19 Unusual Hotels in California

Remarkable places to stay—or at least visit—in the Golden State.

by Kavya Ram Mohan

19 Places

They may look like normal hotels on the outside, but California is home to a wide variety of unique accommodations—some with histories that include everything from murder to money-laundering.

If you fancy a stay in the room where JFK is rumored to have snuck Marilyn Monroe in through a secret passage, you’re in luck. But don’t overlook a stop at the abandoned hotel Guglielmo Marconi built for the world’s very first radio employees. Here are 19 remarkable places to spend the night (or visit) in one of America’s most iconic states.

Yosemite National Park, California

The Ahwahnee Hotel

Opened in 1927, this classic example of “Parkitecture” was the inspiration for the interior sets in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.”

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Los Angeles, California

Venice Beach House

Warren Wilson and Abbott Kinney were the visionaries behind the Venice Beach boardwalk we see today, and the two men became family when two of Kinney’s sons married two of Wilson’s daughters. At one time this big, happy, family all lived in this converted century-old dream house, rumored to always smell like cookies baking.

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San Francisco, California

Hotel Vertigo

When Hitchcock was filming his 1958 suspense classic “Vertigo,” he chose this hotel and its dizzying central staircase as one of the film’s major set pieces. In addition to inspiring the classic spinning-stairwell shot, the film’s haunting transformation scene was also shot on location at this hotel.

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San Francisco, California

Fairmont San Francisco Penthouse Suite

One of the most juicy tales surrounding the 6,000-square-foot penthouse is that JFK’s lover—Marilyn Monroe, some rumors have it—used a secret corridor hidden behind a bookshelf to sneak out when Kennedy’s wife Jackie was coming up the stairs.

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San Francisco, California

Westin St. Francis Hotel

Ever since 1938, all of the coins passed into the hands of hotel employees by guests here are laundered in a special machine. This service was introduced in order to avoid dirt spots on ladies’ white gloves, and might be the only legally working professional money laundering service in the world.

Los Angeles, California

Stay On Main Hotel

This historic (and recently rebranded) hotel in downtown Los Angeles has a history of suicide, murder, and madness stretching back more than 50 years to when the location was known as the Cecil Hotel, and is rumored to have been the inspiration for American Horror Story’s “Hotel” season.

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Marshall, California

The Marconi Conference Center

A fascinating yet nearly forgotten piece of radio history, this abandoned hotel is nestled in the hills and was built to house Marconi employees, but ended up acting as a clubhouse for a New Age cult.

San Francisco, California

Site of the Niantic

When the Niantic’s crew deserted it, the ship was purposely run aground. It was converted for use as a store and hotel. Above the door, cut into the vessel’s side, was the inscription “Rest for the weary and storage for trunks.”

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Port Costa, California

The Burlington Hotel

The Burlington Hotel is the oldest operating hotel in California, a throwback to an era of unruly railroad workers and busy ports. It has somehow kept its doors open, despite many nights when the only guests were the bats that now live in the rafters and walls, and the rumored ghosts.

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Joshua Tree, California

Hicksville Trailer Palace

A motel where you can stay in vintage trailers, each designed with a unique theme, some inspired by films or bands. Created by the director Morgan Higby Night, it may well be the coolest trailer park on earth.

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Santa Monica, California

Georgian Hotel

Called “The Lady” as an homage to its female creator, this hotel opened in 1933 during the Golden Era of filmmaking. While the likes of Fatty Arbuckle, Clark Gable, and Bugsy Segal enjoyed prohibited martinis, producers, politicians, and executives held business lunches on the oceanfront veranda.

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Los Angeles, California

King George Hotel

The Art Deco hotel where the evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson mysteriously disappeared and was presumed dead until she turned up a month later, claiming that she had been kidnapped and tortured. The episode made her radio show even more popular.

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Cambria, California

Victoria's Last Resort

This B&B is like stepping into your own special art piece. The carpets are leopard, the fireplaces are mosaics, and the guest suite has a crazy shower that is a must-see to believe. It’s also completely private, with just one guest at a time.

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California City, California

Lake Shore Inn

Located in California City, a ghost town north of Los Angeles, this inn was abandoned more than two decades ago. You can't stay here, but it is still standing today, refusing to fall—for now.

Byron, California

Byron Hot Springs Hotel

This remarkable building has been a resort, a residence, an interrogation center for prisoners of war, and a monastery in its several-hundred-year history.

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San Luis Obispo, California

Madonna Inn

To quote Umberto Eco: “Albert Speer, while leafing through a book on Gaudi, swallowed an overgenerous dose of LSD and began to build a nuptial catacomb for Liza Minelli.”

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Pasadena, California

Vista del Arroyo Hotel

The hotel played host to high society from near and far, as the Golden Age of train travel brought visitors from all over the world to Pasadena. In 1934, it was converted into an Army hospital.

Los Angeles, California

Waldorf Hotel Apartments

When it opened in the spring of 1915, the Waldorf was a luxurious landing spot for the rich or famous who wished to spend some days and nights frolicking in the debauchery and decadence that was Venice Beach.

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Pasadena, California

The Castle Green

During its days of glory, the lavish resort took the form of an eclectic seven-story building that mixed Spanish, Moorish, and Victorian styles together to arrive at something truly uncategorizable.