Cake icon

We’re celebrating 10 years of Wanderu by giving away $10,000 in free travel!  See details ››

6 Haunted Hotels with Celebrity Guests – or Ghosts!

Every year come Halloween time, a lot of people gets into the spooky holiday mood by replaying some all-time favorite horror movies or diving back into a good old scary novel. At Wanderu, however, we like to take things to the next level. That’s why we scoured the U.S. to find six hotels where you can literally hang out with ghosts. Whether you believe ghosts do exist is up to you but if you ever wanted a chance to find out, here are your best bets:

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (Los Angeles, CA)

Photo by Celeste Lindell (edited) / Flickr
Photo by Celeste Lindell (edited) / Flickr

The historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel was home to the very first Academy Awards ceremony and now it is rumored to be home to old Hollywood ghosts! Many visitors have reported spotting a blonde woman in a full-length mirror – the same mirror that used to be in Marilyn Monroe’s poolside suite. Is it Marilyn in the mirror? Head to Hollywood to see for yourself!

How to get there: The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is located at 7000 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028. Hop on the bus to LA from San Diego, San Francisco, Las Vegas and all around the country!

The Pfister Hotel (Milwaukee, WI)

Photo by John Zacherle / Flickr
Photo by John Zacherle / Flickr

Are you afraid of the dark? Some Major League Baseball players sure are – at least at The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee! The spooky sounds and creepy incidents – from windows unexplainably opening to clothes strewn about the room in the middle of the night – have led several professional athletes to resort to sleeping in the lobby or making reservations at a different hotel altogether.

How to get there: Sleep with a bat by your bed at The Pfister at 424 East Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53202. Take a trip to Milwaukee from ChicagoMinneapolisAnn ArborSt. Louis, and many more locations!

The Skirvin Hilton (Oklahoma City, OK)

Photo by Matthew Rutledge (edited) / Flickr
Photo by Matthew Rutledge (edited) / Flickr

Perhaps the biggest home court advantage for the Oklahoma City Thunder is not their arena but The Skirvin Hilton. Most visiting NBA teams stay at this hotel when in town and many have sleepless nights, thanks to supernatural sounds keeping them awake! According to The New York Times, Effie the housekeeper is the spectre haunting the halls of The Skirvin and playing nocturnal games with many NBA stars.

How to get there: Check into The Skirvin Hilton at 1 Park Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 and see if you can guard ghosts better than Derrick Rose. Book a ticket to OKC from Dallas, Austin, Kansas CitySt. Louis and many other cities!

The Heathman Hotel (Portland, OR)

Photo by Melissa Doroquez (edited) / Flickr
Photo by Melissa Doroquez (edited) / Flickr

If you don’t want to get in bed with a ghost, avoid rooms that end in “03” at The Heathman Hotel in Portland, OR. Guests of those rooms have reported unusual occurrences, including a spooky face appearing in the dark or even feeling a presence in their beds! However, famous fictional guests Anastasia and Christian seemed to enjoy the beds at The Heathman in Fifty Shades of Grey.

How to get there: Pull your covers tight and spend the night at The Heathman at 1001 SW Broadway, Portland, Oregon 97205, an easy trip from Seattle, San Francisco, Vancouver and beyond!

Westgate Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)

Photo by Rhett Sutphin (edited) / Flickr
Photo by Rhett Sutphin (edited) / Flickr

The Westgate Las Vegas has had many incarnations, formerly the Las Vegas Hilton and then the Las Vegas Hotel, but through all the changes, one famous guest has remained – The King. Elvis used to perform regularly when it was the Las Vegas Hilton, and apparently, he has never left the building and remains in the penthouse suite.

How to get there: Experience your own Elvis sighting at the Westgate Las Vegas, just off the strip at 3000 S. Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NV, 89109. Book a trip from Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix and even more places!

The Stanley Hotel (Estes Park, CO)

Photo by paurian (edited) / Flickr
Photo by paurian (edited) / Flickr

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, so take a trip out to the Rocky Mountain Wilderness and stay at the hotel that inspired The Shining. Stephen King was a guest at The Stanley Hotel for only one night but experienced enough spooky incidents to fill his terrifying novel. Though The Shining movie was not filmed at the hotel, you can visit The Stanley to star in your own scary story!

How to get there: The frightening incidents at The Stanley are only amplified by the fact that the hotel is isolated at 333 East Wonderview Avenue, Estes Park, CO 80517. To get out there, book a bus ticket to Fort Collins, CO, then rent a car for an hour drive to the most famous haunted hotel in America.

Head to one of these haunted hotels for a celebrity sighting of the creepy kind this Halloween!

Like what you read?
Spread the word:

About the author
Kate Sedrowski

Kate Sedrowski

Kate Sedrowski is on a mission to spread delight while inspiring and encouraging people to travel. Her favorite travel companion is her teddy bear, and her favorite souvenir is the scar from the broken nose she got in a snowball fight in Québec City.

Wander with us!

No monkey business, just cheap deals on bus & train travel, straight to your email inbox

Come wander with us!

Follow us for travel hacks, inspo, and deals right in your feed: