HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
+ 1 further entry on record
1883 Geothermal Resort Where Staff Say a Ghost Named Simone Still Turns On the Stove
31 S Hot Springs Rd, Boulder, MT 59632
Research updated August 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Day-use soaking passes and spa treatments are priced separately from overnight bed-and-breakfast rooms; rates vary by season, see website.
Access
Limited Access
Historic multi-story hotel with indoor and outdoor mineral pools; some areas require stairs.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1881 · National Register of Historic Places · Montana Territorial History · Geothermal Springs Resort
The mineral springs southeast of Boulder, Montana drew visitors long before the town existed. Prospector James E. Riley built the first commercial structure on the site in 1863 — a saloon and bathhouse serving miners and ranchers working the surrounding hills. A larger hotel building went up in 1881, two years before Montana Territory became a state, combining Mission and Queen Anne architectural elements around the property's roughly 20 to 40 geothermal springs, which run between 140 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit at the source.
The hotel changed hands repeatedly over the following century, and by the 1980s the building had been condemned and was slated for demolition. In 1989, Anne Wilson Schaef purchased the property with a stated goal of restoring it and keeping the mineral water accessible to the public. The National Register of Historic Places had already listed the hotel and its surrounding 240 acres in 1979, recognizing both the architecture and the site's decades of use as a regional health destination.
Under Schaef's ownership and the operators who followed, Boulder Hot Springs was rebuilt into a working bed-and-breakfast with close to 30 themed guest rooms, indoor and outdoor mineral pools, and a spa, set on 274 acres bordering Deer Lodge National Forest. Montana's Secretary of State has highlighted the property's history of prominent guests, including reported visits from Theodore Roosevelt, Warren Harding, Franklin Roosevelt, and General Omar Bradley.
Sources
Staff and guests at Boulder Hot Springs describe Simone as a ghost with a personality rather than a menace. The story told locally holds that she worked at the hot springs and was stabbed to death in an office after an argument with a mining executive from Butte; the claim has never been documented in a contemporary record and should be read as local legend rather than established history. What is consistently reported is the pattern of activity attributed to her: unexplained perfume in empty rooms, footsteps in the halls, and — according to past owner Anne Wilson Schaef, who restored the property starting in 1989 — a figure glimpsed on the third floor wearing a white Victorian-style blouse and dark skirt.
Staff describe Simone as playful rather than threatening, crediting her with small pranks like turning on the stove when no one is in the kitchen. Visitors in the lobby have also reported hearing the voices of arguing men with no one present. The hotel keeps a guest suite named for Simone, though staff say she rarely spends time there. The Billings Gazette and Montana's Secretary of State's office have both covered the property's paranormal reputation alongside its geothermal and architectural history.
Notable Entities
Book one of nearly 30 themed guest rooms in the historic inn, with access to the property's indoor and outdoor geothermal pools. The inn keeps a suite named for Simone, the resident ghost said to haunt the building, though staff say she reportedly spends little time in it.
Day visitors can access the property's geothermal soaking pools and spa services without booking a room. Hours and current day-use pricing are posted on the venue's website.
See current room rates and availability at Boulder Hot Springs Inn.
Check rates and bookEvery HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
10 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Las Vegas, NV
The Aladdin Hotel opened in Las Vegas in 1966 as a major resort and casino property. The hotel underwent renovations and continued operations until its closure in 2003. Planet Hollywood Entertainment acquired the property in 2005, completely renovating and reopening it in 2007 as Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The 7th floor Panorama Suite emerged as the property's most paranormally active location during Aladdin Hotel operations.
Genoa, WI
Big River Inn dates to either 1879 or 1896 (sources vary) in Genoa, Wisconsin. The building originally functioned as a restaurant before evolving into a combined inn and restaurant. It now operates as Water View Inn, maintaining its paranormal reputation while serving contemporary hospitality functions.
Austin, TX
Colonel Jesse Lincoln Driskill, a Tennessee-born cattle baron who supplied beef to the Confederate Army and later the Texas Rangers, opened The Driskill Hotel on December 20, 1886. Its first event, two weeks after opening, was the inaugural ball for Texas Governor Sul Ross. Driskill sold the hotel in 1888 after severe drought devastated his cattle herds and died in 1890. The hotel has hosted every Texas governor's inaugural ball since 1887.