I have a lot of quirky habits (which will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me). One of them is that I generally won’t knowingly stay at a hotel where I know a violent murder happened. I realize on the surface that eliminates 99% of hotels, though the operative word here is “knowingly.”
I won’t go out of my way to Google the history of a hotel, though if I happen to know that a violent death happened at one, I don’t typically book it. Because if I do, I’ll just be thinking about it during my entire stay. My subconscious mind is weird, eh?
Which brings us to the latest story out of New York, specifically the Hilton Garden Inn Herald Square, where a dead body was found under a mattress early this morning.
Via CBS News:
New York City police are investigating the death of a man found unconscious with a head injury, under a mattress at a hotel blocks from the Empire State Building.
Officers were called to the Hilton Garden Inn on West 35th Street at around 4 a.m. Monday. Police say the unresponsive man had suffered trauma to the back of his head.
He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators and medical examiners are working to determine how he died. Police believe he was in his 30s.
The man was part of a group of people seen entering the hotel earlier, police told WCBS 880. When the others were seen running out of the hotel around 4 a.m., police were called, reports the station.
Authorities said there had been two noise complaints about the room prior to the victim being discovered, according to CBS New York.
A sad story — here’s to hoping they figure out what happened.
Am I the only one who goes out of my way to avoid hotels where I know murders/violent deaths have happened?
I used to be a deputy coroner and EMS provider and would like to point a couple of things out:
1) murders in hotel rooms aren't that common especially if you stay mid to upper range. Most hotels have had natural deaths like heart attacks and such but violent deaths are usually seen in lower end hotels and motels.
2) The real low end stuff is prime suicide territory. During my days on...
I used to be a deputy coroner and EMS provider and would like to point a couple of things out:
1) murders in hotel rooms aren't that common especially if you stay mid to upper range. Most hotels have had natural deaths like heart attacks and such but violent deaths are usually seen in lower end hotels and motels.
2) The real low end stuff is prime suicide territory. During my days on the ambulance, I once worked four suicides in five days at the same hotel. Two of them were in the same room four days apart.
3) I stayed in a hotel in the room next to one in which I worked a decomposing body (natural death; the 'do not disturb' sign apparently worked). That was a little weird.
@ Steve -- Wow! Thanks for sharing.
I can think of other things going on in hotel rooms that would gross me out more than a guy dying. I'd stay at that HGI, but I'd check the mattress and box spring. :) I was going to suggest Luminol but that might reveal more than you want to see.
It would not surprise me if your "helpful" readership now start warning you of murders at any hotels you post your interest in staying at in future ;-)
@ @mkcol -- LOL! Wouldn't surprise me either. :D
What if they gave you extra points for the stay? A sort of murder bonus. That'd get you back there, yes?
Reminds me of the movie "Four Rooms".
Not to be insensitive to this poor fellows fate but he did not die in the hotel he was found unconscious, he was declared dead at the hospital.
If you count in all the people brought out from the hotels unconscious you will have a short list to stay in.
So no it was perhaps not a dead body under the mattress.
I will not stay at a place that a death had occured. Even if its a natural death.
Yes we avoid them. In cannon beach Oregon at the surfsand hotel in a room a mother murdered her young daughter and serious wounded another daughter 2 years ago. We used to go to the Surfsand but never again. See one news story at http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2014/08/cannon_beach_killing_alana_smi.html. How could anyone stay there knowing a toddler died of knife wounds and even know what room it was in? It was all over the PNW news papers.
Yes we avoid them. In cannon beach Oregon at the surfsand hotel in a room a mother murdered her young daughter and serious wounded another daughter 2 years ago. We used to go to the Surfsand but never again. See one news story at http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2014/08/cannon_beach_killing_alana_smi.html. How could anyone stay there knowing a toddler died of knife wounds and even know what room it was in? It was all over the PNW news papers.
That's quite unfortunate. But I think it's hard to really determine if your hotel room is "clean" (free of deaths) because I can only imagine the number of natural deaths that occur in hotels worldwide, those that are not really worthy of news headlines. What I would definitely make sure to steer clear of , and to ensure I don't stay in the same room - are ones where heinous crimes have been committed, such...
That's quite unfortunate. But I think it's hard to really determine if your hotel room is "clean" (free of deaths) because I can only imagine the number of natural deaths that occur in hotels worldwide, those that are not really worthy of news headlines. What I would definitely make sure to steer clear of , and to ensure I don't stay in the same room - are ones where heinous crimes have been committed, such as last year's murder of a mother at the St Regis Bali . It's way too recent, and too gruesome.
Ah no biggie people die all the time all over the place. You probably walk by somewhere, where wars, street fights, accidents etc caused someone to die in the past everyday.
Well, you can't possibly have researched enough before staying here:
https://onemileatatime.com/review-radisson-blu-scandinavia-hotel-copenhagen/
http://www.newsinenglish.no/2010/03/02/sas-flight-attendant-killed-in-copenhagen/
@ Cecilie -- Correct, as explained in the post I don't research on purpose. ;)
@susan wouldn't that be a shame... XD
Hi CP@YOW,
Ben has already explained, at the top of this post, why it would be a problem for him. Namely, Ben says, "I’ll just be thinking about it during my entire stay. My subconscious mind is weird, eh?"
Note that Ben is explaining how this affects HIM, but he is not suggesting that it should be a problem for YOU or anyone else for that matter.
Ben readily admits that the subconscious thought process...
Hi CP@YOW,
Ben has already explained, at the top of this post, why it would be a problem for him. Namely, Ben says, "I’ll just be thinking about it during my entire stay. My subconscious mind is weird, eh?"
Note that Ben is explaining how this affects HIM, but he is not suggesting that it should be a problem for YOU or anyone else for that matter.
Ben readily admits that the subconscious thought process leading to his aversion to such hotels is "weird."
I think it's great (and probably quite rational) that the murder would not affect your decision to stay at the hotel again.
I hope for Ben's sake that no one dies in one of the showers on an Emirates airplane.
@ Susan -- ROFL!
Lord have mercy! I know I'm stayin' in the Holiday Inn Express next time I need to be in that area. Do y'all hear me?
Can you elaborate on why this would be a problem? I really don't get it at all. It's not a factor that I would ever have thought of considering. I've stayed at that hotel a few times before and the murder would have absolutely no impact on my decision to stay there again.
Ugh now I want to cancel my stay there next month....guess I'm a wuss.
If you're that scared of hotels with murders, definitely stay away from San Antonio lol especially the Sheraton Gunter!
OMG. I stayed at that hotel. It's a great place to stay.
Sorry to hear that happened. It's a really nice location, with a great Italian restaurant across the street.
How do you find out if there were murders / violent deaths at the hotels? A facet search on booking.com? It's hard to find virgin rooms.
@ Ben -- I intentionally don't search. So unless I happen to have seen it in passing...
Interesting. I frequent that hotel a lot as its near my office and some nights I just want to stay close to work. Although I could also point out about a dozen locations within a few blocks where people have been murdered over the years. It happens.