once-royal and luxurious resort still has to offer.

One tourist wrote on TripAdvisor: “It is very emotional and thought-provoking to see a place as beautiful as the bullet holes and have it reclaimed by nature.

"You can't help but feel for the people who once lived here."

As another said: "This is truly a remarkable place, straight out of "Planet of the Apes". A full-fledged holiday beach resort, closed, many of the buildings bear the marks of shelling or bullets from 47 years ago.

“Everything is charming and there are abandoned hotels, houses, unfinished buildings everywhere.”

Say before the third: "It is surprising and sad to see in one moment how this place has gone from heaven to nothingness."