The Pool Room at the Historic Brookdale Lodge, September 2023, Brookdale, Santa Cruz Mountains, CA

The famously haunted Brookdale Lodge is nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the crook of Ben Lomond Mountain along California State Route 9 between Felton and Boulder Creek, the gateway to Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Cool and brooding beneath the redwoods, the hotel and entertainment venue was a favorite leisure stop for wealthy Bay Area elite and movie stars, and a place shrouded in mystery, death, and bootlegging. The venue is currently owned by Pavin (pronounced PRah-VIHN) Patel, "Prev" for short, an Aptos based hotelier with a number of upscale hotels in his portfolio. Patel is slowly bringing the fabled venue back to life.

Starting with the installation in 2018 of a fresh likeness of James Dean by Monterey County based artist, John Cerney, outside the modern hotel portion of the property, the historic part of the Lodge now has a renovated lobby (known as the Brookdale Lounge), full bar, and new bathrooms. The adjoining rooms, however, are still works in progress, part of several construction phases Patel has planned over the next few years, permitting, costs, and the elements allowing. The next portion of the old building to reopen to the public will be the Pool Room, shown here. The indoor pool has been tested and given the 'go' to be refilled. Improvements to the huge room are ongoing with an expected reopening date of January, 2024.

Next on the docket is the Mermaid Room, a 300-seat entertainment space.

The Brook Room will reopen eventually. A new roof was recently installed, but damage from the December 2022 and January 2023 flooding of Clear Creek, which runs through the formerly grand dining room, has set the timeline back an unknown amount of time.

The main kitchen and small rooms upstairs remain dark and ghostly. There is much work to do here.

In the meantime, hungry travelers and locals enjoy hot plates from the Brookdale Cafe and Grill located on the "new" side of the property where the hotel rooms are. The Lodge hosts live music and other events in the Brookdale Lounge or in the Brookdale Beer Garden out front.

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Video by Julie Horner

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