You might be looking at this building wondering what happened. This used to be Rondablikk Høyfjellshotell, a traditional mountain hotel dating back to the 1920s. It burned down and was rebuilt in 1977. The locals called it "the last peak in Rondane" because of its location here on Kvamsfjellet, right at the foot of Norway's first national park.
The hotel had a troubled history even before things went really wrong. The previous owner went bankrupt during the 2008 financial crisis, and the local bank ended up owning it for years. In August 2015, an investor from Gjøvik called Ola Moe bought the hotel. He had plans for a luxury chain called Pure Hotels, which included several historic properties around Norway.
But then came the refugee crisis. In October 2015, while the hotel manager was on holiday abroad, Moe converted the hotel into an emergency asylum centre over a single weekend. Staff went from serving tourists on Saturday to caring for refugees on Monday, with no warning and no training. His companies earned around three million kroner per week housing asylum seekers at this and other properties.
This happened at several mountain hotels across Norway. These were temporary placements - people would stay a few weeks or months before being moved to permanent locations with proper facilities. Still, it caused friction. Many Norwegians couldn't understand why anyone would complain about staying in a beautiful mountain hotel. But for people waiting in limbo, not knowing where they'd end up, the isolation felt like being forgotten in the wilderness.
The centre closed after two months. Staff weren't paid. Court cases followed. The operating company went bankrupt in 2019. Another operator tried, went bankrupt again in 2024. The hotel has been for sale for years.
If it ever reopens properly, it would be a fantastic base for hiking into Rondane. But for now, it sits here waiting.