Haunted Hotels Offer Thrills Beyond Luxury Amenities
From a Georgia inn haunted by yellow fever victims to a Colorado lodge that inspired Stephen King, these historic properties embrace their ghostly reputations and invite guests to spend the night with the supernatural.
For travelers who find standard luxury amenities forgettable, a growing number of historic hotels are offering something far more memorable: the chance to sleep in a room with a resident ghost. Across the United States and Europe, properties with dark histories and unexplained occurrences are turning their haunted reputations into a selling point, complete with ghost tours, paranormal investigations, and rooms that come with stories no ordinary resort can match.
In Savannah, Georgia, the Marshall House has been welcoming guests since 1851, when Mary Magdalene Marshall established it as one of the city's first hotels. The building served as a makeshift hospital during a mid-19th-century yellow fever epidemic and later as a Union hospital near the end of the Civil War. Guests today report hearing children running down the halls at night, spotting strange figures in the foyers, and watching faucets turn on by themselves. The hotel leans into its reputation with a nightly social hour, sometimes featuring live entertainment, where visitors can sip spirits among the spirits. Rates start at approximately $221 per night.
In Eureka Springs, Arkansas, the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa carries a darker past. A stonemason fell to his death during construction just before the hotel opened, and in the early 20th century a young woman may have been pushed from a top-floor window. The property later fell into the hands of Norman Baker, a quack doctor who subjected mental patients to inhumane treatments before his eventual arrest. Visitors now report seeing doctors, nurses, and patients roaming the corridors. Room 218, where the stonemason died, is considered the most haunted spot. The hotel offers daily ghost tours and midnight ESP investigations, and guests can view Baker's old autopsy table in the basement. Rates start around $170 per night plus a $21.72 resort fee.
For those willing to travel abroad, Scotland's Drovers Inn in Argyll & Bute offers a historic setting with shared bathrooms in standard rooms and a ghost tour available on request. Rates start at roughly £90, or about $115, including breakfast. In England, the Mermaid Inn in Rye, East Sussex, dates back centuries and offers ghost tours on request, with rates from approximately £215, or about $270, including breakfast. The hotel is pet friendly for an additional £5 per night with prior arrangement.
Back in the United States, the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, may be the most famous haunted property on the list. It inspired Stephen King's «The Shining» and offers multiple tours year-round, including classic, Shining-themed, Halloween, and Frozen Dead Guy tours. Haunted rooms start at approximately $359 per night, while standard rooms begin around $239. The historic rooms do not have air conditioning. In South Dakota, the Hotel Alex Johnson in Rapid City offers a ghost adventure package that includes a haunted room, a detector, and a $25 dining credit. Rates start at about $87 per night plus a $5.99 destination fee.
Other notable properties include the Lodge at Hot Lake Springs in La Grande, Oregon, where guests book via Airbnb and enjoy 24-hour access to hot springs soaking tubs for around $100 per night. The St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico, offers historic rooms without air conditioning or televisions for about $115 per night, while annex rooms have modern amenities. In California, the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, a National Historic Landmark directly on the beach, charges around $350 per night plus a resort fee and offers ghost tours. The Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada, sits next to the Old Tonopah Cemetery and offers paranormal investigations for about $85 per night. Its neighbor, the Mizpah Hotel, provides ghost tours and guided cemetery walks for around $135 per night.
For international travelers, the Gran Hotel Bolivar in Lima, Peru, offers a historic stay with breakfast included for approximately $85 per night. The hotel does not allow pets, and Peruvian law prohibits cash payments over $500. Prices across all properties vary significantly by season, with October being the busiest and most expensive month. Travelers are advised to confirm rates and availability directly with each property before booking.
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