It was the most expensive hotel suite in the world, hosting everyone from the king of rock and roll to the President of the United States.
Now eerie new photos have revealed the Celestial Suite frozen in time, still looming over the US city of Houston, Texas.
The penthouse was the brainchild of ex-mayor Roy Hofheinz, who was building a Disneyland-style resort called the Astrodomain.
The resort boasted the Astroworld theme park, a huge stadium called the Astrodome – nicknamed the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ – and a quartet of hotels.
Overlooking it all was the Celestial Suite, where guests like President Lyndon Johnson, Frank Sinatra, Muhammad Ali and Michael Jackson stayed in style atop the Astroworld Hotel.
Harper Goff, the Oscar-winning set designer and Disneyland visionary, was hired to fill the interiors with antique furniture, Tiffany glass and 24-carat gold.
Multiple themed bedrooms, a two-storey nightclub, a library, and dining room were just some of its features, all served by a private elevator.
It was so opulent that one guest, Elvis Presley, was said to have found it ‘too gaudy’.
The marble library in the once most expensive hotel suite in the world in Houston, Texas
The Celestial Suite at the Astroworld Hotel even had its own nightclub for guests, pictured
Astroworld Hotel, built as part of a wider project that stimulated growth in Houston in the 60s
It was recorded as the most expensive suite in the world by the Guinness Book of Records in 1977, costing $2,500 a night.
$2,500 then is equivalent to about $12,244 in today’s money.
The hotel itself remains in operation under the Wyndham brand, but the penthouse seems to have been closed to overnight guests since the 1990s.
Nonetheless, its interiors remain “remarkably well preserved” – like a time capsule from the 1960s.
Urban explorer Lance Bradford was able to photograph the suite, capturing its faded majesty in haunting new images.
In his pictures, the beds are still made, the library remains well-stocked with books, and the chairs still sit around the kitchen table.
The Victorian room, part of the relatively untouched Celestial Suite in the Astroworld Hotel
The ‘bird cage’ dining room would have sat presidents, singers, actors and athletes in its prime
The so-called ‘Tarzan’ room in the Astroworld Hotel, reportedly Michael Jackson’s favorite
He said: “It is not at all open to the public. It’s not exactly locked away behind bars but to get inside you need to think ‘creatively’ let’s say.
“The decor is late sixties and has not been touched at all, as far as I know, although the hotel itself has gone through several iterations and owners.
“I can only imagine the top floor has been preserved because it was either prohibitively expensive to have it all torn out, or the owner has plans to possibly cash in on the nostalgia of the era.”
He continued: “The furniture, fixtures, flooring and even the books in the library are remarkably well preserved.
“It’s not like most of the 60-year-old buildings I have photographed.
“There is no water damage, or the type of warping and cracking normally caused by the oppressive Houston humidity.
“The windows have been kept sealed and the air circulation system is functional so the heat hasn’t been a factor either. It’s incredibly rare to find something like that.”
Hofheinz, known as “The Judge”, lived in the suite from its completion in 1969 until 1973, when he was spooked by a fire two floors below, and moved to a mansion.
He died from a heart attack in 1982, aged 70.
When the suite closed is unclear, though there are clues.
PaperCity Magazine discovered that it was available for $5,500 a night in November 1996, citing a Houston Chronicle article.
The magazine added that the penthouse’s private nightclub was used as a jazz club in “the following decade”.
Meanwhile, a 2013 article from Houston-based TV station ABC13 said the suites had been “closed for more than a decade”.
Astroworld closed its doors for the last time on October 30, 2005, and was demolished by the following summer.
The Astrodome still stands, though it has been closed to the public since 2008 because of fire code violations.
It was famously used as a shelter by refugees fleeing Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Today the Astrodomain is called NRG Park, with NRG Stadium – which was built in 2002 – now serving as its principle venue.
The Astroworld Hotel website says, ‘The Astroworld Hotel still stands, even today. Well… sort of.
‘It’s changed names and changed ownership numerous times, and most people don’t even know it existed, much less that the very hotel they might have stayed in was once this amazing hotel.’
A contemporary photo of the hotel in Houston, once the most expensive hotel in the world
The ‘Crusader’ room. Photographer Lance Bradford found beds still made in the penthouse
The ‘Tarzan’ room in the Celestial Suite – reportedly Michael Jackson’s favorite room
When the suite closed is unclear, though there are clues.
PaperCity Magazine discovered that it was available for $5,500 a night in November 1996, citing a Houston Chronicle article.
The magazine added that the penthouse’s private nightclub was used as a jazz club in ‘the following decade’.
Meanwhile, a 2013 article from Houston-based TV station ABC13 said the suites had been ‘closed for more than a decade’.
Astroworld closed its doors for the last time on October 30, 2005, and was demolished by the following summer.
The Astroworld Hotel has been renamed several times since 2005 and has reportedly been a Crowne Plaza hotel since 2011.
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