Marreros Guest Mansion

Posted: 02.26.2025 | Updated: 02.26.2025

Come along and experience a sordid and haunted tale in…sunny Key West? 

That’s right – while many folks have visions of sunny beaches, refreshing piña coladas, and a vibrant nightlife, in truth, Key West houses its fair share of fascinating and eerie ghost stories.

Perhaps some ghosts love a little sunshine to make up for the coldness of death. Or maybe Florida has experienced so many strange and twisted events over the years that it has naturally led to tales of specters and ghosts of the past. 

One such twisted tale involves the Marreros Guest Mansion. This haunted hotel has all the hallmarks of a thriller: hidden identities, tragic suffering, and bitter revenge that extends into the afterlife. Keep reading to learn more about this haunted spot in Florida.

If it captures your interest and you want to learn more about other places in Key West that are said to be haunted, be sure to take our Southernmost Ghosts ghost tour. Our guides are knowledgeable and are sure to whet the inevitable appetite you’ll have for more Key West tales after reading this blog!

Who Haunts Marreros Guest Mansion?

We’ll let you be the ultimate judge on who you think the culprits are responsible for the many strange happenings that pop off in the Marreros Guest Mansion. Since all the ghosts in the house are related to one another, it might be difficult to fully figure out who the culprit is!  

Marreros Guest Mansion History

The Marreoros Guest Mansion is a fascinating tale full of betrayal, heartache, vengeance and deception. To properly understand it, we need to go back to the very beginning, way back in 1890. 

This was when Francisco Marrero – who the mansion was named after – first started construction on his forever home. By all accounts, it was a beautiful place, with stately Victorian architecture and only the best materials. And it wasn’t intended to just be his forever home. 

You see, Francisco was married to the lovely Enriquetta Marrero, and he intended to use his wealth to build a home in which they could live forever and raise their children. 

His wealth had come from the cigar industry. In Key West, Francisco Marrero was known to be one of the best cigar makers around. 

He had roots and connections in Cuba – a country well-known for its cigars – which was how he was able to build himself a successful local business in Key West. With Cuba just a hop and a skip away from Florida, it was easy for Francisco to go over there for business trips. Francisco’s wealth grew and so did his family – he and Enriquetta had eight children when tragedy struck. 

On what seemed to be just another standard flight to Cuba for Francisco, he suddenly disappeared without a trace. He was later declared dead, but that wasn’t the only problem his wife and children had to deal with. 

Francisco had a secret. He had been previously married to a woman named Maria back in Cuba and, more importantly, he had never officially divorced her. 

Hauntings at Marreros Guest Mansion

This, of course, was quite the shock for poor Enriquetta. However, she didn’t have long to process this trauma and betrayal for very long because Maria immediately claimed the Marreros Guest Mansion for herself. 

Since Enriquetta’s marriage to Francisco had technically never been legal – according to the law he was still married to Maria – the courts sided with her. Distraught, penniless and now in charge of raising eight children on her own, Enriquetta vowed revenge.

Enriquetta swore that if she couldn’t call the mansion home in her life, she would at least live there in death. That is the ghost who haunts Marreros Guest Mansion – Enriquetta has been sighted many times over the years and has contributed to Key West’s haunted reputation. 

However, by all accounts, Enriquetta doesn’t bear too much ill will. While her ghost has laid claim to the place and certainly doesn’t seem intent on leaving it anytime soon, she’s seen as a welcoming presence towards newcomers. 

Perhaps her roommates are a reason for her good spirits. Some believe her eight children also live in their birthright home with their mother, as many visitors have reported hearing the children laughing on occasion in the mansion.

Whether it’s just Enriquetta or if her children have joined her in the afterlife, their presence doesn’t seem to have hurt the mansion’s property value at all. Over the years, it’s traded hands a number of times and, today, is a boutique hotel that’s just as stately as it was when it was first constructed, albeit with modern amenities installed. 

Enriquetta’s Pranks 

Despite its modern amenities, though, there is something old-school about the place, if you believe the rumors about Enriquetta’s haunting. Apparently, Francisco’s unofficial second wife has an old-school sense of humor and loves playing pranks on hotel guests and staff. Depending on the victim of these pranks, her practical jokes are either a delightful and quirky aspect of staying at Marreros or an annoying nuisance. 

The latter description can probably be ascribed to those guests that Enriquetta doesn’t particularly like. Although she’s mostly a benevolent presence in the hotel, every now and again, a guest will get on her nerves. 

Whether they’re too loud around her children’s bedtime or because they remind her of her duplicitous husband, her usual move is to violently sway the chandelier above those annoying guests’ heads while they pass under them, giving them quite a fright! 

However, if she likes you, Enriquetta might be a bit harder to spot for hotel guests. But, there are a few telltale signs. 

The first is the scent of lavender. Enriquetta always used to wear lavender in her hair at night and many have said the smell still accompanies her to this day. There are also certain rooms that are said to have more sightings of her and her children than others, namely Rooms 17, 18, and 23. 

Lastly, the pranks she plays on people she likes are a little more benign than swinging chandeliers at risk of falling over. Things like moving objects around the room unbeknownst to their owners or unlocking and locking doors to trip people up are an endless source of amusement for Enriquetta and her kids. 

Haunted Key West

If you ever find yourself staying at the Marreros Guest Mansion yourself one day, be sure to keep the noise down and be respectful to any women and children you may see there if you want a peaceful stay. You never know who might be a ghost and who might be a guest!

If you liked this story and want to learn similar tales, check out our Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. They spotlight other offbeat ghost stories all over the United States. Checking our blog is another good way to stay up-to-date with all the latest ghost stories and haunted spots in Florida.  

If you want to explore Florida ghosts up close, a ghost tour with Southernmost Ghosts is the best way to do that. Our guides are knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and can provide even more information on the area. 

Sources:

• https://www.marreros.com/
• https://www.thetravel.com/haunted-places-in-key-west-florida-keys/
• https://crimereads.com/a-tour-of-floridas-haunted-hotels/
• https://www.hauntedrooms.com/florida/haunted-places/haunted-hotels/marreros-guest-mansion-key-west