Haunted hotel guide · Alexandria, Louisiana
The Haunted Hotel Bentley, Alexandria: Joseph Bentley's Restless Hotel
Central Louisiana’s grand old hotel, where Eisenhower and Patton planned the Louisiana Maneuvers, and where guests say the man who built it never checked out.
The Hotel Bentley has stood in the middle of downtown Alexandria since August 1908, a Renaissance Revival landmark built by lumber baron Joseph Bentley and known locally as the crown jewel of Cenla. It hosted generals during World War II, film stars and politicians, closed twice, and reopened after a multi-million-dollar restoration that began in 2012. Today it is a 93-room hotel with a restaurant, the Bentley Room, and a cocktail lounge, the Mirror Room.
It is also one of the best-known haunted hotels in Louisiana. Guests and staff describe footsteps in empty corridors, elevators that move with no one in them, cigar smoke with no smoker, and a well-dressed man many take to be Joseph Bentley himself. Syfy’s Ghost Hunters investigated here. Here is the full story, and how to plan a stay. For the rest of the state, see our guide to the most haunted hotels in Louisiana.
Bentley at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 200 DeSoto St, Alexandria, LA 71301 (downtown, near City Hall)
- Opened August 10, 1908; on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979
- Most haunted spots The third floor, the Mirror Room lounge, the lobby stairs and balcony, the elevators
- Best-known ghosts Founder Joseph Bentley, a woman linked to the elevator shaft, a man who fell on the stairs
- Booking the haunted room No single room is named. Ask for the third floor when you book.
- Good to know 93 smoke-free rooms and suites. Book direct by phone on 318-442-2226 or online.
The ghosts of the Hotel Bentley
Joseph Bentley
The hotel’s best-known ghost is its founder. Bentley lived in the hotel from the day it opened until his death in 1938, and many people believe he never left. Guests describe a well-dressed figure in the corridors and the smell of cigar smoke where no one is smoking.
Local radio station KPEL says sightings cluster on the third floor and in the Mirror Room lounge. Some accounts say Bentley died in a third-floor suite, though the hotel’s own history places his private apartment on the top floor of the 1933 wing.
The woman in the elevator shaft
The most common sighting after Bentley is of a young woman said to have fallen to her death down an elevator shaft. KPEL adds that her body was never recovered. The Syfy recap of Ghost Hunters tells a version in which the victim was a small child. No record of either death has been published, and the elevators that move on their own are usually tied to her.
The man on the staircase
Another story concerns a man who died at the bottom of the lobby staircase, sometimes dated to 1985. The Ghost Hunters episode noted that it is unclear whether he fell or was pushed. Visitors describe figures looking down from the lobby balcony above.
Generals planning the war
A few visitors claim to have heard men’s voices discussing war strategy, which they take to be Generals Patton and Bradley, who both stayed here during the Louisiana Maneuvers. It is one of the more unusual ghost stories in the South.
What Ghost Hunters found
In an episode titled “Haunted Town,” the Ghost Hunters team investigated the lobby, the balcony and the stairs, with the street outside closed to traffic. They heard footsteps, shouting and what sounded like singing, saw a light come on by itself, and recorded a voice they heard as saying “No, you don’t.” They also suspected that some balcony figures were light reflecting off the columns, and one investigator tripped on the stairs himself.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- The third floor: Where Joseph Bentley is most often reported.
- The Mirror Room: The hotel’s cocktail lounge, another place Bentley is said to appear.
- The lobby stairs and balcony: Linked to the man who died on the staircase and to figures looking down.
- The elevators: Said to move with no one in them, tied to the woman in the shaft.
History of Hotel Bentley
Joseph Bentley was a Pennsylvania native who made his fortune in Central Louisiana’s lumber industry. Legend says he built his own hotel after the old Ice House Hotel turned him away, in one version because he was not properly dressed for dinner. He admired the Capitol Hotel in Little Rock and hired architect George R. Mann, who designed the Bentley in the Renaissance style. It cost about $700,000 and opened on August 10, 1908.
In 1933 Bentley added a tall wing facing Third Street with more than 80 rooms, and carved out a large top-floor apartment for himself with a private elevator, which still survives. He lived in the hotel until his death in 1938.
During World War II, the U.S. Army trained more than half a million soldiers in the Louisiana Maneuvers around Alexandria, and senior officers including Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton stayed at the Bentley for long periods while planning them. A World War II exhibit in the lobby remembers those years. John Wayne, Roy Rogers and Cary Grant are among the famous guests.
The hotel thrived through the 1950s but closed by the late 1960s for nearly a decade. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1979. Developer Buddy Tudor restored it and reopened it in 1985. After later owners, Bob Dean closed it again in December 2004.
In October 2012 Michael Jenkins bought the hotel for $3.4 million and began a multi-million-dollar restoration. The 1933 tower became private residences, while the original 1908 building reopened as a 93-room hotel. The hotel celebrated its 110th anniversary on August 10, 2018.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Ask for the third floor. It is where Bentley is most often seen. It is a request, not a guarantee.
- Have a drink in the Mirror Room. The lounge is one of Bentley’s reported haunts.
- See the war exhibit. The lobby display covers the Louisiana Maneuvers and the generals who stayed here.
- Look up from the lobby. The balcony and staircase are where figures are said to look down.
- Make it a road trip. The Myrtles in St. Francisville and the haunted Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge are both within a few hours’ drive.
- Want to investigate with a team? Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts at historic venues across the US.
More haunted hotels nearby
- The Myrtles Plantation: Louisiana’s most famous haunted bed and breakfast, in St. Francisville
- Haunted hotels in New Orleans: the state’s capital of haunted hotels
- Old Louisiana State Capitol: a haunted Gothic castle in Baton Rouge
- Haunted places in Louisiana: more haunted sites across the state
- Haunted hotels in Louisiana
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Hotel Bentley haunted?
It has one of the strongest ghost reputations in Louisiana. Reports include footsteps in empty corridors, elevators moving by themselves, cigar smoke with no smoker and a figure believed to be founder Joseph Bentley.
Who haunts the Hotel Bentley?
Most often Joseph Bentley, who lived there until his death in 1938. Other stories involve a woman who fell down an elevator shaft and a man who died on the lobby staircase.
Is the Hotel Bentley open?
Yes. It reopened after a restoration that began when Michael Jenkins bought it in 2012, and today has 93 rooms and suites.
Was the Hotel Bentley on Ghost Hunters?
Yes. Syfy’s Ghost Hunters investigated the hotel in an episode titled Haunted Town, recording a voice that seemed to say “No, you don’t.”
Did Eisenhower stay at the Hotel Bentley?
Yes. Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton both stayed there for long periods during the Louisiana Maneuvers of World War II.
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.
- Hotel Bentley: About (official)
- Hotel Bentley (official site)
- Wikipedia: Bentley Hotel
- Clio: Hotel Bentley
- KPEL: Hotel Bentley, one of Louisiana's most haunted spots
- Syfy: Ghost Hunters episode recap, Haunted Town
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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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