Ah, October – when the air begins to chill, the leaves begin to fall and the ghosts come out to play. Even if you don’t believe in them, restless spirits are top of mind as we approach the most haunted of holidays, Halloween. So if you want a late October getaway, complete with a possible apparition, check out these 10 otherwise historic and romantic hotels that do not hide the fact that at least a few of their guests refuse to check out.
1. The Don CeSar, A Loews Hotel, St. Petersburg, FL This “Pink Palace” was built in 1928 by Thomas Rowe for his lost love Lucinda (who died after her father forbid her to marry Rowe) and the ghost of a man in a suit and panama hat, accompanied by a woman with dark hair, is said to wander the second, fifth and sixth floors, from $254/night.
2. Equinox Resort & Spa, Manchester, VT More than 200 years of history make this luxury resort (shown above, courtesy of Equinox Resort & Spa), comprised of 17 structures in six architectural styles, a hotbed for the suite hereafter. Newly renovated, the property is reportedly roamed by ghosts that include Mary Todd Lincoln and her son, who had been frequent guests, from $159/night.
3. The Heathman Hotel, Portland, OR Only brave souls should check into a room ending in “03” (especially 703) at this circa-1927 luxury hotel (recently given a “green” facelift), where repeated ghost sightings are thought to be linked to a suicide not long after the property opened, from $174/night.
4. Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Los Angeles Historic (built in 1927) yet hip, this recently renovated hot spot with its iconic red neon rooftop sign is where the first Academy Awards ceremony was held. Some A-list ghosts also think it’s still the place to be seen: It is reportedly haunted by both Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift, from $239/night.
5. Hotel del Coronado, San Diego Marilyn Monroe also frolicked here while filming Some Like It Hot, but this red-roofed,white Victorian beachfront resort (shown at right, courtesy of Hotel del Coronado) is also known for being visited by the ghost of beautiful, young Kate Morgan, who checked in on Nov. 24, 1892 and never checked out, from $299/night.
6. Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans If any city is ghost-central, it’s the Big Easy and this circa-1886 French Quarter hotel is said to be home to a dozen – including former employees and playing children. Creepiest of all is the door to Le Café restaurant, which mysteriously opens and closes on its own even when locked, from $264/night.
7. Kehoe House, Savannah, GA This 1892 mansion, now a posh B&B, serves up a double whammy of frights: Not only did it spend most of the 20th century as a funeral parlor, but all the fireplaces have been blocked and decorated with angels – due perhaps to a legend that young twins died playing in one – and most of the ghost sightings are of children, from $300/night.
8. La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe, NM Built in 1922 on a corner that has housed an inn (or “fonda”) for 400 years, this adobe landmark (show at left, courtesy of La Fonda Hotel) is reportedly haunted by the ghosts of a mid-19th-century judge who was shot in the lobby and a failed salesman who jumped down an adjacent well, from $204/night.
9. The Sagamore Resort, Bolton Landing, NY This gabled resort on Lake George opened in 1883. After falling into disrepair a century later, it was shuttered and then restored to its glory – but its ghosts never left. They include a couple in Victorian attire who try to dine in the Trillium restaurant and a young boy who throws errant golf balls back at golfers and giggles, from $159/night.
10. The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, CO If a hotel can inspire Stephen King (he wrote “The Shining” after a night in room 217) then it’s got to be spooky. Opened in 1909, this Rocky Mountain landmark celebrates its notoriety as one of the country’s most haunted hotels (especially the ballroom) with ghost tours and scrutiny by TV shows such as Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures, from $139/night.
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