Downtown San Antonio’s Gunter Hotel might have simply debuted a splashy $57 million refresh, nevertheless it hasn’t escaped the ghosts of its previous. Washington, D.C., nonprofit the National Trust for Historic Preservation has named it among 2025’s top 25 most haunted hotels in the United States.
Each 12 months, the nonprofit’s Historic Hotels of America program acknowledges storied properties the place issues are mentioned to go bump in the evening. It’s a enjoyable solution to spotlight the group’s work to protect the nation’s various historic buildings, neighborhoods, and heritage, whether or not one believes in the supernatural or not.
The Gunter’s ghostly flappers may approve of the Twenties-inspired design at Keystone Club. Photo courtesy of The Gunter Hotel
“For some historic hotels, the past is not only present through historic architecture and authentic character, but also in the legends that hotel staff and locals tell about the ghostly spirits attracted to the historic hotel,” explains a launch. “To celebrate this folklore, every October Historic Hotels of America provides travelers with information about historic hotels that want to share their ghost stories and offer guests experiences related to the season.”
Built in 1909 and inducted into the Historic Hotels program in 2025, the Gunter Hotel boasts a room that’s solely barely much less infamous than The Shining’s Room 237. Room 636 was the location of considered one of San Antonio’s most well-known murders — a scene so ugly it was certain to depart a psychic mark.
“Since the 1960s, guests and staff alike have reported unsettling phenomena, including unexplained cold spots, flickering lights, and the sound of faint whispers or footsteps when no one is present,” explains Historic Hotels in a launch. “Some claim to have seen a shadowy figure lingering near the doorway, or catch the faint scent of cigar smoke, despite smoking being prohibited.”
A boozy message from the afterlife at Keystone Club. The Gunter Hotel San Antonio
According to the discharge, visitors have reported seeing a girl in white drift by way of the hallways and listening to phantom piano music in empty areas. Staff usually inform tales about darkish figures lurking in the ballroom and basement and spectral flappers ambling about.
The Gunter has largely embraced its eerie repute. Although the resort’s website understandably skips the darker facet of its historical past, it winkingly say it’s “where comfort and curiosity meet.” And the property’s new Keystone Club has its personal nod to paranormal exercise. Ominously stenciled atop the froth of a cocktail: a blood-red “636.”