THE QUEEN MARY HOTEL
by Bridgetta Tomarchio on Friday, January 18
Sleep aboard a piece of history…
Who would have thought that one of the top 10 most Haunted Places in the world was docked right here in the Los Angeles area? That’s right, the 1,000 foot The Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed from 1936-1967. She was bigger, faster, and more powerful than the Titanic and was one of the original weekly expresses from the United Kingdom to New York City.The Queen Mary was considered the grandest ocean liner in the world carrying the elite, Hollywood celebrities, and Royalty. Celebrities such as Bob Hope,Fred Astaire, Queen Elizabeth, Audrey Hepburn,Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and Winston Churchhill, just to name a few.
The Queen Mary Hosts Many Events
During World War II she was converted into a troopship that carried Allied Soldiers and at one point had carried 16,000 troops, then was converted back into a transatlantic passenger ship after the war. She sailed her last trip and docked in the port of Long Beach, California on December 9, 1967. She reopened her doors as a Hyatt managed hotel on November 2, 1972, where she has since remained a floating attraction and historical landmark. Originally called the Grey Ghost during the war, The Queen Mary has 54 reported deaths, and yet over 150 known spirits lurking upon the ship.
The Queen Mary has 314 original first-class staterooms and suites where you can stay overnight, 3 world-class restaurants, a café, bakery, Tea Room, several bars throughout the ship, and several stores plus museums with unique displays. The ship is also frequently booked out as an event and wedding venue as it has over 80,000 square feet and 14 Art Deco Ballrooms and Salons exuding 30s style and sophistication. This month’s unique display is Diana: Legacy of a Princess, which features priceless items from the collections of her wardrobe, photos, heirlooms, and other memorabilia of Princess Diana’s. Also this month, in the port of The Queen Mary is CHILL, which features larger-than-life ice creations, snow tubing, ice skating, a holiday village, gingerbread decorating, and Santa!
We dined on board at The Chelsea Chowder House & Bar, which is a contemporary take on the traditional fish house. It was voted one of the best seafood and steak restaurants in Long Beach. While waiting to be sat, we enjoyed some of their signature cocktails at the bar. I have to say that their truffle fries were pretty fantabulous! We also loved their steamed clams, mussels, shrimp, and to top off our meal the flourless chocolate cake which was brought to us with a birthday candle for moi by our singing waiter. The service was great!
The Queen Mary has MANY different tours and attractions on board. After dinner, we decided to head over the Observation Bar & Art Deco Lounge, (which used to be the first-class lounge), where we sipped on a round of drinks and enjoyed the live swing music band before heading to our tour.
The tour we chose was the 11pm Paranormal Spirit Walk with psychic/medium Erika Frost. The 3-hour paranormal tour taught us the history of the ship, while visiting several spiritually active places on the ship such as the engine and boiler rooms (which are 50 feet below sea level), pool, and changing room areas. Erika had several ghost-busting tools for us to use, and also told us how our own phones could be used as a ghost-hunting tool by downloading certain apps, we chose Ghost Radar. Erika encourages you to use your own psychic senses as well. My partner in crime experienced something touching his head in the engine room, where the infamous playful ghost John lurks at door 13!
I will say that being quite sensitive to the ‘other side’, it was an exciting experience, especially the changing room areas which was a room lined with stalls (no doors), and Erika had us each choose a room to go into individually and stay there. We turned all flashlights off, so our other senses could be more heightened, and we could see the “Shadow People” and ghosts of that part of the ship. We were told not to move for safety reasons, as it was pitch black, but if anyone felt uncomfortable, to let her know. I lasted a full 30 seconds before something brushed against my leg as I was sitting on the floor, and I yelled that I didn’t want to be alone, so she lit the way for me to join my partner in crime in his stall! Lights out, everyone was observing the darkness and had crazy experiences. It was hard for me to breathe and I was dizzy and a bit nauseous, plus the E-meter kept jumping and showing temperatures from 700- 2500 and back down to 200. It was pretty nuts!
If you wind up staying aboard the ship on a Friday or Saturday night, you should sign up for “Dining With The Spirits” which is a paranormal investigation and 3 course dinner at the award winning Sir Winston’s Restaurant and Lounge. Regardless of which tour you take, its well worth the experience, just make sure to wear comfortable shoes and bring along a bottle of water!
Now to the rooms! There were several original working elevators on board. Walking down the corridors of The Queen Mary was like a creepy step back into time. It kind of made me feel like I stepped into the Titanic movie, and can only imagine how elaborate it must have been for those who could afford to stay on board the ship back then. The lights in our room were all operated by push buttons. There was an original 1930s wall fan, and the circular porthole windows opened up to let the outside air in. We had a room that overlooked the harbor and CHILL. It was one of the family stateroom suites with a king bed that I will say was quite comfortable, and we also had another bedroom with a twin bed, dresser, and desk.
I have to say that the extra room was REALLY creepy, and my partner in crime was touched by another ghost in there! We decided to sleep with that door closed! The bathroom was tiny, with original knobs and handles- it took us a minute to figure out how to work it but was quite a step back in time, and made us feel like we were in a portal of history, which was pretty cool. I also liked the fact that they use Crabtree & Evelyn bath products! There were nooks and crannies to store your belongings and was all original built-in storage. No two rooms are alike on board!
Check in is at 4pm, and checkout at noon. The staff was really friendly and helpful, right down to the valet! The Queen Mary still holds its charm, and mysticism, and is a great piece of history to check out!
