10 Southern California Hotels As Beautiful As They Are Haunted

For many people, hotels seem like the perfect location to indulge in violent or illicit activity.

A sense of privacy, being away from home, and just the overall atmosphere that certain hotels seem to have all contribute to this fact.

Updated 2/10/2020 – Whether committing suicide or having a dangerous affair, hotels have been the sites of many moments and lives gone awry.

For some, hotels represent relaxation, vacation, and a change of scenery. For others, something much darker.

But what happens in those dark moments, when people lose their lives in a hotel, but decide to stick around?

And what happens when the world of the living collides with the world of the dead?

Below are the top ten most haunted hotels in southern California, where guests have learned how to answer these questions firsthand.

Ten Southern California Hotels As Beautiful As They Are Haunted

10) The Padre Hotel – Bakersfield, CA

This 1928 hotel has seen a number of suicides and a devastating fire.

However, the hotel persevered.

When major renovations took place around 2008, paranormal incidents became a daily occurrence.

Workers on the project first reported being touched by an unseen force on their shoulders, back and hands.

As the renovation progressed, the entity upped the ante.

Employees started being pushed and tripped by what seemed to be some sinister force, as they fought to keep the hotel in operation.

9) Julian Gold Rush Hotel – Ramona, CA

Formerly a restaurant, this building became a hotel in 1897.

Many believe the hotel is haunted by its original owner, Albert.

Albert is often seen as a full bodied apparition who will sometimes appear in photographs while smoking a pipe.

Recently, guests have also reported that they think Albert’s wife haunts the hotel as well.

His wife likes to make herself known by rearranging furniture in guests’ rooms while they are out exploring Ramona.

8) Hyatt – Santa Barbara, CA

Once used as a World War II hospital, the Hyatt has been home to paranormal activity ever since.

Many former employees have come forward with haunting tales of unseen forces playing with the lights in various parts of the hotel.

One former security officer said that the hotel’s motion detectors would go off for no apparent reason on a weekly basis—even after the machines were checked for faulty wiring.

Several guests have reported hearing disembodied feet walking through the hallways.

7) The Beverly Hills Hotel – Beverly Hills, CA

This iconic hotel Beverly Hills Hotel was built in 1912, before the city even existed.

Much as the hotel is known for hosting movie stars and celebrities, it seems some of them came to enjoy the hotel after death as well.

Many guests have reported hearing the whimsical harp talents of Harpo Marx.

It’s been said that other guests have reported seeing the full bodied apparition of beloved Russian musical composer, Sergi Rachmaninoff.

These reports center around the extended bungalows on the property, where the wealthiest of patrons, such as Marilyn Monroe, lived for extended stays.

6) Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel – Avalon, CA

This beautiful hotel on Catalina Island was built in 1925.

While this hotel is now closed, a lot of guests reported paranormal activity for decades.

It’s been said that visitors and employees alike have heard disembodied footsteps along the most public spaces of the hotel.

A few terrified guests have even claimed that they could see shadowy figures behind them whenever they walked past reflective surfaces.

Today, the building is waiting to be purchased, but many speculate the reason the hotel failed to thrive was on account of the increase in hauntings.

5) Hotel Alexandria – Los Angeles, CA

First opened in 1906, this once luxurious hotel has recently been remodeled into single apartment units.

Rumor has it that most of the paranormal activity centers around the 9^th, 11^th, and 12^th floors of the building.

Before the remodel, guests often claimed two apparitions that looked like gangsters would often frighten them in their suites.

Rumor has it that two members of the mafia were buried in the basement long ago.

To top it off, many visitors have now refused to take the elevator as it seems to select floors by itself, almost like it has a mind of its own.

4) Cosmopolitan Hotel – San Diego, CA

The Cosmopolitan opened its doors in 1827.

While architect Juan Lorenzo Bandini was finishing work on the hotel, his daughter lived there with him.

After her sudden and unexpected death, many guests believe she haunts the hotel.

Many have claimed to have witnessed seeing the rocking chair—which belonged to the daughter—move of its own accord.

A few mediums are said to have visited the hotel and often feel the presence of a young girl wandering its halls as if she owned the place.

3) The Georgian Hotel – Santa Monica, CA

The Georgian opened its doors in 1933.

While nobody has reported paranormal activity in their rooms, the hotel’s restaurant is supposedly extremely haunted.

Many diners have reported hearing disembodied voices at the empty tables beside them, as well as the sounds of phantom forks and knives being used.

Recently, a guest claims that she was out to eat when she noticed a man in old fashioned clothes sipping a drink on the other side of the restaurant.

As she studied him, a waiter momentarily blocked her view.

When she looked again, the mysterious man had disappeared.

2) Hotel Green – Pasadena, CA

The hotel was the first building on this historic properly to be built in the late ‘1800s.

The Castle Green expansion was added afterwards.

Castle Green was converted into apartments, and has been used as the set of major motion pictures.

These days, it’s an event center and wedding venue.

For many decades, local rumors have been passed around, describing a young woman who disappeared shortly after construction had completed on the original building.

Many believe she is still there.

Said ghost is of a woman, who was often seen wandering the building clad in a cotton white nightgown.

Many guests refused to stay at the hotel for a second night, after allegedly seeing this eerie specter peering down at them from behind their headboards late at night.

1)  Hotel Catalina – Avalon, CA

The beautiful Hotel Catalina may not seem so appealing to guests when they discover it is the favorite spot for a supposed poltergeist.

While an apparition has yet to be reported, it’s said that this entity is by no means afraid of making visitors aware that he’s there.

Many visitors have reported that their hotel room doors slam and open of their own accord.

What’s worse is that this entity is known for shutting doors and turning off the lights—especially if one is all alone in the shower.

Conclusion

Southern California may be home to riches and famous people, but these facets of human life no longer matter to those long past dead.

Contact with the spirit world is unpredictable…and it isn’t always safe.