10 Scariest Horror Movies Set in Hotels

From the classics to some of the most recent horror films set in hotels, these movies are sure to make you reconsider your next stay in a hotel. Who knows, maybe the Airbnb route might be best. The Shining, Psycho, and Vacancy are just some of the scariest horror movies set in hotels.

If you learn one thing, it should be that you should never settle for the old broken down motel on the side of the road, even if your car breaks down. Which movie will send the most chills up your spine?

To begin our list of the scariest horror movies set in hotels, we had to start off with a classic. The Shining follows Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nickolson, as he becomes the caretaker of the isolated Overlook Hotel. He takes on this job in hopes to cure his writer's block, and settles into the hotel with his wife and don.

His son, Danny, played by Danny Lloyd, suffers from psychic visions. As his time in the hotel goes on, Jack discovers some of the dangers within the building, which include a homicidal maniac, who obsesses over his family.

In an attempt to escape with her boyfriend, Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh, steals $40,000 from her employer. However, they encounter a terrible rainstorm.

As one of the scariest horror movies set in hotels, Psycho is yet another classic that makes the list. As Crane stops for the night at the Bates Motel, she meets Norman Bates, who happens to have an interest in taxidermy. He seems to be dominated by his mother. She soon discovers her choice of motels to be a grave mistake.

Vacancy stars Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale, who play David and Amy, a couple headed for divorce after the loss of their son. The duo finds themselves utterly stranded in the middle of nowhere after their car breaks down.

So instead of camping out in their vehicle, they come across a motel to stay for the night. They turn the TV to occupy themselves, and begin to watch slasher movies, which appear to be filmed in the room that they were staying in. Trapped in the room, they discover hidden cameras aimed at them; how will they escape?

Next on our list of the scariest horror movies set in hotels is 1408. Based on the short story written by Stephen King by the same name, the film follows Mike Enslin, an author who rents the allegedly haunted room 1408 in the New York City hotel.

Investigating haunted spaces for a career, he is a skeptic. However, he soon becomes trapped in the room, where a series of bizarre events begin to ensue, which change this skepticism easily. It turns into an incredible nightmare and the room is certainly haunted.

Hostel is yet another horror movie that takes place in a frightening hotel. Starring Derek Richardson and Jay Hernandez, they play two best friends, Josh and Paxton, two best friends, as they are backpacking across Europe after graduating from college.

The hotel in this movie is not what brings on the terror, they stay one last night in a hotel before waking up in a dungeon-like room. When Josh wakes, a strange man drills holes in his chest and legs. If that's not how you want to end your hotel stay, we don't know what is.

Motel Hell is just what it sounds like it might be, and is considered to be one of the scariest horror movies set in hotels, or motels. It follows Farmer Vincent and his sister as they kidnap unsuspecting travelers, and bury them alive.

But first, they slit their vocal cords to prevent them from screaming. They buy them in Vincent's field, and before burying, they fatten them up, to prepare them to be sold as "special" smoked meat.

Identity is yet another horror movie that features the location of a hotel, and a creepy one at that. After a rough storm breaks out, ten different people discover an isolated motel for safety.

The strangers become acquainted with each other, but while they do so, they realize that they are being killed off, one by one. Stuck at the motel, the remaining motel stayers must discover the way to escape.

The Innkeepers is yet another one of the scariest horror movies set in hotels. This plot follows the last two employees of an extremely old and haunted hotel as they go on a ghost hunt. They are determined to reveal the past of the old building, and they certainly do so.

They experience some of the disturbing events, and old guests come back for a night stay. A movie that will have you reconsider the history of your favorite hotel, it's definitely a bone-chilling watch.

A 1971 horror film, Slaughter Hotel is still one of the most chilling killer horror films that takes place in a hotel, hence the name. However, the hotel isn't exactly a hotel, and the film follows a killer who murders the wealthy inmates of a sanatorium, specifically females.

Though the mental hospital isn't specifically a hotel, the Slaughter Hotel title comes from the state in which the murders occur, going door to door, and floor to floor, much like a hotel. It was too easy for the murderer, and the film follows the killer's path.

Last, but not least, on our list of the scariest horror movies set in hotels is none other than Eaten Alive. An American horror movie, the plot follows Judd, played by Neville Brand, as he manages a very old, very sleazy motel, in the swamps of Louisiana.

Judd discovers that one of the guests staying at the hotel is a prostitute, and impales her with a pitchfork, killing her by tossing her to the crocodile in the swamp water. The film follows Judd as he slowly fills the crocodile's belly, with victim after victim, viewing the motel guests as treats for his pet.