23 Oct Ghosts in Downtown Phoenix
While visiting the heart of downtown Phoenix and you’re dying for a haunted experience, you can definitely find one at The Hotel San Carlos. Built in 1928, this Renaissance style hotel was one of the first buildings in Arizona to have air conditioning, making it a more lavishing place to stay during that time. This attracted many old Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Mae West, who actually had a suite named after her.
Although the hotel has had its fair share of celebrities, it has also had its fair share of spooky entities.
Before the hotel was built, the land it was built on was the location site of the very first school in Phoenix. It was also built on Native American grounds, hence its name came from the San Carlos Indian Nation. There are many stories that, during the time, the school was run many children had died from the flu in 1918 in the surrounding areas.
Mauri Mclean, tour coordinator at the San Carlos, mentioned that the school built a well in 1870 and three boys had drowned after being caught under the fast flowing river. The well is actually still in the basement and water is still being drawn from it. It has been reported by many of the hotel workers that they have heard children laughing in the basement, objects moving and apparitions of a little boy have been lingering in the basement.
The hotel is also known to be haunted by a few other spirits. One is a young lady by the name of Leone Jensen who jumped to her death from the roof of the hotel after a love affair went awry. Guests have seen her, this friendly ghost, roaming the hallways and has also been noticed standing at the foot of guests beds. Another group of spirits that have been encountered within the hotel is a former hotel manager and his wife and three children, haunt the second floor gym, which during the time of his employment in the 30’s was the manager’s apartment. He is known as “Bob the Whistler” and you can, some times, hear him whistling down the hall.
Rates for the San Carlos Rooms start at $79. These ghosts haunt the 2nd and the 7th floors and Mclean recommends for those who want to encounter a paranormal experience, that they should stay on these floors. Specifically room 702, because that is where Leone is seen the most and where she stayed before she committed suicide.
This classic hotel offers many different promotions and ghost tours.
It is possible to book a personal tour with Mauri, where you get to visit more of the limited portions of the hotel. For more information you can check out their website at http://www.hotelsancarlos.com/
This article is a reprint from (Ghost tours, haunted hotels in Phoenix, October 7, 2011 by ajsteph1)
Footnote: If you are ever downtown Phoenix at the corner of Central and Monroe and wish to see other notable celebrities who stayed at the San Carlos in the past, just look down at the sidewalk and see their stars along Monroe and Central.