From the Journal
Stories, guides, and curated lists about America's most historic hotels.
Haunted Hotels in Charleston: The Ghost Stories Behind the Historic District
Charleston competes with Savannah for the title of America's most haunted city, and its hotel ghost stories are just as tangled. Here's what's guest lore, what's ghost-tour theater, and what's actually a faithfully rebuilt 1970s hotel wearing a 19th-century name.
July 24, 2026
Historic Hotels in San Francisco (2026): The City That Keeps Rebuilding Itself
San Francisco's best historic hotels were built as acts of civic defiance after 1906. The Fairmont, Palace Hotel, Hotel Drisco, and Westin St. Francis — honest reviews, real prices, what to skip.
February 10, 2026
Most Haunted Hotels in America (2026): 17 Properties, From Personal Stays to Documented History
Six of America's most notorious haunted hotels reviewed firsthand by a skeptic, plus 11 more researched in depth. The real stories are darker than any ghost tour — and something happened in Room 217 I still can't explain.
January 15, 2026
Haunted Hotels in San Francisco: What's Real Behind the Ghost Stories
A skeptic's tour of San Francisco's haunted-hotel reputation — a presidential death nobody explained, a Hollywood scandal that ended a career, and a headmistress who allegedly still unpacks your luggage.
July 23, 2026
Haunted Hotels in Chicago: The Real Stories Behind the Ghost Tours
Chicago's ghost tours all point at the same three hotels. I checked the stories against what's actually documented — the truth is stranger and more recent than the sidewalk version.
July 22, 2026
Savannah's Haunted Hotels: What's Real and What's Tour-Bus Theater
I spent a week in Savannah checking the ghost stories against the historical record. Some of it is genuinely documented and disturbing. Some of it is a guy with a lantern making things up for tips.
July 4, 2026
The Most Haunted Hotels in New Orleans (By Someone Who Checked)
Four New Orleans hotels with real haunted reputations, reviewed by a skeptic who actually stayed in them. The Quadroon Balls, a convent full of orphans, a schoolhouse fire, and a Literary Landmark — the true stories are heavier than the ghost tours let on.
July 3, 2026
Historic Hotels Where U.S. Presidents Actually Stayed (2026)
The Willard, the Hay-Adams, the Omni Parker House, The Roosevelt New Orleans — real presidential history, real lobby gossip, and what it actually costs to sleep where Lincoln, JFK, and Huey Long once did.
June 13, 2026
Best Castle Hotels in Europe (2026): I Slept in 5 of Them
Inverlochy, Fonab, Schloss Fuschl, Château d'Artigny, and The Lodge at Ashford Castle — reviewed honestly. Which ones are actually medieval, which are Victorian cosplay, and which is worth the airfare.
June 6, 2026
Historic Hotels in Charleston, South Carolina (2026): The Most Honest Guide You'll Find
Charleston's historic district is the real thing — but not every 'historic' hotel inside it is. Here's the honest breakdown of which Charleston hotels are centuries-old and which are new buildings wearing historic costumes, with real 2026 prices.
May 30, 2026