Welcome to the Hotel Colorado

This week I got to go back in time. I took a tour of the local haunted hotel—the Hotel Colorado.


The tour guide was a lady from the local historical society, who dressed in period costume. Or was she really a ghost?!


I just liked this face.


And I took this picture because I need to take notes for the hat I need to make for an upcoming Kentucky Derby party.


This is the only really "good" picture I got of the inside. Hello, tourists!


One reason I didn’t take many pictures is because I was so wrapped up in hearing about the hotel’s history. Famous people such as President Taft, President Roosevelt, the Unsinkable Molly Brown, Al Capone, and Patrick Swayze (?!) have all stayed here.

Another reason I didn’t take many pictures is because of this man:


This is Mr. Devereaux, the original owner of the hotel. He’s also one of the hotel’s most famous ghosts. People occasionally claim that they can smell Mr. Devereaux’s cigars when they walk into a previously unoccupied room.

Other ghosts mentioned:

• The benevolent servant ghost who kindly unpacks your bags.


• The decorator ghosts, who occasionally move furniture, and are known to tear wallpaper and signage off the walls.


• My friend and I kept smelling strong perfume that came and went. Was a ghost accompanying us on the tour?!

Another interesting fact about the Hotel Colorado is that it was taken over by the U.S. Navy during WWII (kind of a la Downton Abbey, but for real) as a hospital. The Navy tore out a lot of the old fixtures that wouldn’t stay sterilized (goodbye, marble sinks in every room), and put in miles of submarine-style sprinkler system to keep the place from accidentally bursting into flames. Here you can see some of the pipe work, plus the arch in the back used to be part of the hotel stables. Now you can get a massage there. Also, this hallway was a servants’ hallway, and it is notoriously haunted.


We only got half a tour because the tower rooms were occupied. I definitely need to go back and hear the ghostly stories connected with those rooms.

Now who wants to come visit me? I’ll book you a room at the Hotel Colorado. As soon as you get here, I’ll suggest that you leave your luggage out while we visit the famous hot springs pool. We’ll see if your luggage is unpacked by ghostly hands while we’re gone!