Haunted Guest Reviews

Well, the reviews aren’t haunted – but they are about experiences that guests have in hotels. Let me explain – every so often, I love to get onto the Trip Advisor site and do a search on reviews with the word “haunted.”  This time I ended up choosing two hotels, one in Chicago and the other in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. I hope you enjoy these reviews as much as I did.

If you have read “Good Tidings” the second book in the Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery Series, you might remember that Mary spent a memorial night in the Congress Hotel in downtown Chicago. (If you haven’t read it, you need to do that – right now!)

The Congress Plaza Hotel is considered the most haunted hotel in Chicago. Which is pretty impressive if you consider the history of the city – from the Great Chicago Fire to the Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Great location, seen better days – may be haunted

I just saw another review mentioning it, but I AM SERIOUS! Did not know the ghost stories until after I explored the hotel one Sunday. The hotel was clearly something back in the day but there are “dead zones” on the first and second floor where it is clearly neglected (i.e., coat check).
I went hunting for the exercise room and found it with the help of a curious employee. The 2nd floor had a hall with old conference rooms – everything was clean but very empty and dated. Doors were all closed in the hallway, then we saw a tiny sign for exercise. As we approached the door, we clearly heard someone working out with weights clanging. I opened the door and saw a good-sized room (maybe for a buffet or breakout), with great equipment – unevenly placed – but all you would need. And yet, no one working out and no back exit! The employee announced his hasty retreat. I decided the ghost and I were like-minded, changed, and worked out. It was wonderful!
That said, the Congress is somewhat dank and shows signs of wear. My room was in the other tower with good linens and bare bones. Halls are strangely empty with no decor.
Go there for the location and the deal. Ghosts are a bonus.

A Haunted Great Time

We stayed there three weeks ago and did Ghost Hunting on the 12th Floor and saw odd things in the hallway at 3:30 am; plus heard an old woman talking in a foreign language and heard a young boy crying. We have this on audio and videotape. The room was great, along with the Customer Service. Fun Time.

HAUNTED — FOR REAL!!!

The Congress Plaza Hotel is HAUNTED! Call me crazy, call me woo-woo, whatever…go ahead and find out for yourself. I️ woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of rattles and had the distinct feeling that someone was looking at me. If you are sensitive to paranormal energy, you will pick up on I️t within minutes of walking down the hall. Just be aware, you may have guests during your stay…

Okay, now let’s go east – way east – to the Omni Mount Washington Resort in New Hampshire.

Haunted experiences

There were 5 of us in a Suite (2 queen beds in one room and a pull-out couch and rollaway in the “parlor,” which was another room that was connected through the bathroom. The first night in the main room my friend felt someone pushing/sitting on her chest and an hour later she felt pressure and pushing on her head between the hours of 2-4 am. The next night this same friend felt her sheet being pulled off of her during this same time period. In the parlor on the second night, one friend reported tapping on the pullout couch which then moved towards the rollaway. She heard someone near the door moaning and crying. This occurred between the same 2-4 am window. Although I did not have the experience my friends were pretty shaken up by their events! It is a beautiful old hotel with good food and a great ambiance. Although I would come again, I’m not sure my friends would!

Room 314

I had a great time at the Mount Washington Hotel. The food was fantastic, the people were friendly, and the staff was helpful with everything. It is a gorgeous hotel with amazing views and art. I live in the area, and I was aware the hotel was haunted but it didn’t bother me. They put me in room 314 and I knew it was the one everybody talked about. I didn’t bring any cameras or EVP machines, I was just looking for a nice getaway. not an investigation. That night I had a delicious dinner and I sat by a fireplace until about 8:30, then I went up to my room and I went to bed. I woke up in the night feeling very cold. I was chilled to the bone. I kinda wiped my eyes and sat up to straighten my blankets and get cozy again, and I was slightly startled by a woman in a very old fashion nightgown at the end of my bed, brushing her hair. She wasn’t looking directly at me. And she didn’t say anything. She just brushed her hair. I shook my head and sat up straight and felt for the light with my eyes on the figure. but when I turned on the light, she was gone. I knew what I saw, I wasn’t scared, and I didn’t feel unsafe. Though I woke up feeling cold, when I saw the figure I remember I was very warm and light. Comfortable. I was startled by the woman, but for the short time I saw her, I felt at peace. she had a warm glow to her and a friendly vibe. She wasn’t creepy or scary, she was just brushing her hair in her old room. and before I went back to sleep I said out loud, “You can stay with me, I don’t mind.” And I wasn’t cold for the rest of the night. I woke up in the morning to find most of my belongings in the center of the room on the floor. I kinda giggled at the fact the princess really makes herself known. Then I went and had a beautiful breakfast and went for a walk. Amazing hotel, great food, great people, and a special guest whom I will never forget.

Fantastic Weekend 

We had a ghost encounter. On Friday night we were in our room relaxing and reviewing things to do in the Hotel when our iPad totally shut off. It was bizarre because I’ve had apps freeze up but never the iPad totally shut down in the middle of using it while it was plugged in and being charged. We had just used the iPad for 40 minutes with no issues, put it down for a few minutes, and then started using it again (Did I mention Free WiFi? 🙂 It then just shut off, that is when we chalked it up to a ghost and started talking out loud to it. We put the IPad aside and my girlfriend and I were in an animated conversation with the lights off in the room when the light between the two chairs at the foot of the bed bulb flashed. It was a flash like when you reach the end of life of an incandescent light bulb. The odd thing is that usually happens when the light is on. My girlfriend thought I was making things up to freak her out and dismissed it as my iPhone front display lighting up with an incoming phone call or text. That couldn’t be because my phone was face down on the desk to the left of the bed. Again we started talking to the spirits and taunting them. About 30 minutes later, we were fighting over the remote and what TV show we were going to watch. I wanted to watch the season premiere of “Gold Rush”, she wanted to watch something else. I got up to go to the bathroom, when I was finished, I stopped at the desk to check my cell phone and verify that it was face down. When I picked up my phone, I felt something hit my left side. I did not have a shirt on, and it felt like I was just hit by a rubber band and then felt something fall on the top of my foot. I yelled “Ouch, Why did you do that?” My girlfriend said “What?” As I turned to respond saying “That wasn’t nice, if you want to watch something else just change the channel.” I could see she was lying on her side facing the TV watching my show. She asked, “What are you talking about?” I told her it felt like I just got hit by a rubber band. She claimed she didn’t do any such thing. She turned on the lights, and we both searched the floor all around me, the desk, and the foot of the bed. Nothing. We decided to stop taunting the ghosts and just respect them and leave them alone. Well, that’s not the end of it. Upon packing and checking out on Sunday morning, as I picked up the last suitcase to leave, I noticed a rubber band underneath it. I picked it up, it looked really old, nothing like I have seen for a rubberband recently, so I put it in the side pocket of my bag to show my girlfriend and question here about it, who was downstairs. Guess what? The rubber band was not in the side pocket of my suitcase when the bellman brought the bags down to our car. Bizarre, and I’ll never forget this. I now believe in ghosts.

Room #314 – to stay or not to stay

First off, the hotel is wonderful with great amenities for kids of all ages. The service was outstanding, and the food was good – not great.
My issue is with room #314. You can google “haunted hotels” and Mount Washington Resort will be in the findings (especially the lore of the “bed”). A little background on our visit first. When we checked in (with an infant and 3-year-old) our concern was to have two double beds and enough room for a crib. We were a bit confused when at the last minute, they decided to put us in this “room 314” without any explanation. We came to find out why later in the trip.
We get to the room and it is simply wonderful. It’s a huge room with two TVs, a big living area, a huge closet (which we used to put the crib) and a small sitting area, where we put the rollaway bed. What was peculiar is why this huge room only had a queen bed?
We had no clue why we were put in what appeared to be such a wonderful room. Until Saturday night when someone in our group indicated that room 314 specifically is “haunted”. I’m not sure I believe in all that but when someone tells you that and you are staying in that room, I think most people would be spooked. I tried to remain calm and rational, but I looked back at a few things that happened during our stay:
1. Fireplace turned on by itself
2. Lamp near the chaise sofa flickered on / off inexplicably a couple of times.
3. My daughter’s plush monkey went missing only to show up in the middle of the floor later in the day.
4. We left the room in the morning to come back to what appeared to be a tidied-up room (ie., the housekeeper must have been there) because there were new towels; the ironing board was put away, certain things were tidied up and most importantly, the bed was “made”. I emphasize made because the sheets and cover were laid as if it was made but then it appeared as if someone had laid on it to take a nap. Weird.
I admit most of this could be explained away with many rational explanations. Certainly, my daughter placed the monkey somewhere we didn’t look only to find it in that same location later. An old electrical system could explain the lights. The fireplace is on a timer. I’m having the most difficult time explaining away the bed. Of course, the housekeepers could be playing a prank. At which I would say “touche”.
My issue/concern is whether the hotel should inform you of these “stories” and the room’s reputation and let the guest decide whether they want to stay in the room? I mentioned it to a customer service clerk at the front desk at which she just looked down and chuckled. I’m guessing the manager will respond to this and state the hotel has no obligation. I would only rebut that while the hotel may not have the obligation, as a consumer we have other avenues to broadcast our issues.
Therefore, is room 314 haunted? Would you knowingly stay in that room knowing the lore?

Well, I would say, “Yes. Yes, Room 314 is haunted.”

What do you think?

Happy Friday!!!