Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, recently released its list of the top 25 most haunted hotels in the country. One of only three California hotels on the list is Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, located in Boyes Hot Springs.
“More than mere ghost stories, these enduring legends and folklore contribute to the unique qualities of the inns, resorts and hotels of Historic Hotels of America,” said the program’s executive vice president Lawrence Horwitz in an Oct. 7 press release.
The hotels on the annual list were founded between 1716 to 1941. Most reside on the East Coast, where many infamous events in our nation’s history took place, such as the Salem witch trials. (A Salem, Massachusetts hotel appears on the list — often ranked as one of the most haunted hotels in the U.S.)
The five-star Sonoma property, originally known as the Boyes Hot Springs Hotel, circa 1890s, burned down in a 1923 fire. According to a Historic Hotels timeline of the inn, Fred Partridge and Rudolph Lichtenberg had the resort rebuilt in 1926. They hired architect Joseph L. Stewart for the redesign of the Spanish Revival-style hotel. It reopened a year later and the owners renamed it Sonoma Mission Inn in 1928.
So what makes the hotel haunted? According to Historic Hotels of America, the inn’s tenured employees have testified that, “when the evenings are still and the fog rolls in from the San Francisco Bay, a beautiful woman has been seen strolling the hallways of the inn in period clothing.”
The ghost, known as Victoria, was an early European settler in Sonoma Valley who is said to have celebrated her wedding and anniversaries at the resort. Guests have also supposedly seen the ghost of an older man at the inn, as well as other paranormal phenomenon. Reports include seeing shadowy figures, doors slamming, lights flickering and unexplained noises.
“The hauntingly famous Round Room is perhaps one of the most haunted hotel rooms in California,” said the Historic Hotels of America press release.
A 2020 press release from Fairmont Sonoma stated that a guest was allegedly beheaded in a bathtub in this room by a jealous lover in the 1920s. Since then, the hotel’s guests have reported sighting supernatural activity in the room.
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn also made it on the “most haunted hotels” list last year. In 2022, Historic Hotels nominated Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn as one of its finalists for Best Historic Hotel. The inn also ranked in Historic Hotels’ 2024 lists for “most literary hotels” and “most romantic hotels” in the nation.
100 Boyes Blvd., Sonoma, 707-938-9000, fairmont-sonoma.com