Said to be the oldest hotel on the island, Hotel Galvez has a haunted room 505. Reports say that very few people actually stay all night in that room, because there is an eerie presence that makes them feel uncomfortable. The mysterious scent of gardenias is said to be a clue to the ghost’s presence.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 2024 Seawall Blvd Galveston, TX 77550
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 29.292511, -94.78584899999998
- County:
- Galveston County, Texas
- Nearest Towns:
- Galveston, TX (0.9 mi.)
Texas City, TX (9.5 mi.)
Bayou Vista, TX (9.5 mi.)
La Marque, TX (12.3 mi.)
Jamaica Beach, TX (13.7 mi.)
Hitchcock, TX (14.4 mi.)
San Leon, TX (15.5 mi.)
Bolivar Peninsula, TX (17.8 mi.)
Bacliff, TX (19.3 mi.)
Dickinson, TX (19.8 mi.)
Contact Information
- Web:
- http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/texas/galveston/hotel-galvez-spa-a-wyndham-grand-hotel/
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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
The Haunted room is actually room 501, not 505 as stated.
The Hotel is NOT the oldest on the island
Yeah, the Hotel Galvez is the oldest on the Island
Stayed the night in room 503 a few years ago. Wanted 505, but it was booked. The atmosphere in the room did get very heavy a few times that night. Woke up the next morning with a yellow sticker from my luggage taped across my arm like a band aid…I just had stitches removed. I didn’t put it there. Whatever did seems friendly. I will definitely stay on that floor again.
Was told that the haunted room was 505 then 503 and 501. The staff will rarely tell you the exact room number, but they will only put people in the haunted room when all the others are taken. A friend of mine and I stayed on the 5th floor in August of 2011 next to room 503. There was a door between us and that room. Around 2 am we heard loud noises like someone was throwing luggage against the walls for about 5 minutes. We asked the front desk who was staying in that room and they said no one.
Just stayed here on November 1, 2014. I stayed in room 528, I was not sure if I had visitors or not as my roommate said she was awake most of the night, however, twice during the night, my bed shook and both times I smelled flowers. I asked my friend if she has sprayed room spray during the night and she said she had not. The next morning, I looked around to see if there might be some sort of plugin that I had smelled, there were none. Was I visited by Audra the girl who hung herself on the 8th floor, perhaps, you be the judge, all I can say is the only time my bed has ever shaken is during an earthquake and there were no reports of one on the island that night.
i would love to stay in room 501 but how much does it cost for one night?
Stayed here for about two nights on a school field trip. Woke up in the middle of the night to an utter feeling of dread and paranoia. Usually sleep like a hibernating bear when not at home. No one else was awake and other friend was about 2 feet away from me on the bed. Friend in another room also mentions waking up around 2 in the morning to Bathroom light flickering with everyone in bed. Be Noted we were all of the left wing of the second floor.
We just stayed the night in room 518 and had the scariest experience of our lives. I always leave the bathroom light on and the door cracked about 6 to 8 inches for the kids to have a night light. At 12:10am I noticed that the light just went out. I got up to turn it back on and noticed the door opened up wider yet no one has used it. I reached in and turned on the light and immediately a woman started crying really loud. Chills of cold went over my body as I looked over at the bed at my son who was devastated by the sound. The sound then move outside our room door and continued for about 30 seconds and started to fade down the hall as I opened the door quickly and yet saw no one. My wife woke up and asked what’s the commotion about and I looked at my 11 year old son and asked what he heard and he replied a woman screaming really loud in the bathroom. I then said that that was exactly what I heard as it moved past me and outside the door. I reported it to the front desk and security came up and it seemed to be no surprise to them. We then decided to stay at Quality Inn farther down the seawall. I never believed in paranormal activity until this, now I absolutely do not deny it!
We stayed in room 505 this weekend. The only thing we noticed was a heavy feeling in the room between 2-3am. It would also get very hot during the night although we never adjusted the thermostat. A coworker stayed in room 501 this weekend as well, alone. Said when she arrived she asked if anyone was there to let her know. The toilet flushed very loudly right then.
Last night a friend and I stayed in room 505. She booked the room and I was terrified to stay there. The room has 2 queen sized beds but I told my friend that I would not sleep alone. We both slept in one bed. We put pillows between us and I slept under several blankets just in case something appeared I would not see it. It did get hot in the room even though we had the thermostat pretty low. So I couldn’t keep my head totally under the covers. My feet were at the end of the bed and I felt the end of the bed slightly move like someone was sitting on the end of the bed on my side. I drew my feet up so I would not feel it again. Then later I woke up to someone planting a kiss on my forehead. I asked my friend the reason she had kissed my forehead and in a stupor she merely said she was sorry. This morning when we discussed it she said there is no way she could have kissed my forehead or even found my forehead between the room being pitch dark, the pillows between, the blankets and her being asleep. Personally, I think the spirits knew I was terrified to be in that room and someone was trying to comfort me.
My husband and I stayed here for the first time last year for our anniversary/my birthday. I was so super excited because I love spooky, historical type stuff (The Shining is my favorite film, lol). I know the 5th floor is reportedly the most haunted floor. We stayed on the 4th floor (left wing, I think, can’t remember which room) last year and on the 3rd floor this year (room #301). While I haven’t experienced any obvious haunting activity, I did have a feeling of being watched while taking showers/baths here. Also, I usually have trouble falling asleep in hotels, but here my mind would race and I had way more difficulty falling asleep, with just a general feeling of being creeped out/paranoid. My husband slept like a rock, so maybe it was just me spooking myself out. I didn’t feel like anything was evil or malicious here, it’s just kind of a sense of sadness. That being said, I love the Galvez aka The Queen of the Gulf. Amazingly beautiful place with so much history, there’s bound to be a few “ghosts.”
Hotel Galvez was also built on the original grounds of St. Mary’s Orphan Asylum, which housed 93 orphans and 10 nuns before it succumbed to the Great Storm of 1900.
When the hurricane struck, the nuns tied clothesline around each of their waists and then around the wrists of six to eight kids.
I’ve stayed at the Hotel Galvez and toured the gallery of photos and information from the hotel’s inception. The asylum isn’t mentioned anywhere. I guess it wouldn’t be, considering the death count.
Here’s one link to verify, but there are several.
https://www.houstonfamilymagazine.com/features/portrait-of-a-legend-the-great-storm-of-1900-st-marys-orphan-asylum/
In August 2001 my husband and I were in the pool at Hotel Galvez and you could see what I call the Ballroom , you could see through the big windows from the pool the room was dark and we both saw what we first thought to be a tall man walking in the room until the man walked out through one of the huge windows and disappeared. We asked the front desk if anyone was in the ballroom and we’re told no that it had been closed and locked up since 8pm and this was almost 10 pm . At the time we hadn’t heard anything about the Hotel being haunted and had stayed there every year on August 11 for almost 8 yrs this is where we would stay on our wedding anniversary. I would love to stay in one of the possibly haunted rooms or at least on the same floor. I wish I knew how to go about getting permission to do investigations at other places of interest, I don’t know how to contact the owners of abandoned buildings or property’s or how to find out who you need to contact. I love ghost hunting and have a few pieces of equipment and would love to ghost with others who enjoy ghost hunting and live in the Conroe Tx area. If interested shoot me an email at spook06@yahoo.com and maybe we can get a few people together for a fun night of ghost hunting.