Inside the Haunted History of Key West's La Concha Hotel

Quick Facts: La Concha Hotel's Haunted History

• Opened in 1926 as Key West's first luxury hotel and its tallest building

• Rooms originally went for $3 a night, with a steak dinner available for another 30 cents

• Tennessee Williams stayed here, reportedly finishing A Streetcar Named Desire in a sixth-floor suite

• Harry Truman and Ernest Hemingway both visited for cocktails, according to hotel lore

• Rooftop hauntings are the most commonly reported, once the site of the hotel's old bar

• A recurring "wine thief" legend involves glasses of Chardonnay vanishing on the top floor

• The Hemingway Suite has its own stories of typewriter sounds and objects moving on their own

• Now part of Marriott's Autograph Collection, fully renovated after a 1980s restoration

• Located on Duval Street, walking distance to Mallory Square and the Hemingway House

The hotel's renovated dining space brings a bright, tropical energy to the ground floor, a world away from the shadows guests report a few stories up.

Photo Credit: La Concha via TripAdvisor

A Hotel Built for the Island's Golden Age

When developer Carl Aubuchon opened La Concha in 1926, Key West had never seen anything quite like it. Seven stories tall and filled with marble and plantation-style furnishings, it quickly became the island’s most fashionable address. Rooms started at just $3 a night, and for another 30 cents, guests could add a steak dinner.

The glamour didn’t last uninterrupted. A devastating hurricane in 1935 crippled Key West and destroyed its rail connection to the mainland, and La Concha spent the following decades drifting in and out of prominence. A major restoration in the 1980s eventually brought the landmark back to life.

Along the way, the hotel collected an appropriately colorful guest list. Harry Truman and Ernest Hemingway are both said to have stopped in for cocktails, while local lore claims Al Capone took in the views during Prohibition. But the name most closely tied to La Concha is Tennessee Williams, who is said to have finished A Streetcar Named Desire in a sixth-floor suite before settling permanently in Key West, just a short walk from the hotel.

A nod to the hotel's writerly past, this lounge sits just off the lobby, a fitting spot to sit with the Hemingway and Tennessee Williams lore that's followed La Concha for a century.

Photo Credit: La Concha via TripAdvisor

The Stories That Give La Concha Its Reputation

Ask around Old Town and you'll hear no shortage of La Concha stories. Guests and staff have described sudden cold spots, flickering lights, and the unmistakable feeling that someone is watching from the hallway.

Two places come up more than anywhere else: the rooftop and the ground-floor gift shop. The rooftop, now home to a pool, spa, and rooftop bar with sweeping views over Key West, has long been at the center of La Concha's paranormal lore. Downstairs, where the hotel also has another bar, the gift shop has become such a fixture in La Concha's ghost stories that it's a regular stop on local walking tours through haunted Key West.

One of the stranger stories involves a shadowy figure said to appear on the upper floors, apparently with a taste for Chardonnay. According to the legend, glasses of wine have mysteriously vanished straight from guests' hands. None of this is exactly verifiable, of course, but the stories have been repeated for so long that they've become part of La Concha's identity.

If you're curious but not quite ready to spend the night listening for footsteps outside your room, a ghost tour is the lower-commitment option. You'll still hear the legends, just without having to sleep in the building afterward.

But if staying at a haunted hotel sounds like exactly your kind of October trip, we've found stays at La Concha from around $200 per night during spooky season.

The Hemingway Suite and Haunted Typewriter

Down in the Hemingway Suite, the stories get even stranger. Visitors have reported drawers opening on their own, objects shifting without explanation, and even the faint sound of typewriter keys clicking late at night.

There’s plenty of Hemingway lore tied to La Concha, but the connection isn’t entirely a ghost-story invention. There’s no evidence he stayed at the hotel for any extended period, yet when Hemingway arrived in Key West by boat from Havana in 1928, La Concha was one of the tallest buildings on the island and would have been hard to miss from the water. He later even worked a reference to the hotel into To Have and Have Not.

A small tribute to the hotel's literary lore, complete with an old typewriter and a copy of Hemingway's work, the same kind of detail that keeps the "haunted typewriter" story alive.

Photo Credit: La Concha via TripAdvisor

What It's Actually Like to Stay Today

None of this history gets in the way of a comfortable stay. Today, La Concha operates as a Marriott Autograph Collection property, with the modern amenities you'd expect, including a heated outdoor pool, fitness center, and some of the best views in Old Town.

What sets it apart is the building itself. Marble floors, colorful ceiling details, and shutters inspired by Key West's architectural history give it a character you simply don't get from newer hotels. It's the kind of place where you can spend the afternoon by the pool, head out onto Duval Street for dinner, and return knowing there may or may not be something lurking in the hallway.

If you're worried about the Chardonnay-stealing ghost, ordering a mojito feels like the safer move.

One of the hotel's bars, where staff say the occasional glass of Chardonnay has a way of going missing on its own.

Photo Credit: La Concha via TripAdvisor

So, Should You Still Go?

La Concha isn't a haunted attraction pretending to be a hotel. It's a genuinely well-located, historic property that happens to carry a century's worth of stories with it, and that's exactly what makes it so much fun to stay here. Whether you leave with a ghost story of your own or simply a great view and a few cocktails under your belt, you'll understand why La Concha has managed to keep people talking for the past 100 years.

Frequently Asked Questions: La Concha Hotel's Haunted History

Is La Concha Hotel actually haunted?

There's no way to verify it, but the hotel has a long-standing local reputation for paranormal activity, with the rooftop and gift shop being the most commonly cited locations.

Where is La Concha Hotel located?

It's on Duval Street in Key West's Old Town, within walking distance of Mallory Square and the Hemingway House.

What hotel chain owns La Concha now?

It operates under Marriott's Autograph Collection.

Did Tennessee Williams really stay at La Concha?

Local history holds that Williams stayed in a sixth-floor suite and finished A Streetcar Named Desire there before moving to Key West permanently.

Did Ernest Hemingway stay at La Concha too?

There's no record of an extended stay, but the connection is real. Hemingway saw La Concha towering over the island when he arrived by boat from Havana in 1928, and he later referenced the hotel in To Have and Have Not.

Can non-guests visit the gift shop or rooftop?

The gift shop is generally open to the public, and it's a regular stop on Key West ghost tours; rooftop access policies are best confirmed directly with the hotel.

Is La Concha a good hotel for a family vacation despite the ghost stories?

Yes, it's a full-service hotel with a pool and central location, and the haunted history is more of a fun backstory than anything that affects a typical stay.

When is the best time to visit for the spookiest atmosphere?

Around Halloween, Key West leans into its haunted reputation with extra ghost tours and events, making it a popular time to visit for this angle specifically.