America's Abandoned Hotels Left To Rot

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The US has an endless supply of hotels, from giant resorts with sprawling swimming pools and rooftop bars, to quaint inns hidden in the countryside. But almost as arresting is its crop of abandoned venues – the bones of once-thriving lodgings left to the ravages of time.

Read on to discover America's eeriest and most intriguing ghost resorts...

Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel, Liberty, New York

New York’s Catskill Mountains are an outdoor playground, laced with waterfalls and trails, and known for their swanky resorts and accommodations. Once among their number was Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel, which grew from a Victorian-style establishment in the 1900s to incorporate modernist rooms and facilities.

The hotel had a glittering heyday in the 1950s, attracting showbiz elite like crooner Eddie Fisher and boxer Rocky Marciano. The resort is even said to have inspired 1980s cult movie and enduring classic Dirty Dancing.

Unfortunately, when owner Jennie Grossinger passed away in the early 1970s the resort’s popularity plummeted, and it was finally shuttered in 1986. For decades it was left to molder, its swimming pool dry and graffitied and its golf clubhouse choked by greenery.

Creaking remnants of the resort were swallowed by fire in 2022.

Coco Palms Resort, Kauai, Hawaii

The King of Rock ’n’ Roll himself, Elvis Presley, made this Hawaii resort famous. Pictured here in 2006, it’s set in lush Wailua and was the setting for much of Presley’s 1961 movie Blue Hawaii – a hit that inspired many a ‘Hawaii-themed’ wedding at the venue.

Other showbiz heavyweights like Rita Hayworth and Frank Sinatra also came through the resort's illustrious doors, enjoying its luxurious outdoor pool and suites fit for a King. 

Hurricane Iniki tore through the property in 1992, ravaging it completely and causing it to permanently close its doors. Some two decades later, the hotel sustained yet more damage thanks to a devastating two-day fire. For now it sits abandoned, with its pool filled with stagnant water and its rooms in ruins. 

However, its current owners Reef Capital Partners have recently announced a partnership with Kimpton Hotels. If all goes to plan it will undergo a historically sensitive restoration before reopening as Coco Palms, a Kimpton Resort some time in 2026.

Overlook Mountain House, Woodstock, New York

The ruins of the Overlook Mountain House hotel are a haunting spectacle. The once luxurious hotel, hidden away in New York’s Catskill Mountains, was originally built in 1833 and was one of the region's crown jewels.

However, while some guests enjoyed the hotel's remoteness others were put off by its location (it was not easily accessible by train), and a series of fires helped put the final nail in the hotel’s coffin.

Even after the fires, the hotel’s tenacious owner, Morris Newgold, attempted to rebuild it in sturdy concrete in 1923. But the new design was never finished after Newgold's funds dwindled, and the property was eventually boarded up and taken over by the state.

Now the half-finished lodge stands a haunting ruin, with trees growing up in its hollow center. The site is popular with hikers and photographers.

Lee Plaza, Detroit, Michigan

For decades abandoned buildings were scattered across Detroit like bones after the decline of the city's automotive industry led to a massive economic downturn, leaving many businesses and homes deserted. And although Motor City has enjoyed an architectural, cultural, and financial revival in recent years, some abandoned reminders still remain.

They include the once-opulent Art Deco Lee Plaza, a soaring apartment block that was meant to epitomize luxury living.

The building first opened in 1929, but the Great Depression quickly forced its original owner to sell and the 16-story block was passed between proprietors through the following decades. Its luxury faded and it spent time as a senior citizens’ home, before eventually being boarded up for good in the 1990s.

The complex stood abandoned and, left to the whims of nature, became a windowless husk with tattered, graffitied corridors, and a decrepit ballroom. Now, however, plans are afoot to redevelop the Art Deco beauty.

Arne’s Royal Hawaiian Motel, Baker, California

Though its doors are long since shuttered, this funky motel at the edge of the Mojave National Preserve in southeast California remains a well-loved roadside attraction. Drivers pull off Interstate 15 to snap photos of the motel’s gloriously retro sign and dramatically curving a-frame roof. 

The property originally opened in the 1950s, when the post-war automobile boom meant that the road-trip vacation – with the help of the roadside motel – was king. It’s thought that the property had around 43 rooms and thrived throughout the mid-century.

However, by the 2000s, it had fallen into disrepair, and by 2009 its doors were closed for good.

Sunrise Resort, East Haddam, Connecticut

New England’s Sunrise Resort had a very good run indeed. It was opened in 1916 by a taxi driver from Hartford under the name Ted Hilton's Hideaway and prospered for decades, remaining open for more than 90 years.

The resort was an oasis for lovers of the outdoors, offering everything from tennis lessons to horse riding, while cozy cottages and swanky resort-style accommodations were scattered across the site. 

Eventually the resort ran its course and was closed in 2008, before being passed over to the care of the state. Unfortunately, the buildings weren’t repaired or reopened – some were demolished and the others were simply left to deteriorate.

The remaining abandoned structures make for a stirring site, scattered around state parkland in East Haddam.

The Ambassador Hotel, Jacksonville, Florida

This hulking building in Jacksonville actually began life as an apartment complex, before being transformed into a hotel in the 1940s. Its name changed repeatedly: it started life as the Three-Ten Hotel, became the Hotel Southland in 1947, switched to the Griner Hotel in 1949 and finally settled on the Ambassador in 1955.

It was a staple of the city, with sweeping downtown views and a prime central location, and was eventually placed on the National Historic Register.

Sadly, despite its designation, the hotel declined through the 1980s and was closed permanently by the end of the millennium. For years the former hotel was simply left to crumble, an embarrassing husk standing right in the center of the city.

There were  plans to transform the building into a brand-new boutique hotel, complete with fitness center and lounge. However, there have been issues with the developer and the hotel’s future once again seem uncertain.

Wheaton and Hollis Hotel, Bodie, California

The eerie Gold Rush ghost town of Bodie is one of eastern California's must-visit sights. It's a boneyard of creaking saloons, burnt-out cars, and dusty, deserted pathways – and it has its very own abandoned hotel.

The building that would become the Wheaton and Hollis Hotel started life in the 1880s as the United States Land Office.

The structure wore many hats in its time, also serving as the Power Company office, the Bodie Store and, finally, the Wheaton and Hollis Hotel. Hotel highlights include this intricate pool table, and classic saloon decor commonly associated with the Wild West.

Bodie's story is that of many an American ghost town: when the gold in the area was depleted, miners and their families moved out, leaving Bodie – and its bars, homes, and hotels – deserted.

The Baker Hotel, Mineral Wells, Texas

The Baker Hotel, in the northeast of the Lone Star State, has had a tumultuous history. It was built in the Roaring Twenties, and by the 1930s was pulling in well-heeled clientele with its up-to-the-minute amenities and mod-cons (it boasted a state-of-the-art, Olympic-sized swimming pool filled with local mineral water, and eventually air con).

Mineral Wells was gaining popularity as a spa destination so the plush lodgings should have been well set for success, but the decades that followed weren’t kind to the hotel. 

As modern medicine advanced, fewer tourists descended on Mineral Wells – previously the region's healing waters had been commonly prescribed by doctors. The Baker Hotel was closed by the 1960s and left to rot in the 1970s, but may now be set to get a new lease of life.

 It’s currently undergoing extensive renovations and is set to reopen as a sumptuous hotel with spa, business, and convention facilities in 2028.

Western Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada

The Western was part of Jackie Gaughan’s casino empire that also included the legendary El Cortez. When it opened on Fremont Street in 1970 it housed the world’s largest bingo parlor with 1,020 seats.

However after it was sold to the venture capitalist Tony Hsieh the hotel portion was demolished in 2013, leaving only the shuttered casino section standing.

The property was put up for sale in March 2024 and was said to have a potential buyer who intended to renovate it soon after. However, no firm details have been announced. 

JK Wells, Garnet, Montana

Garnet was named after the semi-precious stone found in the area, but it was the gold bearing quartz in the surrounding mountains that tempted prospectors to settle here. Hastily – and often badly – constructed buildings sprouted up to cater to a community which at its peak in the late 19th century numbered around 1,000 people. 

They included the JK Wells hotel, which opened in 1897 and was the most impressive building in town.