Est. 1942 · Historic California Hotel · Wine Country Heritage · Paso Robles Hot Springs History
The town of Paso Robles developed in the latter 19th century around the therapeutic hot springs that drew visitors seeking relief from various ailments — a pattern common to California spa towns of the period. In 1864, brothers James and Daniel Blackburn opened the 14-room Hot Springs Hotel on the site, operating it alongside the hot and cold sulphur baths.
In 1889, a three-story El Paso de Robles Hotel — designed by architect Jacob Leuzen and advertised as 'absolutely fireproof' — replaced the original. The new hotel featured a seven-acre garden, nine-hole golf course, a 20-by-40-foot hot springs plunge, 32 individual bathrooms, a library, salon, barbershop, and billiard and lounging rooms.
On December 19, 1940, a cigarette discarded in a wastebasket ignited a fire on the second floor. Night clerk J.H. Emsley discovered the blaze and raced downstairs to sound the alarm; every guest escaped unharmed. Emsley suffered a fatal heart attack before learning of the successful evacuation. Only the building housing the Grand Ballroom survived the fire.
The present Inn was constructed using bricks salvaged from the original hotel's ruins and opened in February 1942. The 98-room property — many rooms with private spa tubs and views of the courtyard gardens, koi ponds, and mature oaks — operates as a full-service hotel in the heart of downtown Paso Robles, midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco at the heart of San Luis Obispo County wine country. The property includes The Steakhouse restaurant, The Coffee Shop and Cattlemen’s Lounge, a ballroom, and extensive landscaped grounds.
Sources
- https://lahistorygirl.com/ghosts-wine-and-private-hot-tubs-my-stay-at-the-paso-robles-inn/
- https://www.martinresorts.com/blog/the-paso-robles-inn-a-haunted-hotel
- https://pasoroblesinn.com/
- https://hauntedhouses.com/california/paso-robles-inn/
ApparitionsPhantom soundsPhantom footstepsCold spotsEquipment malfunction
The Room 1007 phenomenon at the Paso Robles Inn is one of the better-documented contemporary haunted hotel accounts in California, owing to the specificity of the incident: the room called 911. Police responded to find an empty room. The call was logged by emergency services. The Inn's former manager subsequently researched the 1940 fire and identified J.H. Emsley — the night clerk who triggered the alarm and died of a heart attack — as the most likely identity for the presence. The timing of emergency calls from the room has been correlated with the approximate hour of the 1940 fire alarm.
Room 1007 has remained the most-requested room at the property for decades, a distinction that tracks the paranormal reputation rather than any particular comfort feature of the room itself.
Cecilia Blackburn is identified as the wife of one of the original hotel owners. Her presence is most consistently reported near the hostess stand adjacent to the wine cellar in the steakhouse, where staff have reported seeing her figure multiple times. The wine room itself is described as particularly active.
Helen Sawyer, described as a young girl, concentrates her activity in the hallway outside the ballroom. Her presence is associated with a child's footsteps and the sense of a small figure in the corridor.
A fourth presence — a woman in a white nightgown, described as walking through the garden late at night — has been reported by guests and staff but remains unidentified. No historical figure has been connected to the description.
Notable Entities
J.H. EmsleyCecilia BlackburnHelen SawyerThe Lady in White
