Omni Bedford Springs Resort

The Bedford Springs Hotel, Located just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford, Pennsylvania, is an abandoned hotel that was built in the late 1800s. The Bedford Springs are a multitude of small freshwater springs, that, in the late 19th century, were believed to have miraculous healing powers. As the popularity of the Springs grew and tourism increased, plans for a 5 star extravagant hotel emerged. The result of the planning was The Bedford Springs Hotel. Starting off with only several rooms, the abode expanded into a hotel of hundreds of rooms as the Springs' popularity exponentially increased. The Springs reached their peak of popularity in the early-mid 20th century, especially during the great depression. Both before, during and after the Great Depression, the Hotel was often used as a classy getaway for especially wealthy people, including president Buchanon and Zachary Taylor. Inside were ballrooms, swimming pools, and extravagant rooms which would compare to today's Plaza Hotel in New York. As medicine and health-awareness advanced, the validity of the Springs' healing powers soon took a plunge. People began to realize that the Springs in fact had no healing power and - especially in the mid 19th century - the Hotel's popularity went into an incessant downward spiral. By the mid 1980's, the Hotel was practically at a standstill, and by 1992 the Hotel had been completely shut down. It still stands today, under heavy supervision by both the Pennsylvania State Police and a local security agency, and can easily be seen from the adjacent roadway. The hotel is over 1/4 mile long, extending in a long curvature fashion, with four floors. From a distance, it looks just as magnificent as it did in it's prime. It is believed to be haunted, by the many people who came there sick, looking for healing from the Springs, but never made it home. Today, the Hotel is under renovation. Although slow, and unlikely to spur a business as it was in the past, perhaps one day you will be able to walk through those halls, just as many great people did before you.

The Bedford Springs Hotel was a large hotel and mineral-water resort located in the Allegheny Mountains just outside Bedford, Pennsylvania. Vacant and not operational for over a decade in 2003, it was a favored resort during the 19th century, and was frequented by President James Buchanan, who used it as a summer White House. It was also visited by Daniel Webster, Aaron Burr, and other presidents such as William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor. The first transatlantic cable sent from England to the United States was received at the hotel during the late 1850s. The hotel's golf course, designed in the 1920s, is still in business. During World War II, the hotel and grounds were used as a U.S. Navy radio training center, and also as a detention center for interned Japanese diplomats. The Bedford Springs also contains many mile stones in the architectural styles of America. It was the site of one of the first indoor pools in America. It also contains the first free standing ballroom ever buitl in the country which contains 5,500sq ft and was beautifully lit by skylights.

Efforts to find a way to restore the hotel and grounds are ongoing. An 87 million dollar restoration project began this past October 2005 to restore the hotel. With a planned reopening in the spring of 2007. The new resort will be a 218 four star hotel, resort, and conference facility. It will contain a 130 seat reasturant with two dining areas along with a magnificently restored colonial-style tavern with stone walls and beams that date back to 1806. The new resort will contain both and indoor and outdoor pool and spa and incorporate many ammenities of the surrounding country including, hiking, cross country skiing, fly fishing, river rafting, carriage rides, day excursions to many of Bedfords famous and beautiful covered bridges. When completed it will become a great get away place for many cities of the surrounding area such as Baltimore, and Washington D.C. which is merely a two hour drive. k