Dozens of ruined and dilapidated former hotels, casinos and state resorts, abandoned after the Yugoslav Wars, line Croatia's bejeweled Adriatic coast.

But there is one with a particularly salacious history: the Haludovo Hotel.

In the 1970s it was an oasis of hedonism. Conceived and financed by Bob Guccione, one of America's most infamous porn barons, corseted hostesses roamed around called “Penthouse Pets” bringing guests champagne. Saddam Hussein would remain in the master suite.

Now it is littered with graffiti and rubble, a building code nightmare.

But while the former Palace of 'Peace and Porn' is a decaying shell, many curious tourists still make a pilgrimage to its remains, on the sun-drenched island of Krk, to capture its crumbling grandeur in photos. Haludovo is almost as fascinating a building in disrepair as it was when it was still a swinging hotspot.

In the 1960s, Guccione – founder of Penthouse Magazine, the first American publication to feature full nudity – dreamed of building a lavish resort in Malinska, Krk, consisting of luxury hotels and a grand casino, to bring a wealthy American clientele to the city to pull. largely ignored socialist Yugoslavia.

It seemed like a smart business decision: although the country had casinos for tourists, the people of Yugoslavia were prohibited from gambling in them. Consequently, casinos remained largely untaxed.

Guccione hoped that wealthy American tourists would go to Krk to gamble their money away at his hotel, where he could hire locals to work without any American labor laws coming into play.

In a 1972 interview with Radio Free EuropeGuccione said he believed his resort would be a “real formula in the fight against the Cold War” and claimed it would help humanize socialist Croats in the eyes of Americans and vice versa.

Guccione poured $45 million (approximately $376 million/£296 million in modern currency) into developing the property and casino (under the ownership of Croatian corporate group Brodokomerc), enlisting Boris Magaš, one of the most celebrated Croatian architects of the twentieth century, to design the complex. At the time, the hotel was strikingly modern: now architects consider it a classic example of the Brutalist style.

Construction took four years and the Haludovo Palace Hotel and Penthouse Adriatic Club Casino opened to great fanfare in 1972. A 1972 advertisement for Haludovo in Penthouse magazine described the resort as a “mile-long Xanadu of glittering buildings.” [that] will become a leading playground for international celebrities, both for the summer and winter seasons.'

Every inch of the complex is designed for relaxation, fun and decadence: from glittering chandeliers to poolside cocktail service, and from a bowling alley to fashionable 'conversation pits'.

The lavish estate had 17 tennis courts, a mini football pitch and mini golf, as well as water skiing, paragliding and diving centres. One story – possibly apocryphal, but beautiful to believe – says that one of the many basins was constantly filled with champagne.

According to reports, during the first year, guests consumed 100 kg of lobster, 5 kg of caviar and hundreds of bottles of champagne every day. Penthouse 'Pets' – Guccione's answer to Hugh Hefner's Playboy Bunnies – were flown in from the United States and tended to guests dressed in skimpy French maid dresses. Although you may assume that these ladies were used for titillation, Guccione insisted on one publication they were part of his plan for reconciliation between East and West and called them 'the peacekeepers of the new world'.

In its heyday, the resort was a meeting place for global dictators and politicians, American weekend gamblers, the Yugoslav music scene and ordinary citizens. Saddam Hussein was one of Haludovo's most notorious guests.

According to Croatian publication The Balkanist, on one occasion, The Butcher of Baghdad “famously left a $2,000 tip for a particularly pleasant pet.” It was also rumored that he had to postpone his flight back to Baghdad “because his son forgot a gold pistol under a pillow in his suite.”

What Haludovo didn't do, however, is make money: in 1973 it declared bankruptcy due to its extravagant operating costs, although it managed to stay open for the next twenty years (Guccione was bleeding money into the property, part of what a friend called 'A succession of colossally ill-advised business ventures') until 1991, when Yugoslavia was ravaged by civil war.

What was once a haven for the glitterati became a literal refuge: Families displaced by the war were housed in the now decommissioned hotel for the duration of the war. Dismayed when they were unceremoniously evicted at the end of the war, many refugees robbed Haludovo of every conceivable valuable item: pipes, radiators, copper wiring and electrical sockets.

In 1995, the hotel was privatized, after which the investor divided the huge estate into pieces and sold it bit by bit, piece by piece. Although parts of the hotel reopened to guests, it never regained its former opulent patina and clientele. The last recorded guests visited in 2002.

Since then it has fallen further into disrepair. Although a shadow of its former glory, it attracts curious tourists and photographers, but this defunct pleasure palace is quite a dangerous place.

The Balkanist said, “Piles of broken glass cover the floor. Large pieces of the concrete stairs have broken off and fallen to the ground. Floors buckle. The skylights are all shattered, leaving bits of jagged window floating above their heads.

'A long trail of blood leads up two flights of stairs to the top floor. And then there are the disturbing tags, probably written by high school students but still disturbing: 'DIE HELP ME HELP ME' and Saxa loquuntur, which is Latin for 'the stones are talking.'

An Arctic blast is steadily hitting much of the US and getting into the blizzard-like atmosphere, a New York nightclub has undergone a winter transformation in the hope of luring adventurous partygoers out of their apartments.

“I used to throw parties in Austria for people like Arnold Schwarzenegger – he likes to ski and party – so I wanted to bring some of that après-ski atmosphere to New York,” nightlife guru Albert Trummer tells me from his Manhattan nightclub, which is has quickly become one of the most popular places in the city.

The Austrian native opened his underground club DOM just over a year ago, and thanks to his far-reaching connections he has hosted a slew of parties for major brands and celebrities alike, with Alicia Keys being the most recent A-lister spotted there boogy de night away.

Trummer is known for his wild imagination — he designed his former Chinatown bar after a pharmacy with drinks marketed for their medicinal properties — and now he's sprinkled some magic on DOM in the form of an après-ski makeover -about.

With the help of a local designer, Trummer has transformed his salubrious hideaway in Gramercy Park into a winter wonderland, which he says was inspired by his days hosting parties on the slopes of Lech, Austria, where everyone from Schwarzenegger to the British royal family attended. would be taken in tow. .

'Those were great times in the 90s, so much fun and now my club is definitely taking me back to those times. It's all about great DJs, a great atmosphere and a crowd that wants to party,” Albert muses.

DOM's makeover comes just in time as temperatures in New York are set to drop over the next week, with readings well below freezing.

Trummer says people should bring out their best winter gear for a ski-themed session at DOM.

The club is open daily from 8pm until the early hours and there is no charge, but Albert says there is a strict door policy.

He likes to think of his client base as sophisticated partygoers, who dress to impress but don't take themselves too seriously.

Along with Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera is a fan of DOM and has booked it for a private party, while luxury powerhouse LVMH has also taken over the venue in the past.

As you enter the club after its alpine facelift, you're suddenly transported to a European-esque chalet retreat, complete with frozen pine trees, twinkling lights and blizzards courtesy of a snow machine.

One thing that still remains is Trummer's extensive art collection, with a side room off the main club area filled with modern tapestries and quirky sculptures.

To get people into the spirit of things, Trummer's team of mixologists (including his equally charismatic son Jacob) has also launched a special drinks menu, with some libations like mulled wine, hot toddies and hot cider.

There will also be alpine shots, with some of Trummer's spicy 80-proof walnut-elderberry liqueur in the mix.

Trummer says that at the soft launch of his après-ski spot, people arrived in everything from ski goggles to fur hats, and he expects even crazier ensembles to emerge in the coming weeks.

He says: 'I think it's great, people really go to the city. This is what I love about this place, it can really be transformed and people get character. We've had jungle parties, Studio 54 parties, Miami art parties… the list goes on.”

DOM's après-ski theme will continue for the next few weeks until New York Fashion Week arrives in February and the glitterati take up residence.

I say goodbye to Trummer, warmed not only by one of his libations, but also by his infectiously cheerful and dreamy spirit.