A few months ago, a friend of ours gave us a gift certificate to the Ghost City Inn. This is a small Bed & Breakfast up in Jerome, a "ghost town" of approximately 350 residents. Upon our arrival, we were greeted with a smile, fresh homemade cookies, coffee, hot tea, and other refreshments. We were given the tour of each of the six uniquely decorated rooms, given our key, and shown to our room.

We decided to browse the place on our own a bit. The dining area is downstairs along with two of the rooms, each with their own bathroom. There are four rooms upstairs which share two bathrooms. Included upstairs is a small entertainment area with a TV/VCR for use by the guests, as well as several board games and a selection of movies on VHS which can be watched in the common area, or in your room. Though I didn't get a chance to use it myself, the hot tub outside looks especially inviting.

We headed over to the Haunted Hamburger for dinner where I went through an entire rack of extremely tender ribs, though ribs are my favorite so this was nothing new for me. The atmosphere there was great, the prices were reasonable, and the portions were filling. This is a wonderful place for dinner during your stay at the Ghost City Inn.

Arriving again at our room, we decided to relax with a nice game of Scrabble. Approaching midnight, it was time for bed. During the night, I slept sound and didn't hear a peep. My wife, on the other hand, being terrified of seeing a ghost, swore that she felt someone holding her head down slightly on her pillow, and heard noises of people moving in and out of the inn. I explained to her that these were probably the other guests going out to the hot tub or using the restroom during the night.

At breakfast, this theory was shot down, as no one admitted to leaving their rooms during the night. It was at this time that we first became acquainted with our guests since we were gone most of the day before. Breakfast was beautifully prepared with our choices of bagles, English muffins, toast, and the main course of "Southwest Strata", a baked egg and cream mixture with flour tortillas and cheese -- You have to try it.

The other two couples there were both from the Phoenix Valley as well, so making conversation was no problem. We were at the breakfast table probably for a total of four hours talking to both the other guests as well as Jackie, the Innkeeper.

Over half a century ago, the population of Jerome was upwards of 15,000. And because of the sudden decrease to only 350 residents which created a "ghost town", you can imagine how many of the tourism-based establishments like to play on this. Don't take this too lightly, however, as many tourists as well as full-time residents believe that the town is truly haunted.

The Ghost City Inn is located at 541 Main Street in Jerome. If you would like a particular hotel/motel/inn reviewed, please email me and let me know, reviews@azpaths.com.