Haunted Hotels in District Of Columbia

Discover the most haunted hotels in District Of Columbia you can actually stay in with real ghost stories and paranormal activity

Cities in District Of Columbia with haunted hotels

Washington Dc

4 Haunted Hotels to Stay in District Of Columbia

The Hay-Adams

800 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20006, USA

The Hay-Adams Hotel is believed to be haunted by Marian 'Clover' Hooper Adams, who lived on the site before the hotel was built in 1928. Suffering from severe depression after her father's passing, Clover took her own life in 1885 using potassium cyanide in her home which faced Lafayette Square. Shortly after the hotel's opening, reports emerged of strange occurrences primarily on the fourth floor. Staff and guests claim to hear unexplained sounds of a woman sobbing, sometimes calling housekeepers by name or asking 'What do you want?'. Furthermore, a distinct and sudden smell of almonds, associated with potassium cyanide, is occasionally detected on the fourth floor, intensifying the connection to Clover's tragic end.

Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC

700 F St NW, Washington, DC 20004, United States

The hotel's primary paranormal legend echoes its Civil War past. The central figure is the spirit of an anonymous woman, often seen in full Victorian attire. According to the legend, she is a wife or mother who frequented the post office, anxiously awaiting letters from a loved one fighting in the war—a loved one who never returned. Her spirit is said to be trapped in an eternal vigil, still waiting for news that will never arrive. During renovations, a construction worker reported seeing a woman matching this description pacing in a courtyard area that was closed to the public. Moments later, she vanished into thin air. This account links the historic narrative to a modern sighting and underscores the emotional core of the story: not malevolence, but profound, unresolved sorrow imprinted on the place. A catalog of anomalies further supports the lore. Staff and guests alike report disembodied whispers in empty corridors and, more disturbingly, the sound of "dreadful cries" echoing through the building—phenomena that align with the atmosphere of grief tied to the legend of the "Waiting Widow". Adding a different thread, the hotel's General Manager, Janice Flores, recounted a guest who shared a photo that seemed to show a tall gentleman resembling a former jail warden. This suggests the activity may be layered—multiple historical imprints rather than a single, monolithic haunting—befitting a building with a long, complex past.

The Mayflower Hotel

1127 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036, United States

Sometimes, a single event is so impactful that it forever changes the spectral makeup of a hotel. This is the case for the Mayflower Hotel. In 1925, the Mayflower Hotel opened to much fanfare becoming a favorite for celebrities and politicians, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt who stayed the night before his 1933 inauguration. The hotel hosted many high-profile events, such as inaugural balls. One such ball connects to its haunting: Calvin Coolidge was set for his inaugural ball, but tragedy struck. His 16-year-old son, Calvin Jr., died suddenly from sepsis originating from a foot blister just before the event. Grief-stricken, the Coolidges did not attend. Now, it's reported that every January 20th, the anniversary of Calvin Jr.'s death, strange occurrences manifest around 10 pm, including flickering lights and an elevator mysteriously stopping at the 8th floor until 10:15 pm, coinciding with when President Coolidge would have arrived for his ball.

Omni Shoreham Hotel

2500 Calvert St NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA

Room 864 was occupied by one of the financial backers, Henry Doherty, and his family. However, soon after they moved in his daughter’s nanny Juliette Brown collapsed and died from an unknown illness. A short time later, his daughter Helen also died and it was rumored that she took her own life. The couple immediately left, but the room was certainly not unoccupied. Since the couple left, there were reports of strange activity in the room. Lights and appliances turn on and off by themselves, people feel cold rushes of air and there are unexplained noises in the room. The three-bedroom suite was renovated in 2000 and has been officially renamed ‘The Ghost Suite’!