Visiting a Haunted Hotel

During a recent Route 66 road trip, we made a detour to a small remote town called Jerome, which is located in the Verde Valley region of Arizona.  It was meant to be a stopping point between two very distant destinations, but it became the highlight of this road trip!  We stayed one night at the Jerome Grand Hotel and during our visit, we learned about the very interesting and unusual history of the hotel.

History of the Jerome Grand Hotel

It was built in 1926, but originally served as the United Verde Hospital for Jerome, which was a very successful and prosperous copper and silver mining town.  This building was the fourth and last hospital built for the town.  The prior hospitals were damaged from mining explosions and relocated to areas that could withstand the dynamite blasts from the mines.  This explains the strange location of the final hospital, which was built above the town on one of the highest cliffs. The wealth produced from the copper and silver mining enabled the town to build one of the most well-equipped and state-of-art medical facilities in Arizona.  It was also an architectural masterpiece.  The 30,000 square foot Mission Revival building was constructed on a 50 degree slope of solid bedrock and designed to be both fire and earthquake proof.  However, the hospital closed in 1950, when mining production decreased, and medical services were transferred to neighboring towns.  The building remained vacant for over 40 years until it re-opened in 1996 as the Jerome Grand Hotel.  

Our Night at the Hotel

It was delightful staying at this hotel because it has been carefully preserved to retain most of the original architecture.  Having been designed in the Mission Revival style, the exterior of the building looks more like a grand European hotel than a hospital.  The original elevator and switchboard, which were very modern features in the 1920s, are still being used today.  But, despite the charming redecorating of the rooms and hallways with antique furnishings, the interior of the hotel still retains many characteristics of a hospital, such as the wide hallways and heavy fire doors.  But, this just made the hotel and its history much more intriguing.  

Hauntings at the Hotel

While the building functioned as a hospital, many patients died either from illnesses, injuries or accidents, but some deaths were suspicious or unexplained.  Staff and guests of the hotel have reported unusual occurrences at night such as doors opening, objects moving, foot steps, faint smells of zinc oxide, cigarette smoke, and whisky, and sounds of crying or laughing.  The hotel has become a popular destination for ghost hunters.  I hoped I would experience a haunting during our brief visit, but we had a very peaceful and quiet night.  Maybe next time...