Haunted Phoenix: San Carlos Hotel

San Carlos Hotel
Downtown Phoenix, Arizona

The San Carlos Hotel is essentially one of those unknown haunts of the country. Generally speaking, only people like us know that it's haunted because we have a keen interest in the world of ghosties and ghoulies! Even more truthful, San Carlos Hotel really isn't inhabited with a plethora of spirits; it only houses less than a handful. The hotel itself doesn't even have that much amazing history behind it. It's really just an old fashioned hotel still kickin' it in the busy downtown Phoenix area.

Before it was even a hotel, the San Carlos was actually a school (seems to be a common thing with older buildings) that was opened up in 1874! In 1879 the school was replaced with a larger structure, and would actually continue to be enlarged many different times until finally it was condemned in 1916. During this time a great deal of children were dying from the flu epidemic.

In 1919 the land the building was on was purchased by the Babbitt Family. However the hotel project didn't even break ground until 1927 after the land was purchased from the Babbitt family by Charles Harris and Dwight D. Heard. It was constructed and designed by the nations best architects and they used an Italian Renaissance theme. It became a state of the heart hotel with the very first use of air conditioning for a hotel in Phoenix. It's a good thing they did, seeing as how it get's to be about 358 degree's on a good end of winter day here. Of course I exaggerate a tad bit. The hotel finally opened it's doors on March 19th, 1928 and the final cost of the building was over $850,000. There are houses these days that cost more than that to buy!

Just a year later, construction on the Westward Ho hotel was finished and now the San Carlos had some stiff competition! The Ho had a slew of the rich and famous come stay, including John F. Kennedy and Jack Dempsey. But don't put down San Carlos yet, it too had a nice list of celebs come visit including: Mae West, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Gene Autry.

On May 7, 1928 the Arizona Republic came out with a news story: "Pretty Blonde Jumps from the San Carlos Hotel Earlier Today". The woman was 22 year old Leone Jensen, and she apparently committed suicide by jumping off the rooftop of the seven story building. In her "death note" she stated that her boyfriend, who was a bellboy at the Westward Ho, had been physically abusing her. People also speculated that Jensen had become pregnant and that her boyfriend was having an affair with another hotel employee. Due to these speculations people have argued that Jensen did not commit suicide, because they feel she was pushed off the building by her abusive man! However none of this has been proven, and her death is still ruled as a suicide.

Leone is San Carlos' most famous haunt! Ever since her unfortunate death, guests have claimed to still see her roaming the halls. The most common sighting is said to be a cloud of white haze in the form of a woman. Leone has become such an accepted ghost of the hotel, that the hotel had to change policies. It is now required that all staff travel in pairs or up to three at a time, due to superstition. She is definitely a main fixture at the hotel. It has actually been reported that she did not jump from the roof, but from room 720. People have stayed in this room and have reported phantom breezes and faint whispering in their ears. This cloud of white haze has also been prominently seen in this room.

Leone is not the ONLY ghostie walking the halls of the hotel though! It has been reported numerous times, that guests have seen and heard the playing of three or four children in the halls and rooms. They are heard running down the hallways and laughing and playing when no children are present in the entire building! Apparently there was a well on the school grounds before the hotel was around. It has been reported but not confirmed that the four boys drowned in this well in the late 1800's. Not to long later, the school was deemed unsafe and then condemned.

**Interesting side note: the well the boys supposedly drowned in is still apart of the hotel! In fact, it is the sole source of water for all the guests staying there. The San Carlos is the only building in Phoenix not connected to the city's water supply.

Another ghost frequently mentioned is that of a little girl. She is guessed to be around 5-10 years old and is heard and seen crying in the rooms at night time. Some suggest she was a girl who died in the building from the flu epidemic or she was a distraught girl when the school was closed.

The hotel has gone through many renovations, (including a $1,000,000 one in 2003) and has to compete now with numerous "luxurious" hotels in the area such as the Phoenician, and the Arizona Biltmore Hotel. The San Carlos is only a few blocks away from such places as: Chase Field (home of the Arizona Diamondbacks), The US Airways Arena (home of the Phoenix Suns) and places like Dodge Theater and the Orpheum Theater. So maybe you aren't into ghosts...but if you are even in Phoenix, your stay may be best complimented with the classic feel of an old hotel at the San Carlos! And who knows...maybe after a night...you too will become a believer!

--Mike--