Hotel Julien

Beautiful hotel. I didn’t know it was haunted until I read the history after checking out.
I was working in my room and I said outloud to myself I smell cigar smoke.My husband smokes cigars so I am familiar with the smell. Strange? I was on the 7th floor and needed ice which was on floor 8. Have you ever had the weird feeling you’re not alone?

Filled my bucket went in the elevator door opened walked in my room and there was a penny lying on the carpet face up. I didn’t notice it before? It was really shiny. I didn’t carry a purse on my business trip. Funny thing was I heard Lincoln has stayed there.

I didn’t sleep much due to thunderstorms last night.
I did hear a few bumps in the night, but didn’t think anything of it. Not w it all makes sense.
I put my sweater on that I laid out the night before.
I had to take it off because it stunk of Cigar smoke.
I’m glad I read article the next day or I would’ve slept in the lobby.

April 2026

I stayed here for an interview not too long ago… I’m from a different state and have never been to Dubuque before, so I wasn’t familiar with the old history of the town. I’ve always been into scary things, and for whatever reason when I was sitting in my room at night, I got a super overwhelming feeling the place was haunted. I looked it up and lo and behold, of course it is. Being alone I was lowkey freaking out. There was a very slight rotten egg stench in one specific spot right next to my bed. I seriously got up and smelled like everything in the room trying to trace it, and I got scared thinking of gas leaks and such right away; but when I was driving home the next day, I realized that spirits have a rotten egg stench to them. The other weird thing that happened while I was there was with the elevator. I pressed the button to go to the main floor (I stayed on 4th) to check out early the next morning, and the elevator some how took me all the way to the basement. When the door opened, I felt super uneasy and it was super dark. I spammed the button to go back up because no way in hell I was stepping out into that mf basement.

November 2024

I stayed on the 6th floor last night in the room that literally abuts the elevator. I'm here for work and am using a board room at the hotel during the day.

Last night at 1:45 a.m. I was rudely awakened by two female voices jokingly chatting or joking for a bit. They quickly erupted into a full-fledged chorus of singing. It was beautiful with perfect harmonization. I think one male joined in for a baritone in the harmonies but it was definitely female dominated.

The songs weren't in English but not necessarily in a foreign language either. I listened intently to try and find what room it was coming from so I could report them to the front desk. I needed to sleep! But it was in the room even though I couldn't see anything.

Here's the kicker. I had no idea the hotel was haunted. My clients from Dubuque asked me if I like the hotel and I told them about the drunk choir kids. They told me it was haunted which got me thinking about what happened. Then I ran into other people that were leaving the room next to me at the same time. I asked if they heard the loud choir the night before. They said no, but this place is haunted. After that, and only after that I googled "hotel julien haunted" and found accounts similar to mine.

I'm staying here again tonight. Wish me luck.

October 2024

I've stayed at this hotel several times while visiting Dubuque for business. I've always had a vague feeling of uneasiness and really did not know the stories about the hotel being haunted. The hallways seem especially to have a feeling that you are being watched. I had a room on the 6th floor during my last visit and now I am a believer. I was laying in bed trying to drift off to sleep when I started to hear voices whispering. It sounded distinctly like female voices I could clearly make out full words but not an entire conversation. I know I was not dreaming. This went on for about 10 minutes and then stopped. I was too unnerved to get out of bed. After about another 10 minutes, it started again and lasted this time for just a minute or so. Very creepy.

September 2024

My family and I stayed here and we had two rooms, 825 and 826. When we first got there we were going towards the elevators and two ladies came out. I briefly heard them say “something is weird about the elevators” and another lady said “you don’t know about the elevators?” And I just walked into one and went up to my room. Right when we get to our room, we go to the pool. (It’s me, my little brother, and my cousin) We stay at the pool for like 40 minutes because it’s closes at 10PM. We leave and it’s me at the front, my little brother, and my cousin at the back. (We’re walking in a line) we’re ab to go up the stairs and my cousin says “wait guys so faster because I feel like someone’s following me”. AND WHY DID I JUST READ A REVIEW AB THE POOL HALLWAY… anyways we go back to our room and I FaceTime my sister. I’m on the phone with her and I mention literally SOOO briefly and I say “the hotel might be haunted lowkey” right when I say that, our FaceTime call literally HANGS UP. And I didn’t have any problems with internet connection up until then. So I call her back and she told me that on her end, I froze and then it said poor connection and hung up. Like yeahhhh u gmfuuuu but then my cousin who is staying in the other room texts our gc and says “Creepy.. my bathroom door opened like somebody peeking” and mind you, I didn’t tell her about what just happened with my phone and she just sent it out of no where. When we all woke up, my little brother said the bathroom light was flickering but that’s it lol. Just know it’s lowkey haunted lol

June 2024

I'm a skateboarder who skates past the hotel on a daily basis well not much anymore. Went there for a buddies moms wedding and we just walked around pretty much I've always looked behind my back in the hallway of the pool as if something was following me down the hall. Walked pretty much around the whole hotel from ground up each floors had their own feeling. The pool room though had the heavier feelings so did the ballrooms. I skate by sometimes sit across the street and I happen to look up at the window and always look up at the same window I always see a figure standing up there staring down old period clothing. Would love to ghost hunt there just for fun. Very interesting not scared easy but the pool room gives me the creeps.

May 2024

I worked there for less than a week back in 2014. I was doing house keeping 3rd shift. First night I was cleaning the spa rooms, which have no windows, big wants and had heavy oak doors. I was heading into the first on the left, and the 3rd door on the right slammed shut. No I didn't freaking clean that ine, sorry not sorry... so night 2 the weird elevator shit. Open close open close.. 3rd night, the night of the "field of dreams" 20 year reunion, I was bringing up blankets and pillows to a famous guest (baseball player, really cute) after he shut the door, I started walking back to the elevator and I heard footsteps coming pretty fast down the hall at me I ran to the elevator and it refused to open. Like the button didn't light up or anything. I shook it off. Went down to vacuum the restaurant. A woman's a short black dress, heels and long black hair walked past the part of the dining are I was in. I said ma'am were closed. No response. Walked around the corner I sw her go and it was just a table, windows, one empty wall and the vault.. I started freaking out called my boyfriend who was a bouncer at the club upstairs. They all searched and found nothing.. I was a blubbering mess and the other 3rd shift house keeper, Gary( had worked there 30 years at that point) asked me who I saw. Apparently he's seen her as well as others Ober his 30 years.. he said it was weird to see her where I did cuz she is usually seen around the capote suite, and I believe she might have been a lady of the night. Pearls, the heels and dress all looked to be about the 20s to 40s time period.. it was all seriously spooky to me. I quit. I don't know if I'd ever go back in there.

February 2024

In 2003 we were staying on the 3rd floor. Around
3 a.m., being an insomniac, I was laying in bed listening to 2 female voices conversing in a quiet way. I couldn’t make out words but clearly a conversation. Though the place seemed still of anyone still awake. Being a skeptic I chalked it up to 2 women in the next room. I still wonder about that though because…. What I cannot explain; I was wearing a sleeveless tank top. While I lay there, laying on my side with my back to my roommate, something what felt like a soft cloth about 5-6 inches wide, slowly and gently drag across my forearm, from the back to the front of my arm. Also I felt a slight presence, I cannot explain this away. There were no vents near me or anything to generate this touch.
Secondly, this weekend 2023, we went back. Around 10 p.m. we were in the elevator just stopping at our floor (3rd floor again). The door opened only about 1/2” and slammed back shut, opened again, about 2 inches and slammed shut again, a third time opening about 12 inches and slammed shut again. Each being roughly 10 seconds or so between finally it opened far enough for one of us to get between the doors and push it open and get out of there before it slammed shut again, which it did. Now, this also could be explainable, (a malfunction of some sort) but I have never seen an elevator door snap back shut, quickly and abruptly like this did. And now I’ve just read that the elevator there “has a mind of its own”. And I think I believe it!

September 2023

We visited not long ago with my kids and while we were enjoying the pool my son was going down the steps to the pool and my fiancée and i both saw an arm come out and reach towards my son he was completely unaware why we screamed stop and ran to pull him out of the pool. We didn't not tell him what we saw because we didn't want to frighten them needless to say we spent the rest of pool time in the hot tub with kids. Then shortly after went upstairs. I wasn't scared of the boy or girl who seems to be in that pool but i definitely was scared for my children who easily cant touch the bottom. Ive tried hard to see if there was any incidents there of a child drowning but i haven't found anything yet. Im sure you would be fine as an adult but i honestly would never let my children swim in there again.

May 2023

Recently my daughter and I stayed on the 8th floor. During the night I woke up to the bathroom light going on and then off. That same night I also heard what sounded like an all female choir. It was beautiful. The elevator definitely has a mind of its own however. Historic hotel with lots of charm.

October 2021