8 Most Haunted Hotels in Colorado to Visit
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Written by Kyle Kroeger
Who knows why there are so many haunted hotels in Colorado? Perhaps it’s the mountain air, the loneliness of yesteryear, or just bad luck. Nonetheless, Colorado has some of the creepiest accommodations in the country.
Other theories about Colorado’s haunted hotels include a belief that it’s because of the high levels of energy in the state. In contrast, others believe that it’s because of the many tragic events that have occurred there.
Either way, these hotels have the thrill you need if you are after paranormal activity. Perhaps you’ll even go home with your own ghost story.
Colorado has many famous haunted hotels, but the most notorious is the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs. The hotel was built in 1893 and has been the site of numerous deaths. However, the most well-known of these haunted hotels is undoubtedly the Stanley Hotel for its connections to Stephen King’s The Shining.
Most Haunted Hotels in Colorado
1. Stanley Hotel, Estes Park
Address: 333 E Wonderview Ave, Estes Park, CO 80517
The Stanley Hotel, located in Estes Park, Colorado, is one of the most famous haunted hotels in Colorado and the entire United States, thanks to the master of horror, Stephen King. The hotel was built in 1909 by F.O. and Flora Stanley and is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of the former owner, F.O. Stanley himself.
The Stanley is also haunted by several other ghosts, including a maid who died in an elevator accident and a young boy who drowned in the hotel pool. Many guests have reported seeing these ghosts and/or hearing strange noises from the hotel.
Featured on many ghost-hunting television shows and considered one of the most haunted places in the United States, The Stanley is an icon. King himself is one of the famous guests who stayed in this hotel in room 217, inspiring his story The Shining.
See Related: Most Haunted Places in the U.S.
2. The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs
Address: 1 Lake Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80906
The five-star hotel in Colorado Springs was built in 1918 by Spencer Penrose and is said to be haunted by several apparitions, including that of a young woman, Julie Penrose, who prefers the penthouse. Rumor has it that folks who stay in Penrose’s room experience cold air, seeing the lights flicker, feeling someone touch them, and just a general feeling of unease.
Other ghosts that are said to haunt the Broadmoor Hotel include a girl who died in a fire and a man who was killed in a car accident. Guests of the hotel have reported seeing these ghosts, hearing strange noises, and feeling cold spots in certain areas of the hotel.
This old hotel might be haunted, but it is one of only three Forbes five-star hotels in Colorado. So whether you’re up for spooky stories, the luxurious Broadmoor will be there to soothe your weary soul.
See Related: Most Haunted Hotels in Minnesota
3. The Victor Hotel, Victor
Address: 321 Victor Ave, Victor, CO 80860
The Victor Hotel in Victor, Colorado, is another famous haunted hotel in Colorado. The hotel was built in 1892 and is said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman named Lola Montez. Lola Montez was a famous courtesan and actress who died in the hotel in 1867.
Guests of the Victor Hotel have reported seeing her ghost as well as hearing strange noises coming from the hotel. There are also reports of apparitions on the hotel’s fourth floor. Why so much paranormal activity on that floor, you may ask? Well, it was used as a morgue during cold winters until the ground could thaw.
If you stay at The Victor, you may also encounter a gentleman named Eddie, who likes his former room 301. Eddie fell an elevator shaft during his stay years ago and has called the third floor home ever since–especially at 3 a.m.
See Related: Most Haunted Hotels in the U.S.
4. The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa, Denver
Address: 321 17th St, Denver, CO 80202
The Brown Palace Hotel in Denver is a gorgeous Art Deco accommodation. The hotel was built in 1892 and is said to have paranormal activity from a variety of spirits who never checked out.
One such apparition is rumored to be a former employee who committed suicide in the hotel. Guests of the hotel have reported seeing the ghost of this employee, as well as hearing strange noises throughout the hotel.
The Brown Palace Hotel is also said to be haunted by the ghost of a little girl who died in a fire at the hotel. Guests have seen her ghost in the hotel’s halls and heard her crying into the night.
But by far, the most haunted part of the hotel is the Brown Palace Club, a private club in the 45-degree angle area of the triangular hotel. The club is haunted by the ghosts of several former hotel staff who died in accidents at the hotel and a man who appears to have been an old-fashioned railroad conductor.
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5. Hotel Jerome, Aspen
Address: 330 E Main St, Aspen, CO 81611
That’s right, even the luxurious mountain town of Aspen can’t escape the most haunted hotels list. If the ghosts become too much for you, at least you can wander out into the gorgeous town of Aspen to clear your head. The Hotel Jerome was built in 1889 and is haunted by various ghosts.
One such ghost is a woman named Jennie. Jennie was a prostitute who worked in the hotel and was murdered in her room in 1898. Guests of the hotel have reported seeing her ghost as well as hearing strange noises coming from the hotel.
The Hotel Jerome is also said to be haunted by the ghost of a man named George, who died in the hotel in 1901, as well as the ghost of a boy who drowned in the pool. Apparently, if you look out from the third-floor window in room 310, you may see the little boy.
See Related: Best Halloween Cities to Visit in the U.S.
6. Patterson Inn, Denver
Address: 420 E 11th Ave, Denver, CO 80203
Resembling a stately manor initially known as the Croke Patterson Mansion, this haunted house of a hotel is in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The Patterson Inn is a haunted hotel with only nine rooms, all of which are spacious suites.
The hotel was opened in 1911 and is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the original owners, James and Jessie Patterson, who were killed in a car accident on the property in 1913. Guests of the hotel have reported seeing the ghosts of the Pattersons, as well as hearing strange noises coming from the hotel.
Guests staying here have also heard the barks of ghostly guard dogs coming from upstairs. The story goes that the phantoms are a pair of Doberman guard dogs who got trapped in the home before falling to their deaths from a high window.
See Related: Things to Do in Breckenridge, Colorado
7. The Oxford Hotel, Denver
Address: 1600 17th St, Denver, CO 80202
Unlike many other locations in this list, the Oxford Hotel has only ever been a hotel. In that time, it has become a beacon for wayward souls. The most famous of these stories is that of Florence Montague, who haunts the hotel since a rumored murder-suicide that took place in room 320 in 1898.
It’s said that Florence murdered her husband after catching him with another woman before taking her own life. Since then, she has enjoyed tormenting men traveling alone who stay in her room. Apparently, she loves to play with the lights, tug on the bed covers, and turn faucets on.
The Oxford’s other ghost likes to hang out in the Cruise Room. This martini bar opened the day after Prohibition ended and has since become the home for the spirit of a bygone mailman. Evidently, it may be the spirit of a postman who tried to deliver Christmas gifts in the winter but never made his delivery. He was found dead when the snow melted.
See Related: Best Places to Visit in Colorado in the Winter
8. Hotel Colorado, Glenwood Springs
Address: 526 Pine St, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
We may have it listed as the last hotel in this list of most haunted hotels in Colorado, but the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs is the most haunted hotel in Colorado. The hotel was built in 1893 and has been the site of numerous deaths. But because of the number of spirits residing here, this haunted castle-esque hotel has become a hot spot for paranormal buffs and ghost hunters.
Hotel Colorado Deaths
Many people are shocked to see the snarling bobcat mounted over the elevator at the Hotel Colorado, but that might be the tamest surprise from this place’s haunted past. The ovens in the hotel’s basement were reportedly used as a crematorium for the soldiers who died in Glenwood Springs during World War II.
The Navy used the basement floor space as a hospital/recovery area for injured sailors. The story is that so many bones were left over from the incomplete crematory process that the hotel’s walls and foundation are lined with skeletons.
However, the most famous death at the hotel was that of the owner, William Bell. He was killed in his hotel in 1898 after being shot in the head. Numerous other deaths have occurred at the hotel, including a young girl who drowned in the pool and a man who fell from the roof.
It’s not only the spirits of fallen sailors that line the halls with hauntings and supernatural phenomena at this haunted hotel. The Ute Indians were chased out of the area by the colonizers. So, people believe the Ute want people to leave the area so their descendants can return and claim the land.
What are the strange occurrences one can experience at the hotel? Drinks will spill over themselves, toilets flush without automation features installed, chandeliers spin, and screams can be heard in the hotel’s radiators. Sometimes, when it is hushed late at night, you can hear footsteps coming out of the basement, heading up the hotel’s Grand Staircase.
See Related: Things to Do in Colorado & Places to Visit
The Hotel’s History
Because it was one of the most opulent hotels of its time, anyone traveling to the Western Slope of Colorado would often spend at least one night there.
The Unsinkable Molly Brown led the early list of celebrities. At the same time, some even called the hotel the Little White House of the West because of the extended Presidential stays of both Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.
The legend of the teddy bear was even born at the Hotel Colorado, as the hotel’s maids reportedly gave Roosevelt a gift of a bear they had made themselves. That innocuous gift ended in the moniker of the teddy bear.
At the height of gangster activity in the 1920s, several notorious gangsters stayed at the Hotel Colorado, most notably Al Capone. That’s not to say that Capone was a welcome guest at the hotel, so he was provided with privacy canopies for his comings and goings.
See Related: Places To Stay In Aspen, Colorado
Ghost Tours
If you prefer ghost stories to stay at a haunted property overnight, there are quite a few options that shouldn’t result in being woken up by a creepy young girl in the hallway. Several of the hotels offer ghost tours through their property without staying overnight.
You can enjoy a tour of the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Denver without sleeping over at The Patterson Inn or take another haunted tour in Denver to capture some orbs at The Brown Palace. In both cases, you’ll learn more about the hauntings that occur there without enduring a nerve-wracking night.
Or, if you’re headed to Colorado Springs but aren’t up for the Broadmoor, you could take a rousing tour of the city’s dark past. Learn about mysterious murders, spirits left behind by the Spanish Flu of 1918, and what the town’s seedy underbelly has been hiding.
See Related: Top-Rated Restaurants in Boulder, Colorado
FAQ
What happened in the Hotel Colorado?
Many people died in the Hotel Colorado, whether from mysterious circumstances or after being brought there as wounded sailors. It was also the site of the murder of the building’s original owner, William Bell.
Why is the Stanley Hotel famous?
Other than being haunted in its own right, the Stanley Hotel became famous because of Stephen King. It became the locale for King’s The Shining. Since then, the hotel has been inextricably linked to King’s horror novel and the subsequent movie.
Can you stay in room 237 at the Stanley Hotel?
Famous from Stephen King’s The Shining, room 237 became an infamous location at the Stanley. However, that room doesn’t actually exist. Room 217, where King stayed at the hotel, does exist and is the most requested room at The Stanley.
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