Hotel San Carlos
Posted: 11.30.2024 | Updated: 12.26.2024
Stationed on the corner of West Monroe Street and North Central Avenue, the Hotel San Carlos is a well-known haunted location in Phoenix. Celebrated for its fine accommodations and elite company, this Southwestern hotel welcomed many Hollywood notables in the 20th century.
Accounts attest Clark Gable often stayed in room 412, a corner accommodation, so he could observe people walking along the street. Marilyn Monroe regularly occupied the room nearest the pool and sundeck: room 326. However, these previous VIP guests aren’t all that lure visitors to this site today.
Instead, many attend in search of the hotel’s acclaimed ghosts. Visited by everyone from the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures to ghost-hunting hobbyists, the Hotel San Carlos counts many unseen occupants among its current-day guests.
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Who Haunts Hotel San Carlos?
Numerous spirits haunt the Hotel San Carlos, although only one’s identity is known. So renowned as to be visited by Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures, the hotel has become known as one of the most Haunted Places in Arizona due to one guest never checking out. This young woman died by suicide almost a century ago but continues to startle guests by appearing at their bedside or in hallways, only to disappear moments later.
From Modest Schoolhouse to the High-Rise Hotel San Carlos
The Hotel San Carlos has a history that began nearly a century ago. This historic hotel was built on the spot where early inhabitants constructed Phoenix’s first school, named Little Adobe. The schoolhouse opened in 1873 yet closed some forty years later in 1916.
Developers Dwight D. Heard and Charles Harris bought the land for the hotel from the Babbitt family some years after the school’s closure. Distinguished architect George Whitecross Ritchie designed the hotel in the Italian Renaissance style, yielding one of the most stylish hotels in the region.
The Hotel San Carlos opened its grand doors in March 1928 and quickly emerged as the most modern hotel in the Southwest. Constructed for a pretty penny, totaling nearly $850,000, the building became the first air-conditioned high-rise hotel in Phoenix. It also boasted the first high-rise hotel to have hand-operated elevators in the state of Arizona.
The hotel’s original owner, Charles Harris, lived on the premises in the penthouse with his family. But he wasn’t the only notable guest this locale attracted. The Hotel San Carlos appealed to a number of Hollywood celebrities and Phoenix’s high society. This swanky hotel saw the likes of Marlyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Mae West, and Gene Autry, among other members of Hollywood’s Golden Era.
In 1974, the Hotel San Carlos was distinguished as an Arizona State Historic Landmark. In 2003, it received a multi-million dollar renovation, during which the hotel’s rooms and amenities were updated and the building’s historical character maintained.
Ghostly Footsteps, Disembodied Cries, and Phantom Children
Is the Hotel San Carlos Haunted? Reportedly, the Hotel San Carlos has been haunted from the start. Just weeks after opening, a young woman died of suicide by jumping from the hotel rooftop. Many guests have sighted this ghostly apparition around the hotel or standing at the foot of their beds, but she’s not the only specter on the property.
Guests have also reported the ghost of a little girl crying and the sounds of children. Patrons have experienced echoes of children laughing and running through the hallways at night, only to discover no one there when peeking their heads outside.
Many have connected these ghost children to the school that sat on this ground before the hotel’s construction. Why do these adolescent souls linger here, continuing to romp and play in the afterlife? Seeing they no longer have a school to haunt, perhaps they flock to the venue that replaced it, exploring their new playground with glee.
Rumors have also linked these phantom children to some of the building’s oldest corners. Beneath the hotel’s modern electric pump lies the building’s original well, dating back to the schoolhouse’s time. Stories have circulated over the years of children falling into this well and drowning years ago, although no records have been uncovered that chronicle this.
Other guests have reported disembodied footsteps or ghostly knocking at their room. Upon hearing the strange knocking in the middle of the night, these guests open their doors to find no one outside.
Might these simply be pranks played by spirit children, or might something more somber be pleading for their attention?
Leone Jensen: San Carlos’ Woman in White
Many have claimed the strange female figure seen in the hallways to be that of Leone Jensen. According to news reports, Leone was a woman in her mid-twenties who was visiting the hotel from Los Angeles. In the wee hours of May 7th, 1928, Leone ascended to the hotel’s rooftop and ended her life by jumping off, falling seven stories to her death.
Her body would be found on Monroe Street by patrolmen upon hearing the commotion at 2:45 am. Several notes were found on and around Leone’s body.
One note contained thorough instructions for her funeral, while others held farewells to friends. Leone even wrote an apology to the hotel manager on the back of an envelope, expressing her regrets for checking out before paying the bill.
Why did Ms. Jensen choose to end her life in such a violent fashion? Leone described health concerns involving difficulty breathing, weakness, and a nervous breakdown. She referred to herself as “just another lonesome and ill stranger.”
Over the years, her simple and tragic tale has been sensationalized greatly. Whispers spread that Leone was engaged in a tryst with a nearby hotel’s bellhop. After he rebuffed her love, she made her deadly decision, or so the embellished stories go. Even more dramatic tellings recount the bellhop murdering her by pushing her off the roof.
None of the news reports suggest any merit to these wild tales, nor do any of the notes that Leone wrote before her demise. So why does her spirit still wander the hotel corridors, occasionally appearing and disappearing before guests’ very eyes? Perhaps Leone shows herself to a chosen few, still seeking to alleviate the loneliness she felt so keenly in the days before her death.
Haunted Phoenix
The Hotel San Carlos remains the only historic boutique hotel in Phoenix. Located in the center of downtown’s Copper Square, it boasts 128 rooms and five suites. Their guest rooms feature nostalgic furnishings, seamlessly combining coziness and charm. Among their amenities, you’ll find delicious dining options, a barber shop, and a glamorous sun deck. Maybe you’ll even see the ghost of Marilyn Monroe sunning herself.
In search of something a little darker? Consider joining a party of kindred spirits on a delightfully chilling ghost tour with Phoenix Ghost. Or, to read more spine-tingling stories from the safety of your own home, visit our blog.
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Sources:
https://borderzine.com/2013/02/the-ghostly-guests-of-phoenix%E2%80%99s-hotel-san-carlos
https://www.discovery.com/shows/ghost-adventures/episodes/hotel-san-carlos
https://secretphoenix.co/hotel-san-carlos-haunted-phoenix/
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