In Crimea, luxury development continues in the wake of a cunningly nomadic gambling zone

The Zhemchuzhina sanatorium, located near one of Crimea's landmarks, the Swallow's Nest castle-museum, will become a luxury hotel complex with 320 rooms.

The 17-hectare sanatorium site was originally planned for a "gambling zone" and was even removed from Yalta's municipal lands, as gambling is prohibited within the city limits, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.

The Zhemchuzhina Sanatorium was formerly a health resort for the State Customs Service of Ukraine. After Crimea became part of the Russian Federation, many departmental health resorts came under the supervision of the relevant Russian services, but Zhemchuzhina was identified as ideal for a "gambling zone" – its isolated location, potential for the construction of a yacht marina, and proximity to Belbek Airport.

But in 2018, for unspecified reasons, the "gambling zone" relocated to Katsiveli, and the Council of Ministers leased the land of the Zhemchuzhina sanatorium for 49 years to the Infrastructure Projects Management Company (UKIP) for the construction of a five-star hotel with 172 rooms. According to RBC, that same year, Zhemchuzhina was sold for 529 million rubles to entities owned by Russian businessman Arkady Rotenberg, who now intends to build a hotel complex for 15 billion rubles and name it "Rahil" in honor of his mother.

The project is being implemented by Vizant Group, which manages the Ai-Petri, Miskhor and Dulber sanatoriums, which were purchased from Crimea in the same 2018. Zhemchuzhina will have its utility networks replaced, its buildings reconstructed and a medical center, restaurants and conference halls added. Construction as part of an apartment complex is being considered.

Rotenberg promised to invest in the reconstruction of the pedestrian bridge to the Swallow's Nest Castle and to build several observation decks overlooking the landmark. However, the businessman did not specify whether access to the castle would be provided through the sanatorium grounds.

The reconstruction is expected to be completed in 2027, after which the complex will be able to accommodate up to 100 thousand guests per year.

It should be noted that the reconstruction project of "Zhemchuzhina" was exhibited at the international architectural festival "Zodchestvo" in Moscow in 2019. At that time, it was included in the list of the most large-scale and innovative architectural solutions in Crimea.

The "gambling zone" in Katsiveli also failed to catch on : the same "Infrastructure Projects Management Company" LLC, linked to Arkady Rotenberg, signed an agreement with the Crimean government, receiving over 14 hectares along with the unfinished "Fortuna" sanatorium. Two years later, it sold the Soviet-era building to the companies of former Krasnodar Krai Governor Alexander Tkachev, who are also involved in the "Krasnaya Polyana" resort and "Casino Sochi."

The project's initial cost has grown from 3 billion rubles to 15 billion , and experts have questioned whether it will be fully realized—it's likely that apartments for sale will replace the high-end hotel on the site of the unfinished building.