Inside the Abandoned Garden Hotel: Flooded Pool, Open Safes and Rooms Still Made Up

I got caught by the police at the end of this explore, and I’m not telling you to go. The Garden Hotel in South Beloit shut down after a basement flood and was never fixed. In September 2019 the Winnebago County Health Department condemned it for unsafe conditions. It was demolished in December 2024.

This was not my first time inside. In 2020 I stumbled on it with most of the glass intact, the rooms untouched and alcohol left behind. I was not filming then, so this is the second visit, when the vandalism and mold had taken over.

What we found

The first thing I opened was a cooler with a package of meat in it. After that the place only got worse.

The restaurant and the bar were the best rooms left. The water in the building used to be so high that it had gone down about halfway. Every glass that was intact on my first visit had been broken, and before I ever got in the bar was stocked full of alcohol, which other people drank. There was still the till, the tap, the little place where you put your card, some Bloody Mary mix and one wine glass that survived.

Nearby were a coat room, a Christmas tree, a lot of unused toilet paper and some American Express cards. The dining area had high chairs, booster seats, silverware, glass cups and stacks of china. There was an unopened can of Diet Pepsi just sitting there, and more Diet Pepsi and Sierra Mist behind it.

The banquet rooms were really moldy, with a massive fireplace. The kitchen still had its pans, the dishwasher area, a Blue Bunny freezer with everything left in it, deep fryers, dough mixers and a meat slicer. There was a hole that had rotted through one of the counters.

The maintenance rooms had an office full of stuff, business cards, tea and hot chocolate, a Motorola and a commercial microwave.

The master suite was huge, with a big bed, a couch, a big sink and a view of the pool. The shampoo was still out and a Bible sat on the bed. Down the hall were maid carts, lotion restocks that still looked brand new, and two laundry rooms with baskets of towels and moldy shower curtains.

Then the executive wing. A sales office, birthday party bands, and Christmas decorations. Last time I was here the lobby was organized. Now the couch was flipped up and everything else was out of place, with room keys scattered and a bell hop cart sitting among the dead plants. A safe in the sales office had been opened by somebody. The safe in what looked like the president’s room had been broken open too, and it was locked on my last visit. Someone had also taken everything out of a wallet and left it.

Some of the paperwork said Rockford, and there was a fancy book with Ramada on it.

The pool room came next. The water was still in it, and the roof was somehow in perfect shape, with only the paint starting to peel. A Bible was floating next to a table that was completely underwater. Five chairs sat submerged in one spot and three in another. A sign listed the rules, no lifeguard on duty, shower before entering and no more than 166 people at one time.

There was still exercise equipment in here. I’m pretty sure the treadmills worked at one point. The TVs were in perfect shape on my first visit, and now two flat screens were smashed.

On the upper floor, the rooms had beds with pillows and comforters, phones, a little radio and a microwave. The smoke alarms were still going off, which was wild, since the place was so vandalized and some of it was still in really good condition.

Why the Garden Hotel is abandoned

The video description says the hotel shut down in May 2019 because of a basement flood and the owner never fixed it. Local reports don’t agree on the month. The Beloit Daily News said it closed abruptly in March 2019, and the Rockton-Roscoe News said it voluntarily shut down on March 25, 2020.

What the reports do agree on is the condition. City inspectors found code violations in September 2019 that included flooding, dangerous mold levels, leaks, structural problems and crumbling ceilings and floors. The Winnebago County Health Department condemned the property, and the city boarded it up after repeated forced entry. The city sued the owner, New Chapter Group, in August 2022 to force a demolition. A city engineer estimated repairs at about $7 million.

On March 28, 2024, a Winnebago County Circuit judge ruled for the city, called the building beyond repair and ordered it demolished. The owners were fined about $8.8 million.

What happens next

The hotel is gone, but the bill is not. Green Demolition of La Porte, Indiana won the demolition contract at $1,348,000. Asbestos removal delayed the start, and by late December 2024 only a few sections were still standing. Grading can’t happen until spring 2025. The site is in a flood plain, and the city plans to seek reimbursement from New Chapter Group and the hotel owner.

The smoke alarms upstairs were still going off in a building the county had condemned.