When business slows and the game is up for struggling hotels, sometimes there’s nothing for the owners to do but leave everything as is and shut the whole mess down. From ill-advised, Gold Rush-era expansion to miscalculating the willingness of travelers to pay for luxury in the middle of nowhere, there are myriad reasons why hotels are abandoned to the elements. One thing that these forgotten hotels all have in common, though, is that their bustling lobbies, comfortable bedrooms, and warm welcomes of yesterday have been swapped for a total creep factor today -- that only the bravest of ruin hunters are likely to want to explore.
So here we bring you eight of the creepiest abandoned hotels in the U.S. Considering the photos, you likely won't want to step inside these hotels. But the good news is, we've found a lovely and (bonus!) fully open and operating hotel pick nearby each, so you won't have to skip out on the awesome destinations these spots call home.
1. Lee Plaza Hotel, Detroit
Abandoned to the squatters, vandals, and urban adventurers of Detroit in the 1990s, the 15-story high-rise Lee Plaza Hotel is, on one hand, a monument to failure. However, given its classic art-deco architecture and imposing structure, it is also a monument to early 20th-century design, added to the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1981. But while this historic Detroit beauty may have a great-looking facade, you probably wouldn’t want to go wandering the corridors alone after dark.
Open Alternative:
2. Buck Hill Inn, Poconos Mountains
When a decline in business began in the 1970s and continued on into the 1980s, the owners of the Buck Hill Inn, a luxurious Poconos Mountain resort, decided to close the doors for good in 1990. At this time -- when owner Jacob Keuler’s wife fell ill -- Keuler drove her to the hospital, checked her into the psychiatric ward, went back to the hotel, and shut the whole place down, leaving everything as it was. Since then the building has sat empty, visited only by the fog (and a few unsuccessful attempts at renovation) that at times envelops it, giving it an even creepier legacy.
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Mount Airy Casino Resort 4.0
3. Grossinger’s Catskill Resort and Hotel, New York
Before air travel became ubiquitous, Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel was attracting over 150,000 guests per year to its sprawling complex of 35 buildings, a golf course, beauty salon, pool, and even artificial ski slope. The 1972 death of its legendary hostess, Jennie Grossinger, though, coincided with the death of the hotel's heyday as the rich and famous sought glamour elsewhere. Abandoned in 1986, the Catskills resort had a fitting sign off, providing the location one year later for "Dirty Dancing."
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