Unholy Obsession

Hoteliers are almost as obsessed with putting hotels into religious structures as Hollywood is with setting its horror films in them. For your Halloween enjoyment, here are thirteen examples of the former, and absolutely no opinion on the latter.

If you sit down to a few scary movies this Halloween, take note if the plot involves religion. It’s quite possibly the most common theme in horror films. I’ll leave it to you to work out why that might be; I’ll just say that as a setting for suspense it’s hard to do better than an old church or abbey or nunnery. You’ve got no end of nooks and crannies and hiding places, and no relief from all the heavy stone and heavier doctrine.

Ironic then that those same havens of piety are so often the setting for the most pleasant hospitality experiences. In fact, our selection has so many hotels in old religious buildings it’s a miracle I was able to narrow this list down to only thirteen. I’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s lurking out there. But like any good scary movie — or heck, any good religion — what you don’t see is just as powerful as what you do.

If you find yourself needing to see more Halloween-inspired hotel content, start here:

Dramatic Hotels From Out of the Dark Ages
Mexico’s Hauntingly Beautiful Mansion Hotels
Gothic Hotels and Songs by R.E.M.
Thirteen Hotels in Precarious Positions
See all…
 

Canyon Ranch Lenox

Lenox, MA, USA

The sequel to the original in Tucson, Canyon Ranch Lenox is set not the Sonoran desert but the Berkshires of western Massachusetts; guests arrive to an opulent 19th-century mansion, formerly a Jesuit seminary. Its concept, however, is the same: an all-inclusive spa resort that goes deeper than you might expect, in just about every dimension.

Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay

Cernay-la-ville, France

The raw material of Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay is a medieval abbey that was restored and expanded in the late 19th century by the Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild; today, after another round of careful attention, it’s been transformed once more, into a thoroughly impressive country escape.

Convent Hotel

Auckland, New Zealand

A century-old Spanish Mission–style convent has been preserved and transformed into the playfully hip 22-room Convent Boutique Hotel. The rooms and suites lean in to their historical inspiration with names like Nun’s Repose and Mother Superior and their style is eclectic, full of attractively weathered surfaces and a mix of modernist and vintage furniture.

Fourvière Hotel

Lyon, France

Fourvière was a 19th-century convent before taking orders as a 21st-century boutique hotel. The building’s architecture is beautifully preserved, with historical elements lending gravity to the reception, housed in the old chapel, and the cloister, which is now the hotel’s bistro-style restaurant.

Design Hotel Neruda

Prague, Czech Republic

Hotel Neruda is named for Czech writer and poet Jan Neruda, who was raised in this district, the Malá Strana, and who, by some accounts, lived in this building, a converted foureenth-century convent. Inside this hotel’s centuries-old exterior is a remarkably modern hotel, with 42 rooms outfitted in a crisp contemporary style.

Belmond Hotel Monasterio

Cusco, Peru

Cusco is the oldest living city in the Americas, and was once the capital of the Incan Empire. Belmond Hotel Monasterio was built as a Spanish colonial seminary more than 300 years ago — the rooms and suites are a blend of modern and Spanish colonial style, befitting their heritage as, essentially, dormitories for Jesuit missionaries.

Anantara Convento di Amalfi

Amalfi, Italy

Sure, there’s the chastity and the poverty to get used to, but if the Grand Hotel Convento di Amalfi is any indication, it very well might have been worth taking holy orders just for the views — the way this old convent hangs on the cliffside at the edge of the Amalfi Coast, you’d think this place was designed with the 21st-century hotel market in mind.

Abbaye de la Bussiere

La Bussière-sur-Ouche, France

One can only hope the original monks lived this well. With its stone walls, arches and spiral staircases, all surrounded by acres of parkland and vineyards, Abbaye de la Bussiere is something from a fairy tale. The old abbey’s interiors have been newly renovated and are looking, for the most part, not a day under two hundred years old.

Sozo

Nantes, France

Housed in a 19th-century chapel, Nantes’ Sozo Hotel brings a whole new meaning to the word “divine.” The lobby is located in the former choir area, under a vaulted ceiling that stretches to an impressive height, and many of the rooms, whether on the chapel or sacristy side, feature original stained-glass windows and exposed stone walls.

L’Iglesia El Jadida

El Jadida, Morocco

El Jadida is famous for Cité Portugaise, the 16th-century Portuguese fortified city of Mazagan. For us, it’s famous for L’Iglesia El Jadida, easily one of the most atmospheric lodgings in town. Located, as the name suggests, inside a restored Catholic church, the fourteen-room boutique hotel is positioned right beside the ramparts of the old city.

Château St. Gerlach

Valkenburg, Netherlands

At the edge of the Ingendael Nature Preserve, beyond the city center of Maastricht, sits a 15th-century monastery transformed into a Dutch countryside luxury hotel. Portions of Château St. Gerlach’s original farmhouse, convent, and grain lofts are now occupied by 114 guestrooms decorated in a country-chic style, plus residences for larger parties.

Argos in Cappadocia

Nevsehir, Turkey

Cappadocia has the world’s most plentiful supply of habitable caves. And if you want to see how it’s done, you need look no further than this repurposed monastery in the village of Uçhisar, now a boutique hotel called Argos in Cappadocia. If it feels a bit like the set of some swords-and-sorcerers epic, that’s more or less the point.

Relais Castello di Morcote

Morcote, Switzerland

Relais Castello di Morcote comes off like a perfect slice of Tuscany, transplanted to the shores of Lake Lugano in the alpine foothills. This 17th-century convent has just 12 renovated rooms, each a study in worn wood, rich textiles, and knockout views from Juliette balconies. The estate is also a working farm and vineyard.