Haunted hotel guide · Dallas, Texas
Renaissance Dallas Hotel: The Rooftop Pool Ghost on Stemmons Freeway
A 30-story 1980s tower is not where most people look for ghosts, but Dallas legend says a man who fell from the rooftop pool deck is still seen up there.
The Renaissance Dallas Hotel is the tall, elliptical granite tower beside Stemmons Freeway on the edge of the Design District, the one locals nicknamed “the Bic” and “the Speedstick.” It opened in 1983, has 514 rooms over 30 floors, and its open-air rooftop pool, tucked behind a glass curtain wall under the slanted roofline, is one of the highest in Dallas.
It is also, as Visit Dallas puts it, proof that a hotel does not need to be a hundred years old to be haunted. Local legend says a man died after jumping or falling from the pool area, and guests say they have seen his figure on the rooftop, as if reliving his last moments. It is the most modern entry on our list of haunted hotels in Dallas and Fort Worth, and the story is thin, so we tell it honestly below.
Renaissance Dallas at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 2222 N Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, TX 75207
- Opened 1983, as a Wyndham hotel; a Stouffer hotel from 1987 and a Marriott Renaissance since 1997
- Most haunted spots The rooftop pool deck and the guest room hallways
- Best-known ghosts A man said to have jumped or fallen from the pool area
- Booking the haunted room There is no single haunted room. Ask for a high floor; the pool is open to all guests.
- Good to know Design District location beside Stemmons Freeway (I-35E), a short drive from downtown. No pets, though service animals are welcome.
The ghosts of Renaissance Dallas Hotel
The man on the rooftop
The Renaissance’s one ghost story centers on the rooftop pool. According to local legend, repeated by Visit Dallas, a man jumped to his death from the pool area. Guests say they have seen his figure up on the rooftop, appearing to be trapped in a loop and replaying his final moments.
We could find no news report or public record of a death at the hotel, and the legend gives no name or date. That does not mean nothing happened, but it does mean this is a modern Dallas legend rather than documented history.
A presence in broad daylight
Unusually for a ghost story, the reports here are not all after dark. Visit Dallas says some visitors describe an unsettling, lingering presence around the hotel even in broad daylight, a feeling that someone is nearby when the pool deck or a corridor is empty.
Noises in the hallways
The other reports come from the guest floors. Guests have described mysterious noises echoing through the hallways at night, with no one in sight. In a 514-room tower beside a freeway, there are plenty of everyday explanations, and most guests notice nothing at all.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- The rooftop pool deck: The open-air pool high under the slanted glass roof, where guests say the man’s figure appears. Go in the evening for the skyline views.
- High-floor hallways: Where guests report unexplained noises at night. Ask for one of the upper floors.
- The lobby: Recently renovated. It once held what was billed as the world’s second-largest free-standing chandelier, replaced in 2011.
History of Renaissance Dallas Hotel
The tower was designed by Dahl Braden Chapman and opened in 1983 as a Wyndham hotel. Its elliptical shape, granite skin and diagonal roofline made it an instant landmark on the Stemmons Freeway skyline, and it appeared on the cover of a 1984 issue of National Geographic. At about 451 feet it is still one of the tallest buildings in Dallas.
Stouffer Hotels took control of the property in 1987, and when Marriott acquired the Renaissance brand in 1997 the hotel became the Renaissance Dallas. Its lobby chandelier, once billed as the second-largest free-standing chandelier in the world, was replaced in 2011. In 2014 the hotel unveiled a $35 million upgrade, D Magazine reported, adding a four-story events building with a 16,000-square-foot ballroom and the City View Terrace. More recently, K2M Design reworked the lobby, restaurant, bar and conference center around a State Fair of Texas theme.
Today it is a large convention and business hotel on the edge of the Design District, with 514 rooms and suites, the Asador restaurant and bar, and the rooftop pool that gave the building its ghost story. Marriott lists the pool as climate-controlled, with a hot tub, open to overnight guests from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Ask for a high floor. You get the best skyline views and you are closer to the rooftop where the figure is said to appear.
- Visit the pool in the evening, when the deck is quiet and the city lights come on.
- Treat this as a fun modern legend rather than an intense haunting. If you want a heavier ghost reputation, pair it with a night at the Adolphus downtown.
- Marriott lists pool hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Check them at check-in, as hotels change hours for maintenance and events.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Stockyards Hotel: Bonnie and Clyde’s room in Fort Worth’s Stockyards
- The Adolphus: downtown’s 1912 landmark and its Lady in White
- La Quinta Inn & Suites Dallas Downtown: the former Scott Hotel and Room 1009
- Haunted hotels in Texas
- Haunted hotels in Dallas
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Frequently asked questions
Is the Renaissance Dallas Hotel haunted?
Local legend says so. Visit Dallas reports that a man jumped to his death from the rooftop pool area and that guests see his figure on the roof, along with an unsettling presence and noises in the hallways. We found no record confirming the death.
Where is the ghost seen at the Renaissance Dallas?
Most reports place him on the rooftop around the open-air pool, one of the highest pools in Dallas.
When was the Renaissance Dallas Hotel built?
It opened in 1983 as a Wyndham hotel, became a Stouffer hotel in 1987 and has been a Marriott Renaissance since 1997.
Why is it called the Bic?
Locals gave the slim elliptical tower nicknames such as the Bic, the Stick and the Speedstick.
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.
- Renaissance Dallas Hotel (Marriott, official)
- Haunted Hotels in Dallas (Visit Dallas)
- Renaissance Dallas Hotel (Wikipedia)
- Renaissance Dallas Hotel debuts $35 million upgrade (D Magazine, 2014)
- Renaissance Dallas Hotel debuts fully reimagined public spaces (Hotel Management)
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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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