Global InformationAriau Towers information
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2014) |
| Ariau Towers | |
|---|---|
 The first of the Ariau Towers | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Abandoned |
| Location | Rio Negro |
| Country | Brasil |
| Coordinates | 3°05′24″S 60°26′26″W / 3.0900°S 60.4405°W |
| Closed | 2016 |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 288 |
The Ariau Towers is an abandoned boutique hotel, 60 km northwest of Manaus, Brazil, on the Rio Negro, a major tributary of the Amazon River. The concept for the property was that of Dr. Francisco Ritta Bernardino.[1] The property featured 6 towers, with all 291 rooms elevated from the rain forest floor by approximately 10-20m and connected by approximates 5 miles (8.0 km) of catwalks. Amenities included two restaurants and three swimming pools.[2]
The hotel complex was one of the oldest and largest jungle lodges in the Amazon.[3] It became known for its luxury accommodations and celebrity guests.[4] 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".[5] 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'".[6] The hotel closed down in 2016.[7]
- ^ Ariau Towers Amazon
- ^ ARIAU AMAZON TOWERS HOTEL
- ^ Larry Rohter, "Into the Amazon -- a journey with a bit of comfort", The New York Times, October 12, 2007.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Patricia Schulz, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (Workman Publishing, 2003), ISBN 978-0761104841, pp. 818ff. Excerpts available at Google Books.
- ^ Nicholas Gill et al., eds., Frommer's South America, 5th ed. (John Wiley & Sons, 2010), ISBN 978-0470649268, p. 346. Excerpts available at Google Books.
- ^ Ariau Towers Manacapuru, Brazil, Permanently Closed