It was the most expensive hotel suite in the world and has hosted 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 towering 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 featured the Astroworld theme park, a massive 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 slept in style on the Astroworld Hotel rooftop.
Harper Goff, the Oscar-winning set designer and Disneyland visionary, was hired to fill the interiors with antique furniture, Tiffany glass and 24-karat gold.
Multiple themed bedrooms, a two-story nightclub, library and dining room were just a few of the features, all serviced by a private elevator.
It was so opulent that one guest, Elvis Presley, reportedly found it “too colourful”.
The marble library in what was once the world’s most expensive hotel suite in Houston, Texas
The Celestial Suite at Astroworld Hotel even had its own nightclub for guests, as pictured
Astroworld Hotel, built as part of a larger project that fueled Houston growth in the 1960’s
It was listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s most expensive suite in 1977, costing $2,500 per night.
$2,500 then equates to about $12,244 in today’s money.
The hotel itself remains operational under the Wyndham brand, but the penthouse appears to have been closed to overnight guests since the 1990s.
Despite this, its interior remains “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 is well stocked with books and the chairs are still around the kitchen table.
The Victorian Room, part of the relatively untouched Celestial Suite at the Astroworld Hotel
In its heyday, presidents, singers, actors and athletes would have sat in the dining room of the “birdcage”.
The so-called “Tarzan” room at the Astroworld Hotel, said to be Michael Jackson’s favorite room
He said: “It’s not open to the public at all. It’s not exactly locked behind bars, but getting in takes, shall we say, “creative” thinking.
“The decor dates from the 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 that the top floor was retained because either it was prohibitively expensive to have it all ripped out, or the owner plans to potentially cash in on the nostalgia of the era.”
He continued, “The furniture, fixtures, floors, and even the books in the library are remarkably well preserved.
“It’s not like most 60-year-old buildings I’ve photographed.
“There is no water damage or the kind of warping and cracking that is typically caused by Houston’s oppressive humidity.
“The windows have been sealed and the air circulation system is working, so the heat wasn’t an issue either. It’s incredibly rare to find something like this.”
Hofheinz, known as “The Judge,” lived in the suite from its completion in 1969 until 1973, when he was startled by a fire two floors below and moved to a mansion.
He died of a heart attack in 1982 at the age of 70.
It’s unclear when the suite will close, although there are hints.
PaperCity Magazine, citing an article from the Houston Chronicle, discovered in November 1996 that it was available for $5,500 a night.
The magazine added that the penthouse’s private nightclub was used as a jazz club “in the following decade.”
Meanwhile, a 2013 article on Houston-based television 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 the following summer.
The Astrodome still stands, although it has been closed to the public since 2008 due to 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, built in 2002, now serving as the main venue.
The Astroworld Hotel website says, “The Astroworld Hotel still stands today. Well, something like that.
“It has changed name and ownership countless times and most people don’t even know it exists, let alone that the hotel they may have stayed in was once this amazing hotel.”
A contemporary photo of the Houston hotel, 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 – said to be Michael Jackson’s favorite room
It’s unclear when the suite will close, although there are hints.
PaperCity Magazine, citing an article from the Houston Chronicle, discovered in November 1996 that it was available for $5,500 a night.
The magazine added that the penthouse’s private nightclub was used as a jazz club in the “following decade.”
Meanwhile, a 2013 article on Houston-based television 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 the following summer.
The Astroworld Hotel has been renamed several times since 2005 and has been slated to be a Crowne Plaza Hotel since 2011.
