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 The Casablanca Inn
The
Don Cesar Resort
Marrero's Guest
Mansion
If you are a visitor to the tropically warm state of
Florida,
plan a unique ghost-hunting adventure and stay at one of Florida's historic haunted hotels. And if you are a resident of
Florida , get to know your state's spookier side and embark on an exploration of the
unexplainable and visit
one of Florida's very own haunted hotels. One of its most haunted hotel
is the historic Don Cesar Resort, affectionately known as the Pink
Palace.
The
Casablanca Inn
24 Avenida Menedez,
St. Augustine, Florida,
(904) 829-0928
 The
Casablanca Inn, a beautiful Mediterranean-styled bed &
breakfast offering sprawling verandas and bay front views, is also home
to the Lady with the Lantern legend.
In the 1920s,
then known as the Matanzas hotel, the Casablanca Inn was a hotbed for
smuggling alcohol into the U.S. during times of Prohibition. The
proprietor of the hotel, a widow who laughed in the face of Prohibition,
allowed rumrunners to set up shop at her place and sold liquor to the
guests and locals who were familiar with the operation. The rumrunners
would stay there for a few days at a time, then move along by sea to
their next setup. She soon fell in love with one of the smugglers.
However,
the G-men were after the
rumrunners. Desperate to help,
she would climb the roof of the hotel with a lantern in hand and wave it
to signal the rumrunners offshore whether it was safe or not to come
ashore.
Eventually, prohibition ended, and the widow ended up making good money
from her smuggling ways.
 To
this day, visitors and guests can see the lady's lantern still lighting
the night.
Some guests
of an adjacent property reportedly have been awakened by a light shining
in their windows. Only then did they realize the light came from the
Casablanca Inn. Many shrimp boats and other watercraft entering the
inlet just after dusk on a moonless night are greeted by an eerie
lantern swinging in the darkness above the Casablanca Inn. Most witness
only the light, but some swear they had seen a dark figure on the
distant rooftop. The Lady with the Lantern lives on....
Please use the following link for the Casablanca Inn
to learn more about the
Lady with the
Lantern and
this warm and breezy haunted inn:
http://www.casablancainn.com
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Don Cesar Beach
Resort and Spa
3400 Gulf Blvd, St. Pete Beach, Florida (727) 360-1881
The Don Cesar,
affectionately known as the “Pink Palace”, is a long-time
“resident” of western Florida. Located near St. Petersburg and Tampa,
you cannot possibly miss The Don Cesar because of its striking
pink color. Thomas Rowe started its construction in 1925 and the Don
Cesar was completed by 1928. It was first called the “pink lady”
and it entertained such high profile people as F. Scott Fitzgerald,
Clarence Darrow, Babe Ruth and the rest of the New York Yankees during
spring training. The Don Cesar also is now known to entertain
some ghosts.
 The Don’s legendary ghost story involves
its original owner and builder, Thomas Rowe (left).
While overseas as a student in the 1890’s, he met a woman by the name of
Lucinda, a Spanish opera singer. They fell in love, however her parents
did not approve of their relationship. A heart-broken Rowe returned to
America, but never forgot Lucinda. He wrote her letters, but they were
returned unopened. After she died, Rowe had received a letter written by
her telling him she never forgot him. To commemorate their love, Rowe
included a replica of the fountain where he and Lucinda used to meet.
After Rowe died, the hotel suffered and
came to an end. It became a VA hospital and a government building until
its restoration and comeback in 1973. The hauntings happen to begin
around 1973.
Although this fountain had been removed,
construction workers, and later employees at the Don Cesar reported
seeing a man in a Panama hat walking with a woman hand in hand in the
lobby (right) and garden. And as soon as they appear, they
disappear. Some also see Rowe on the fifth floor where he
used to live.
Some also believe that other ghosts live
at “The Don.” These ghosts are thought to have stayed around during The
Don’s time as a VA hospital.
Today,
many baseball teams stay there while playing the Florida Marlins. It is
joked that players would “spook” rookies while staying at the Don Cesar
because it is such a widely known haunted hotel.
Please use the following link for The
Don Cesar to learn more about this pink haunted castle:
http://www.doncesar.com
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Marrero's Guest Mansion
410 Fleming Street, Key West, Florida
(305) 294-6977 / (800) 459-6212
 Besides
enjoying the warm, tropical climate and easy-breezy attitude of Key
West, yes you can even enjoy a haunted spirit as part of your itinerary.
Marrero’s Guest Mansion, a beautiful b & b located only half a block
away from world famous Duval Street is known for its true island
hospitality. It is also known for its spirit named
Enriquetta who to this day, still lays claim to “her” home.
In 1889 Francisco Marrero, a
prominent cigar maker built the mansion in order to lure his love,
Enriquetta to Key West. It worked! They married and eventually had eight
children all living happily in the beautiful Marrero mansion. As many
love stories turn tragic, apparently during one of Francisco’s business
trips to Cuba, he died under suspicious circumstances. But the tragedy
for Enriquetta continues. Unbeknownst to Enriquetta, Francisco already
had a wife in Cuba that he never divorced.
 After Francisco’s death, his first
wife Maria came to lay claim to the mansion and won. Poor Enriquetta and
her children had to leave the beautiful home they loved. But when she
left, apparently she promised that her spirit would always
remain in the home she loved. But rest assured, Enriquetta
is considered a very benevolent spirit only roaming the mansion
to keep an eye out on her old home.
Enough of the history, let’s get
down to the nitty gritty. Apparently Enriquetta has made her presence
known much through the years. For instance, owner and innkeeper John
Diebold has said that guests staying in rooms 17 and 23 have reported
hearing the sound of babies crying at night. Not unusual at a lodge, not
until you hear that Marrero’s is an adults-only establishment! As well,
the neighbors next door have no children either. Interestingly, the
rooms in which the sounds occurred were once the Marrero children’s
nursery. Enriquetta has also been seen passing through the doors into
the children’s old room.
Enriquetta is known as both a
welcoming and benevolent spirit….but can be known to throw a little
attitude from time to time. John has said that, “My experiences involve
doors and locks. Doors get locked from the inside with the secondary
lock, which can only be locked from the inside… but nobody is in the
room. This usually happens when people have been talking about
Enriquetta in a skeptical way.”
 Guests
have also reported seeing the spirit of Enriquetta in what was
once her bedroom—room 18. She has been seen passing through the
door that connected her room to the nursery.
 A
traveler from tripadvisor reported the scent of lavender while staying
in Enriquetta’s room, room 18. However, the potpourri in the room was
not lavender-scented. The scent of lavender was smelled at various times
in the room throughout their stay.
Please use the following link for
the Marrero’s Guest Mansion to learn more about this beautiful Key West
jewel and if you care to share some warm hospitality with Ms.
Enriquetta:
http://www.marreros.com
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