HOTEL HAUNTS
Old hotels come with a lot of legends and stories repeated by staff and guests over the years. I've stayed at places that were two hundred fifty years old and some places that had early lives as textile factories and bordellos. If there are such things as ghosts, I think an old hotel would be a prime spot to encounter one. I have yet to meet one...I think.
THE STRATER HOTEL, DURANGO, COLORADO
Let's dispense with the Strater ghost stories first. When we stayed at The Strater Hotel, probably in 2002, there were lots of stories of mysterious sightings and ghostly experiences. Each room had a room diary where guests would record their stay and say what they liked about the place and what they did during their stay. The diary in our room had entries from people from all over the world. There were frequent references to the resident ghosts...but mostly that they had not seen any. There are plenty of folks who claim to have seen one of the three resident ghosts, including the sister of a previous owner. Fast forward to 2013 and the current hotel management disavows all knowledge of a resident ghost and says that the hotel is not haunted and never was. Well, I suppose that is the official word on the topic. I'm sure the stories still circulate. I don't know how you would prove that the hotel is not haunted if people claim that it is.
The Strater Hotel was built in the late 1880s and is quite large. The architectural style might be Colorado Wedding Cake...the place certainly commands attention. It was built by Henry Strater (yes, he is one of the ghosts) a local pharmacist. He built the hotel in a bid to make Durango a permanent place rather than a mining camp. The original cost was $70,000. I think he did a great job...the place is impressive. Besides the many hotel rooms there is a classic saloon...the Diamond Belle Saloon...that offers kind of an updated old west saloon experience. When we were there they had a resident ragtime piano player who was great and put on a good show.
The Strater's rooms are furnished with antiques. The hotel has the largest collection of Victorian-era walnut furniture in the United States. Our room was decorated like a room in a bordello...complete with bright red flocked wallpaper. Today the summer AARP rate for a classic queen room for two is $187.00. I don't recall paying that much but maybe we did. We were there in October so rates might have been less. I would pay the current rate but I like these old hotels. The Strater is part of the Historic Hotels of America and there might be discounts through the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
We didn't eat at the hotel. We opted to go out and explore the downtown area and found places to eat close by. And we slept well and were not awakened or startled by any ghostly beings. Louis L'Amour always stayed in the room over the saloon because he liked the noise and it helped him write his western novels.
SWEDISH COUNTRY INN, LINDSBORG, KANSAS
Lindsborg, Kansas, is located south of Salina, sort of in the middle of east-central Kansas. The town is mostly made up of transplanted Swedes, or more probably folks with Swedish ancestry. They are very proud of their Swedish background and have invested in a number of fiberglass Dala Horses that are decorated in various themes and placed around town on street corners. They make a big thing about being Swedish and that draws people to town who have similar interests. When they come to town they can stay at The Swedish Country Inn.
This hotel is small...only sixteen rooms...and is almost more like a B&B. It was originally built as a feed store but the owner had it converted to a hotel with a plan for thirty-two rooms. They ran out of money at sixteen rooms. It has sort of a Spanish look to it but that was the style back then. It was a dormitory for the local college for a few years and then eventually was renovated and returned to being a hotel. They have worked hard to make it appear Swedish in it's current life.
The rooms are all fairly similar and are furnished with...you guessed it...Swedish stuff. The exposed woodwork is all very lightly stained or simply allowed to be unstained and lightly varnished. Furnishings are sparse...not a lot of stuff crammed into the rooms.
The breakfast spread is Swedish, too, but very good and there is plenty to choose from. You will not go away hungry.
Now I'm not saying that the Swedish Inn is haunted but something weird happened the night we stayed there. At about 3 AM I was awakened from a sound sleep by a strong smell of garlic. I'm not talking about just a little bit of garlic. This was like someone drove a truckload into the room. I don't ever recall being awakened by a smell before. Joanne did not smell it but she was not awakened. I finally decided that someone was cooking breakfast (at 3 AM?) and tried to go back to sleep. The smell continued until I finally got back to sleep. The next morning I expected to see something on the breakfast menu containing a lot of garlic. Nope...not a sign of garlic in anything we had for breakfast. I made a casual comment at the front desk about all that garlic they had cooking and they had no idea what I was talking about. So what was that smell? Folklore associates garlic with vampires but mainly as a protection to ward off vampires and werewolves. Maybe that smell was keeping the Kansas vampires and werewolves away from us Missourians.
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