Haunted Hotels
Ghosts Are Great, But How's the Room?
Haunted hotels are a popular topic for avid travelers. The chance to witness a real, honest-to-goodness ghost draws thousands of both travel and paranormal enthusiasts to ghost towns and haunted hotels. Once they've stayed at these famous spooky destinations, we hear plenty about how the ghost experience went...but little about how the actual room was. Sure, you saw a disembodied head floating over your head at three in the morning but...was the bed comfortable? I think it's time to take a closer look at these haunted hotel landmarks and talk about more than scary and unexplained phenomenon.
Hotel Provincial
1024 Chartres St.
New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 581-4995
Affordable, elegant and reportedly haunted by 18th and 19th century spirits, the Hotel Provincial is an adorable answer to the haunted hotel with comfort combined. In the rooms themselves, you'll find amazing antique furnishings and elegant accents like crystal chandeliers. It is easy to understand why the dearly departed of New Orleans' vibrant history feel at home at the Hotel Provincial, as everything feels somehow stuck in time. There are still plenty of modern amenities, like cable television and wireless internet that allow this haunted hotel to keep up with more contemporary lodgings. This is a great option for anyone with a romantic sense of style visiting New Orleans, not just those looking to spot some ghosty figures.
The Stanley Hotel
333 East Wonder View Avenue
Estes Park, CO 80517
(970) 586-3371
The Staley Hotel is one of the most famous haunted hotels in America, made even more famous by the inspiration it lent to Steven King's best selling novel The Shining. The rooms are understated but elegant, conjuring up feelings of antique rustic charm. The views from the suites are incredible, the perfect Colorado landscapes. Before you settle in for the night to wait for the sounds of disembodied children laughing and playing, you can take a guided ghost tour. This is more than a haunted hotel, it's an classy haunted resort. For relaxation after a sleepless night of ghostly visions, you can get a wonderful massage at the onsite Parlour Spa. Another hotel that should appeal to a wide range of travelers, not just those interested in the paranormal.
Carolina Inn
211 Pittsboro St.
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
1 (800) 962-8519
Warm and rich decor, Southern hospitality and plenty of credible ghost encounters puts the Carolina Inn on the University of North Carolina campus in the running for the swankiest haunted hotel south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Now is a great time to visit the Carolina Inn, as it will be undergoing an extensive restoration and renovation project until the end of 2010. Paranormal enthusiasts will tell you that when a historically haunted site is the center of construction, it can stir up a wave of activity. Modern amenities are infused into a distinctly antique environment that pays due tribute to the inn, which has served guests since 1924.
Keep in mind while planning your next haunted hotel trip that there are plenty of destinations that combine spooky history with real luxury and comfort.
