Haunted Monte Vista Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona
Located along old Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona is the Hotel Monte Vista. Opening on New Year's Day, 1927, this historic hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been fully restored to its former glory and continues to serve the traveling public today. Along with playing host to numerous famous figures over the years, such as John Wayne, Bing Crosby, and Harry Truman, it also apparently is home to a number of unearthly figures.
Hotel Monte Vista was featured as a haunted location on the paranormal TV series called Most Terrifying Places
This old hotel is one of the very few American hotels built entirely from public taxes, when, in 1924, a man by the name of V.M. Slipher spearheaded a local fundraising campaign to build the hotel.
In 1924, tourism was a burgeoning business in Flagstaff, where lodging was too scarce to keep visitors in town to spend their hard-earned dollars. Slipher's efforts resulted in a city-voted ordinance that established a municipal bond to build the hotel.After its opening, the hotel was popular not only among the tourists but also a favorite of the locals who quickly coined the phrase, "Meet me at the Monte V." In its first year, the hotel hosted Mary Costigan's daily three-hour radio show from room 105. Costigan was the first American woman to be granted a radio broadcasting license.
Opening during the prohibition era, this didn't stop the Hotel Monte Vista Lounge from ignoring the law and running a profitable bootlegging operation out of Flagstaff's most popular speakeasy. However, in 1931, the place was raided by local officials and shut down, only to resume business two years later when prohibition finally came to an end. For five years between 1935 and 1940, the hotel lounge and lobby also offered its many guests a wide range of slot machines to choose from, the only ones ever in Flagstaff.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Western movies became the choice of the American public and more than one hundred movies were filmed in nearby Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. During these filmings, the Hotel Monte Vista hosted such famous guests as Jane Russell, Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, John Wayne, and Bing Crosby.
In one of the rooms of the hotel, a scene from Casablanca was filmed.
In fact, it was John Wayne, who reported seeing one of the hotel's first ghosts in the late 1950s. Describing the spirit as friendly, this benevolent ghost evidently made a brief appearance in the movie star's room.
[
][https://www.legendsofamerica.com/az-montevista/]
The Meat Man (Room 220)
This bizarre long-term boarder was known by his strange habit of hanging raw meat from the chandelier.
In the early 1980's, the lodger was found in his room three days after his death.
Not long after this boarder's death, a maintenance worker was working on a few repairs.
When in need of a new fixture he left the room, turned the lights off, and locked the door.
Returning only a few minutes later, he found the television on at full volume and the linens on the bed had been ripped and scattered around the room!
Today, it is common for the television to act on its own accord as well as reports of cold male hands touching guests in their sleep.
The Rocking Chair (Room 305)
Featured in many paranormal shows and popular amongst curious guests, room 305 is by far the most active room in the hotel.
There are numerous reports of seeing a woman in the rocking chair near the window.
Guests and housekeeping have reports of seeing the chair move by itself and knocking coming from inside the closet!
History tells us that years ago an elderly woman who was a long-term renter would sit by the window for hours on end.
No one knows what she was looking at or looking for.
Could it be she is waiting for someone to return, even in death?
Women of the Night (Room 306)
Years ago Flagstaff's Red Light District could be found just south of the railroad tracks, just two blocks from the Monte Vista.
In the early 1940's two prostitutes were brought to room 306.
During their "visit" they were killed and thrown from their third floor window to the cold street below.
Over the years, numerous guests have reported being awakened in the middle of the night and unable to return to sleep due to a feeling that they are being watched.
The majority of the time, our male guests report the feeling of having a hands placed over their mouths and throats, and awakening unable to breathe.
The Phantom Bellboy
Hotel guests have reported a knock at their door and a muffled voice announcing "room service".
When guests open the door, no one is present.
However, some guests have seen the figure of a bellboy standing outside of room 210.
John Wayne experienced this ghost during a few of his stays.
Mr. Wayne reported that the ghost seemed friendly and that he did not feel threatened by its presence.
Our housekeepers frequently experience the antics of the bellboy.
One report states seeing a young male in an old fashioned red coat with brass buttons walking up and down the halls.
Baby in the Basement
The disturbing sounds of an infant crying in the basement have been heard again and again.
Reported primarily by maintenance & laundry personnel, this is one of the most disturbing encounters.
Staff have found themselves running upstairs to escape the sound of the cries.
Though the sounds are very real to those who hear them, there has been no information that has explained this phenomenon.
The Dancing Couple
On several occasions lounge staff & patrons have witnessed a transparent couple dancing in the Cocktail Lounge.
They are seen in formal dress laughing and smiling, eternally dancing.
The Bank Robber
In 1970, three men robbed a nearby bank.
During the robbery, a bank guard shot one of the men.
Despite their injured comrade they decided to celebrate by stopping in the lounge to have a drink.
The wounded man bled to death while enjoying his last drink.
Since then both patrons and staff have reported being greeted by an anonymous voice saying "Good Morning!" There have also been reports of barstools and drinks that seem to move on their own.
[
][https://hotelmontevista.com/about/]
The Elevator Attendant
Here's an interesting fact about the Hotel Monte Vista. It was home to one of the first self-service Otis Elevators in the state of Arizona. Even though it has been modernized since then, it's as if the attendant is still on their shift. Guests often hear a faint voice asking, "Which floor?" What's even more chilling is the staff has witnessed a phantom hand closing the elevator's gate — even a reflection in the mirror upon exiting of a man standing behind them inside the elevator. Eyes down. Walk forward.
Hotel Monte Vista Rockstars like Bonjovi and Freddie Mercury have also been guests of the hotel.It officially opened its doors on New Year's Day 1927:
The four-story, 73 room hotel was originally called the Community Hotel to honor the citizens of Flagstaff who made it happen. However, a contest to rename the hotel was chosen by a 12-year-old who declared it 'Monte Vista' meaning 'mountain view' after the hotel's views of the San Francisco Peaks.
Hotel Monte Vista named most haunted place in Arizona:
[
][https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/best-haunted-places]
Currently used for storage and piping, the larger alcoves of the tunnels had been used for Opium dens, moonshine distilleries, gambling machines and a convenient way to smuggle illegal drugs and alcohol for The Speakeasy located in The Monte Vista Lounge.
The Monte Vista Hotel was not afraid to bend the laws:
During Prohibition, the hotel lounge was the town's speakeasy, and freely served alcohol; they rejected Prohibition because their patrons (which included skiers, river runners, celebrities, law-breakers and ordinary citizens) still loved to have their favorite drinks. Tunnels were dug under the streets of Flagstaff like many western towns did to provide ways for people and goods (legal and illegal) to move about during inclement weather. As the town grew, so did the underground tunnels; built by the town's Chinese workers. Among other businesses, The Monte Vista Hotel had access to the tunnel system.The underground tunnels eventually became the place of unsavory people; drug and illegal alcohol promoters, sex trade pimps and the law breakers.
A surly male apparition:
(A "Big Louie" type – perhaps left over from Prohibition) has wandered in from the tunnel that was a passageway to the Monte Vista Hotel.Spirits of Two Female Prostitutes (Room 310)
They apparently have a grudge against men. Female guests who stay in this room are sometimes awakened in the wee hours of the AM because of an intense feeling of being watched. Male guests who stay here get a taste of how the women were murdered. They wake suddenly, aware of hands over their mouths and around their necks, hindering their ability to breathe. It ends when they wake.The Red-Light district in Flagstaff used to be on the other side of the railroad station. During the early 1940s, two young ladies getting paid for sex were taken to room 310 at the Monte Vista Hotel for a little action. Their clients killed them and threw their bodies out the window to make sure they were dead.
Hotel Monte Vista
100 N. San Francisco Street
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
Haunted Monte Vista Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona. Located along old Route 66 is the Hotel Monte Vista. Opening on New Year's Day, 1927, this historic hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been fully restored to its former glory and continues to serve the traveling public today. Along with playing host to numerous famous figures over the years, such as John Wayne, Bing Crosby, and Harry Truman, it also home to a number of unearthly figures.
