Entry No. 8 — the Durango file — filed under: haunted
Grand Imperial Hotel
“Luigi Regalia checked in to Room 314 in 1890. He never checked out.”
In 1890, Luigi Regalia shot himself in what is now Room 314, and he never checked out. When crews gutted the third floor in 2015, nails and drywall chunks came flying at them; housekeepers still enter 314 in pairs, finding fresh-made beds dented by an invisible sitter. Downstairs it gets stranger: Sheriff Dowd is said to guard the basement tunnels that once shuttled Blair Street's working girls under the respectable half of town, and the conference room smells of honeysuckle perfume.
The story
When W.S. Dawson built the Grand Hotel in 1882, he meant it as a statement of high-altitude Victorian luxury in a boomtown full of silver miners. But the building's permanent guest arrived eight years later. In 1890, Luigi Regalia checked into what is now Room 314, drew a revolver, and ended his life. He has spent the last century enforcing his own ideas about room maintenance. When the Harper family bought the property in 2015 and sent construction crews to gut the third floor, Luigi made his displeasure clear: workers reported loose nails and chunks of drywall hurled down the hallway by no visible hand. Today, housekeepers still enter 314 in pairs after repeatedly finding freshly made beds pressed down by the weight of an invisible sitter.
Step downstairs and the building's secret geography gets darker. Beneath the floorboards, a subterranean brick-and-timber tunnel once ran directly from the basement under Greene Street to the brothels and saloons of Blair Street—Silverton’s notorious red-light strip one block east. The tunnel allowed respectable town leaders and wealthy guests to visit Blair Street’s working girls out of sight of their wives and constituents. Local history says former Sheriff Dowd still keeps watch over the basement passages, while staff and visitors in the downstairs conference room regularly catch wafts of sweet honeysuckle perfume—a scent traced back to the women who once passed through the dark passageways below.
What it's like
Stepping into the lobby drops you onto a Victorian set piece of heavy timber, tin ceilings, and velvet trim. If you manage to secure Room 314, expect a standard historical hotel room that feels perfectly normal until you lie down for the night; guests routinely report hearing the distinct metallic click of the door chain lock fastening itself from the inside. Grab a local beer in the ground-floor saloon, but keep an eye out for locked cellar access points leading to the sealed Blair Street tunnels. If you're driving up from Durango via US 550, give yourself extra time for the hairpin turns over Coal Bank and Molas passes, and check mountain road conditions before heading out in winter or spring.
The move: Book Room 314 and dare each other to leave the chain lock off overnight — fastening it himself is Luigi's favorite trick.
📍 Before you go The hotel anchors Greene Street, Silverton's main drag, with angle parking out front; the Durango & Silverton narrow-gauge depot is a short walk away if you ride the train up instead of driving. Room 314 is a regular bookable guest room — request it by number, and expect it to go early around Halloween. The drive from Durango crosses two high passes on the Million Dollar Highway, so check road conditions in winter. Pair it with a wander down Blair Street, one block east — the old red-light district the tunnels connected to.
- 📍 Silverton
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 1219 Greene St, Silverton, CO 81433
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Hillside Cemetery — Follow the road half a mile up Boulder Mountain to see 3,000 ungridded graves holding the 1890s miners, saloon keepers, and townspeople who built Silverton.
- Silverton Skijoring on Blair Street — Stroll one block east to Blair Street—the former red-light district connected to the hotel by tunnels—where horses tow skiers down the dirt drag every February.
- Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour — Head four miles out of town to go deep into the mountain rock where hard-rock miners of the same era actually worked.
Good to know
Can you actually reserve Room 314?
Yes, Room 314 is a regular, bookable guest room. You must request it specifically by room number when making a reservation, and it fills up fast around Halloween.
Are the basement tunnels open for public tours?
No, the underground passages connecting the hotel basement to Blair Street are sealed to the public for structural and safety reasons, though you can still see the lower-level access areas.
What is the best way to get to the hotel from Durango?
You can drive 48 miles north on the Million Dollar Highway (US 550) over two high mountain passes, or take the historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which drops off a short walk from the front doors.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: durangoherald.com · dgomag.com · Official site · historycolorado.org
last checked: 2026-06-11