Haunted hotel guide · Cloudcroft, New Mexico
The Haunted Lodge Resort, Cloudcroft: Rebecca the Red-Haired Chambermaid
A railroad resort high in the Sacramento Mountains, a restaurant named after its ghost, and a portrait of the red-haired maid who is said to still be on duty.
The Lodge Resort sits among the pines at the top of Cloudcroft, a mountain village almost 9,000 feet up in southern New Mexico. The railroad built the first Lodge here in 1899 so that families from the hot desert below could escape the summer heat. That building burned in 1909, and the one you stay in today was up and running by 1911. Its tall white tower, enclosed veranda and old-fashioned rooms make it one of the most atmospheric haunted hotels in New Mexico.
Unlike many historic hotels, the Lodge is happy to talk about its ghost. She is Rebecca, a young chambermaid who, legend says, vanished after her lumberjack boyfriend caught her with another man. Staff say she flickers the lights, opens doors and lights the fireplaces, and the hotel named its restaurant after her and hung her portrait in the lounge. Here is her story, the history behind the hotel and how to plan a stay.
The Lodge at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 601 Corona Pl, Cloudcroft, NM 88317
- Opened 1899 as a railroad resort; rebuilt by 1911 after a 1909 fire; restored and reopened in 2021
- Most haunted spots Rebecca’s restaurant, the lounge with her portrait, guest rooms with fireplaces, the tower
- Best-known ghost Rebecca, a blue-eyed, red-haired chambermaid said to have been killed by a jealous lover
- Booking the haunted room There is no single haunted room to book. Rebecca is said to roam the whole building.
- Good to know 59 rooms and suites, no two alike. High-altitude golf course, spa and the village of Cloudcroft a short walk downhill. Evenings are cool even in summer.
The ghost of Rebecca
Who was Rebecca?
The legend, as the hotel and New Mexico Magazine tell it, goes back to the early days of the Lodge. Rebecca was a young chambermaid with blue eyes and red hair, popular with guests and fond of a good time. Her boyfriend was a lumberjack from the logging camps around Cloudcroft. One day he found her with another man, and after that Rebecca was never seen again.
Most versions say he killed her. There is no record that names her or confirms a murder, so treat it as the hotel’s legend rather than history. It has been told for so long that the Lodge has made her part of the family.
Lights, doors and fireplaces
Staff blame Rebecca for lights that flicker or switch on in empty rooms, doors that open and close by themselves, and objects that move. Older stories describe ashtrays sliding across tables in the lounge.
The most repeated report is about the fireplaces. Guests and staff say fires have lit themselves in empty rooms, as if a maid were still making them up for the evening.
A playful presence
Nobody describes Rebecca as frightening. Staff call her fun-loving. When the owners gutted two wings during their restoration, they made a point of keeping her name and her portrait, and New Mexico Magazine noted that the renovation spared her.
Her portrait in the lounge
A painting of a red-haired woman hangs in the lounge and is known as Rebecca’s portrait. Guests like to stand in front of it, and some say they feel watched. The main dining room, created by enclosing the old front porch, is called Rebecca’s.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Rebecca's restaurant: The main dining room, built by enclosing the long front porch. A good place to ask staff for their stories.
- The lounge: Home of Rebecca’s portrait and the scene of the sliding ashtray stories.
- Rooms with fireplaces: Where the self-lighting fires are reported. Ask for a historic room with a fireplace if you want the classic Rebecca experience.
- The tower: Judy Garland’s initials are said to be carved into a wall in the tower, one of the hotel’s best-loved pieces of lore.
History of The Lodge Resort
Cloudcroft began as a railroad camp. In the late 1890s the Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railway pushed up into the mountains to reach timber for railroad ties, and its owners saw the cool forest as a summer escape from the desert heat below. In 1899 the railroad finished a large, rustic log lodge, and by 1908 visitors could ride up for $3 round trip and stay a week for $12.50, with a dancing pavilion among the attractions.
In 1909 a fire destroyed the original lodge. It was rebuilt on a more scenic site and was operating again by 1911, with one of the highest golf courses in the country at about 9,000 feet. The building mixes English seaside and Swiss chalet touches with Victorian interiors; the contractor was Frank Powers, though the Chicago architect is still unidentified. The long front porch was later enclosed to make the main dining room.
The Lodge rode out the First World War, Prohibition, the Depression, the Second World War and shifting gambling laws under a series of owners. In the 1930s it was managed by a young Conrad Hilton, a New Mexico native who went on to found Hilton Hotels. Judy Garland, Clark Gable and Gilbert Roland are among the famous guests in its stories, and so is Pancho Villa. It was listed on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1987.
Lanna and Joe Duncan, who already owned historic hotels in West Texas, bought the Lodge in 2015; Lanna’s great-grandfather, Edgar Beecher Bronson, was one of the railroad’s first investors. During a pandemic closure they gutted two wings of the 59-room hotel, uncovered Arts and Crafts details that earlier remodels had hidden, and reopened on July 1, 2021.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Book dinner at Rebecca’s and ask your server about her; staff are happy to share their own stories.
- Look for Rebecca’s portrait in the lounge and the initials in the tower.
- Ask for a historic room with a fireplace if you want the setting of the classic reports.
- Pack a jacket. At almost 9,000 feet, nights are cold even in July, and winter brings snow.
- White Sands National Park is in the Tularosa Basin below Cloudcroft, an easy day trip from the Lodge.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Shaffer Hotel, Mountainair: a folk art hotel in central New Mexico said to be haunted by its builder
- Hotel Andaluz, Albuquerque: Conrad Hilton’s 1939 hotel, which he opened after his Cloudcroft years
- Hotel Paisano, Marfa: a haunted 1930 hotel across the Texas line
- Hotel Parq Central, Albuquerque: a former railroad hospital turned boutique hotel
- Haunted hotels in New Mexico
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Frequently asked questions
Is The Lodge in Cloudcroft haunted?
It is known for one ghost, Rebecca, a chambermaid said to have vanished after her lumberjack boyfriend caught her with another man. Staff report flickering lights, doors that open by themselves and fireplaces that light in empty rooms.
Who is Rebecca at The Lodge Resort?
According to the hotel’s legend, a young, red-haired chambermaid from the Lodge’s early days who disappeared and is believed to have been killed by a jealous lover. There is no record that confirms her identity or a murder.
Is there a haunted room at The Lodge?
No single room is singled out. Reports come from the restaurant, the lounge with her portrait and rooms with fireplaces.
Did Conrad Hilton own The Lodge in Cloudcroft?
He managed the resort in the 1930s, before building his hotel chain. He later opened the 1939 Hilton in Albuquerque, now Hotel Andaluz.
Is The Lodge in Cloudcroft the original 1899 building?
No. The first lodge burned in 1909. The current building was put up on a new site and was open by 1911.
How high is Cloudcroft?
The Lodge sits at roughly 9,000 feet, which is why it was built as a summer escape and why it has one of the highest golf courses in the country.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
- New Mexico Magazine: Cloudcroft's historic Lodge renovations
- New Mexico Magazine: Three haunted hotels for ghostly lodgings
- New Mexico Architecture Guide: The Lodge Resort and Spa
- Texas Outside: The original Lodge Resort
- Only In Your State: Haunted hotels in New Mexico
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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