La Concha Hotel, Part ll

La Concha Hotel

In Part l of this post, I share sightings of the ghost seen most often at this historic hotel in Key West, Florida.

La Concha opened in the early 1920s and hosted many famous people in its heyday. It was renovated in the 1980s and since three ghosts have been seen.

One of these ghosts * is believed to be the spirit of Ernest Hemingway because it is seen in the suite where he stayed with his mistress—Martha Gellhorn who became his third wife-- in the 1930s.

He began writing his 1937 novel To Have and Have Not at La Concha. It pays homage to this hotel—noting “its prominence on the horizon.”

Hemingway and Gellhorn

His ghost is mischievous for he often moves objects.

One guest who stayed in the Hemingway Suite was annoyed by activity that prevented him from going to sleep. He had climbed into bed when he saw a video recorder fall from the dresser he had placed it on.

He got up and placed it back on this shelf. But once he was back in bed, the recorder once more fell to the floor. He picked it up again. He checked the dresser to see if it was wobbly but determined it was stable.

When he got back in bed—he turned the light out but watched the dresser this time. He saw a dark figure in one corner by the bathroom—it was slightly crouched down.

He saw the recorder fall once more. He got up quickly, flipped the light on but found no one else in the room. He arranged to move to another room.

It appears Hemingway doesn’t like others in his space.

* Florida’s Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore, by Greg Jenkins.

View of Gulf of Mexico
from atop the hotel.

The third ghost that is seen at La Concha is the spirit of a lawyer who was in trouble with the law in the 1980s. He was being investigated for embezzlement and fraud and knew he faced prison time.

He came up with a strange plan to commit suicide and make it look like a murder so his family could collect insurance money.

He left a rambling recording of statements that implicated his secretary in the crimes and stated that men were coming to assassinate him.

He then jumped from one of the hotel’s balconies, recording his screams as he fell to his death. But this plot to clear his name and help out his family failed.

The authorities had too much evidence that pointed to his guilt.

Since this bizarre death, many witnesses at sunset have seen a middle-aged man walking frantically back and forth on one hotel balcony.

La Concha Hotel balconies.

Several of these people have called hotel security thinking this man was about to jump. However, in each instance security guards found no sign of anyone on this balcony.

A couple sitting in a room below this balcony called the front desk in a panic. They reported seeing a body falling past the window. Afterward, no body was found on the premises.

It appears this dishonest lawyer is doomed to play out his death over and over again.

This ghost is also seen on the roof of the hotel.

The La Concha is officially called Crowne Plaza Key West today, but the old name is still used. A tour of haunted Key West landmarks starts in the lobby of this hotel.

In Part l of La Concha Hotel, read about the ghost of a hotel waiter who died in an accident on New Year’s Eve.

La Concha Hotel, Part l

La Concha Hotel

The La Concha was built-in 1924 giving Key West, Florida its first luxury hotel. It quickly became the playground for U.S. presidents, gangsters, European royalty, and famous authors.

This hotel remains the tallest building on the civilian side of Key West and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

President Harry Truman on
"Little White House lawn" while staying
at La Concha.

Ernest Hemingway frequently stayed at the La Concha in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. It is said he wrote several of his novels at this hotel. He also entertained his mistress—his future 3^rd wife-- in the hotel’s bar and in his personal suite.

View from the rooftop in 1926.

By the late 1940s, the hotel had fallen on hard times. La Concha’s rooftop bar with its spectacular views was the only part of the hotel that remained open.

In the early 1980s architect Richard Ruth took on the task to restore this hotel to its former glory. The hotel reopened in 1986. Ruth’s efforts succeeded for many guests note the feeling of the past when they stay at the hotel.

But for others, this unique atmosphere has taken on a spooky feel. For they have seen one of the three ghosts that are known to haunt the La Concha.

The ghost seen and felt most often is the “tormented spirit” of a waiter who worked at the hotel in the 1980s.

It was New Year’s Eve at 1:45 A.M. and this waiter was hurrying to get back to the kitchen with a loaded cart. He cleaned up and placed stray party decorations—streamers and confetti on his cart as he made his way to the 5th-floor elevator.

This harried employee pushed the button and heard the elevator door open. He had his back to the entrance as he pulled his cart into what he thought was the elevator—but he stepped into an empty shaft and fell 5 floors to his death—his cart landed on top of him.

The elevator had malfunctioned and stopped at the 6^th floor above him instead. The hotel chose to keep this accident quiet but soon after, staff and guests began to have strange experiences.

5th Floor hallway.

Many employees while on the 5^th floor stated they felt they were being watched. Others reported having their shoulders tapped when the hall was empty.

To this day, hotel maids refuse to work on the 5^th floor alone.

This waiter is also seen in the hotel’s kitchen. There have been reports of cooks seeing this ghost pushing a cart in one corner of this room.

Others have found colorful streamers and confetti on the 5th-floor landing near the elevator when no celebrations have occurred. One janitor who went to retrieve a vacuum to clean this mess—returned only to find the party decorations gone.

Various staff members have reported that their carts have been moved overnight. These carts are then found sitting near the entrance to the 5th-floor elevator.

Guests have reported hearing a squeaky cart roll past their rooms late at night.

They also report seeing a waiter, late at night, walking down this hall. They state this figure walked stiffly as if in a daze.

One guest tried to engage this figure in a conversation, but it ignored him and turned the corner. This guest then followed the waiter only to find no one in the next hallway.

Yet other guests have heard sounds of a party—when there is none. They report hearing muffled laughter and music echoing down the hall.

In Part ll of La Concha Hotel, two other ghosts who reside at the hotel, including the ghost of Hemingway, are described.