THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The Mission Inn has accumulated numerous ghost stories during its long history, with guests and employees reporting apparitions, unexplained footsteps, voices, and mysterious figures throughout the sprawling hotel. Among its reported spirits are former residents and guests said to appear in rooms, hallways, and other areas of the historic property.
This hotel is awesome. If you are interested in amazing architecture, stairways that descend to nowhere, towers, flying buttresses, and just a constant feeling of “this place was designed by a madman” the Mission Inn is definitely a place that you must visit. Quite probably one of the most interesting hotels I’ve seen, the design style of the Mission Inn cannot possibly be described. Think of every type and style of mission you’ve ever seen or read of, and then imagine them all combined into one sprawling multi-block hotel with one wing of the building designed in Renaissance style leading off into another building designed in Turkish style. It’s mad, and it’s wonderful. Several of the rooms can only be accessed from a rooftop courtyard that is filled with interesting water features, numerous planters overflowing with bougainvillea and other assorted flowers and an immense herb garden. Although we did not get a haunted room when we were there (the one that was available, the famed “Aunt Alice room” is priced at over $600 a night and therefore just slightly beyond our budget) we do not feel at all disappointed by having visited though we did not experience anything remotely “ghostly”. Most of the reports of hauntings are of the benign sort. People claim to see figures walking down hallways and when they get closer, the apparitions vanish. People who have stayed in Aunt Alice’s room feel cold spots, report being touched and claim they have seen her apparition. One spot that does provide some trouble is in the Bridal Suite where some people report being pushed as they descend the spiral staircase located in the room. The hotel is also situated on a network of catacombs that are unfortunately closed to the public due to safety reasons. Whether you are interested in haunted hotels or not, the Mission Inn is worth checking out.