 Horton Grand Hotel |
Horton Grand Hotel 311 Island Ave. (between 3rd and 4th Ave.) San Diego, California 92101 (619) 544-1886, (800) 542-1886 General info: info@hortongrand.com http://www.hortongrand.com/ |
 Gaslamp Quarter "Historic Heart of San Diego" |
| Opening in May 1986, the Horton Grand Hotel with its atmosphere-setting antique oak staircase was rebuilt from two separate and relocated 1886 hotels, the Grand Horton Hotel and the Brooklyn-Kahle Saddlery Hotel, the latter was gambler and lawman Wyatt Earp's home when he lived in San Diego. An adjoining, intertwined structure is the Chinese Regal Hotel (made up of the infamous "Great Raid of 1912" Anita and Regal hotels) that opened in July 1990. The entire hotel complex is situated in what was once San Diego's lively red-light district, the Stingaree, during the late 1800s to early 1900s. An interesting amenity of the Horton Grand Hotel is the presence of a guestbook in each room. You can read what the previous occupants of your room wrote down.  There are any number of Victorian-era ghosts reputed to haunt the Horton Grand Hotel. The best known is Roger Whitaker. The usual story is that he was a gambler who was caught cheating at poker and was shot and killed in room 309. Roger is said to be a mischievous but not a mean-spirited ghost.My sister has stayed twice at the Horton Grand Hotel (neither visit in room 309) but will no longer stay there after some unusual occurrences, including the prolonged shaking of her bed, which other hotel guests have reported. I was sharing the room with her when that happened, but I didn't experience anything out of the ordinary. By the way, does this historic hotel's furnishings include "Magic Fingers" vibrating beds? Photos copyright © July 2009 Kat Avila Time of Day: afternoon / Camera: Canon SD780 IS Notes: I cannot find my hotel interior photos from my overnight stay several years ago, so I have posted only exterior shots on this page. |
| Front of Hotel | Palace Bar (on the left side of the Horton Grand Hotel entrance) | |||
 front of hotel from the left |
 front of hotel from the right |
 front of Palace Bar |
 close-up |
 Palace Bar from right side |
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| Brooklyn-Kahle Saddlery Hotel (on the right side of the Horton Grand Hotel entrance) The Brooklyn Hotel came to be known as the Kahle Saddlery Hotel after the leather saddle-making shop on the first floor. | ||||
 "Kahle Saddlery Hotel Built 1886 Reconstructed 1986" |
 H.O.R.S.E. sign about hotel history |
 looking toward Saddlery Hotel side |
 close-up of mirror area |
 close-up on vase and jardinière |
 looking toward Horton Grand lobby |
 looking toward Horton Grand lobby |
 Sunshine, the papier-mâché horse (looks so lifelike) |
 Sunshine, the papier-mâché horse, welcomed visitors to the saddlery shop for nearly 80 years. |
 historical photographs over the Saddlery Hotel stairway |
