The Windsor Hotel reigns over the historic district in Americus, Georgia. The eclectic Victorian Hotel with an unusual window styles and landmark towers was built in 1892 and takes up nearly a full city block. The spirits of some former employees are said the haunt the premises of the Castle like Victorican hotel.
Guests and staff have reported seeing and hearing a little girl on the hotel’s third floor. The little girl runs down the hallway at night and laughing.
In the early 1900’s the head housekeeper lived and worked at the hotel. Her daughter lived at the hotel with her. The head housekeeper and her daughter were both murdered when they was pushed down the elevator well. The ghost of the head housekeeper and the ghost of her daughter still haunt the Windsor Hotel.
The woman has been seen reflected is a mirror that is in the hall on the third floor. The kitchen stall has reported seeing the pots and pans flying around at night. the port and pans are mysteriously misplaced. Radios are also mysteriously turned on and off.
Another spirit at the hotel is Floyd Lowery who worked at the Windsor as a doorman and elevator man for forty years. Floyd was known as a friendly and cordial employee and is a friendly ghost who loves being at the hotel. Floyd’s Bar in the hotel is named after this dedicated employee. People who remember Floyd say that he is man that never took a drink, making it ironic that the hotel pub was named after him.
History of the Windsor Hotel in Americus, Georgia
The Windsor Hotel was built in 1892 as a retreat for northern hunters and vacationers escaping the cold of winter. The five story, castle like structure is now a year around retreat.
The hotel is a castle like Victorian structure complete with balconies, towers and a three story open atrium lobby. The rooms are individually decorated so that no two rooms are the same. The hotel was designed as a fanciful building, resembling the Hotel Alcazar at St. Augustine, which is now Ripley[‘s Believe It or Not.
The Windsor Hotel was built by a syndicate and named after a community leader, John T. Windsor, as the name was suggestive of aristocratic qualities.
In the mid-1970s downtown Americus suffered hard times. The grand Windsor Hotel fell into disrepair, with broken gutters, peeling paint and falling plaster. The once grand hotel became a “white elephant” and was donated to the City of Americus in 1978 by the Howard Daytone family. The community had to make the choice of demolishing the hotel or restoring the building.
The community chose to restore the grand hotel and make it the centerpiece for the revitalization of the downtown area. In 1986 the Windsor Development Corporation was formed. Since then, nearly $8 million dollars has been spent to restore the original Victorian features of the hotel and to add modern conveniences.
The Windsor Hotel reopened in 1991. The grand opening celebration was attended by former President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalyn Carter.
The hotel has 53 unique rooms and suites, all decorated in period style with twelve foot ceilings and ceiling fans.
Today the grand hotel features amenities including a spa, beauty salon, Grand Dining Room, Floyd’s Rub and more. The Windsor Hotel is one of the historic Hotels of America.
Windsor Hotel is near Andersonville, Jimmy Carter National Historic sites, Georgia Rural Telephone Museum, Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village and other attractions.
