Grand Hotel

The Grand Hotel is a dilapidated landmark featured in both the Silent Hill film and Silent Hill: Homecoming, although they exist in two different canons so there are two different versions of the hotel; one in the film universe (Silent Hill, West Virginia) and one in the game universe (Silent Hill, Maine).

Originally a favorite meeting place and lodge for visitors, the hotel is now in ruins and some claim the hotel is haunted.

Silent Hill film
In the Silent Hill film continuity, the Grand Hotel was known as a favorite meeting place and lodge for visitors. However, it is the property of the Brethren, a fanatical religious cult who branded the hotel with their symbol. To further their secret agenda of killing those who opposed them, the cult built a secret passageway into the building next door where a sacrificial chamber was, connected through Room 111 behind a painting of Jennifer Carroll being burned as a witch.

Rumors of the hotel being haunted spread when guests complained hearing sounds of children's voices, girls weeping, mysterious footsteps, distant reverberating chanting through the walls. Despite the hotel's attempts to keep these stories under wraps for its own reputation, word still got around. Sometimes, visitors would stay just for the sake of experiencing supernatural phenomenon themselves.

It is very possible the entirety of the Grand Hotel or part of it was burned during the great fire of Silent Hill. After the fire, the Grand Hotel was left to rot in ruins in the abandoned ghost town for decades.

During the film, Rose Da Silva finds a clue in the bathroom of Midwich Elementary School. The clue is a tablet with ""-ND -OTEL" on it found in a corpse's mouth. After escaping the Otherworld version of the school, Rose and Cybil Bennett make their way to the Grand Hotel in search of Sharon.



Inside, Rose and Cybil meet a denizen of Silent Hill, Anna. After finding a pile of tablets similar to the one Rose retrieved from the corpse's mouth, Cybil discovers a room cubby that holds a drawing of a child being tortured by demons. From there, the women discover a hidden room behind a painting. The three then search for any leads as to where Rose's daughter is. Through the secret room, they discover what appears to be a dilapidated sacrificial chamber, where Rose attempts to speak with Dark Alessa.

Through flashbacks, it is revealed that the Grand Hotel, specifically the secret room, was a frequent meeting place of the town's cult. It was in the hotel that Alessa Gillespie was kidnapped from her mother, to be burned alive as a witch.

Silent Hill: Homecoming


It is a nine story building, but only five floors are accessible. The Grand Hotel is like all structures within Silent Hill; it has fallen into extreme disrepair for unknown reasons. It is unclear if this disrepair also exists in reality, or if the Fog World also has the same features. Power has been cut off to the elevator which can be restored by finding a key and solving a puzzle, and most doors are jammed shut. All of the upper floors have begun to collapse in sections, and monsters have taken up residence.



Alex Shepherd is first taken to Silent Hill after visiting Rose Heights Cemetery a second time and passing out. Upon waking, he finds himself in an unidentified section of Silent Hill, presumably an edge of town due to the presence of the famous welcome sign, and proceeds to chase his brother into the Grand Hotel. The Grand Hotel's purpose is mainly to elaborate on the story of Sam Bartlett. The objective within the Grand Hotel is to retrieve three postcards for a woman who seems to have locked herself inside Room 301. In doing so, she will grant Alex a key that will unlock the door he found when he slashed open the painting, which leads to Room 306.



Once inside, Alex finds Joshua Shepherd, leering at him from across a gap, and attempts to jump to him. Rather than make the jump, Alex falls through the gap, and ends up on the ground floor. This gives him access to the Hotel Atrium, and leads to his encounter with Sam Bartlett and the boss fight with Sepulcher.

Unlike the previous film iteration of the hotel, it is never proven to be linked to the the Order or any secretive cult, but it is still a possibility.

Trivia



 * In the film, a painting titled A Procession of Flagellants can be found in the hotel depicting men with conical hats and tan skirts. This painting may be the basis for Alessa's manifestation of Pyramid Head.


 * In the film, Rose, Cybil and Anna jump from one building to another; this is a reference to Silent Hill 2 when James Sunderland jumps from the Wood Side Apartments to Blue Creek Apartments via a fire escape.


 * The set used for the Grand Hotel in the film was an actual abandoned building, the Lister Block in Hamilton, Ontario. It was built in 1852 as Canada's first indoor mall, had a terrible fire in 1923 and was ordered to be demolished, though people never got around to it; while some townsfolk wanted it to be renovated, others viewed it as a heritage site that should not be disturbed, and so the building remained a subject of controversy for decades. It was finally restored in 2012 with a project of $25 million, and is used for City of Hamilton office purposes.
 * The Silent Hill film was shot in 2005 just before major renovations to the building took place. Initially, the location was considered too unsafe to work in by crew unions, but director Christophe Gans was able to strike a deal to use the area by agreeing to spray a special glue on the ground to keep dust from being kicked up. Because it was an actual abandoned building, very few props were needed. Most of the items seen within were already there.
 * In Homecoming, the abundance of Swarm and Needler enemies as well as insects running through the Hotel may pertain to Joey Bartlett's interest in gardening and how he was killed.


 * In Homecoming, several Nurses roam the hotel. Their presence is likely due to the late Clayton Doyle, who received medical care in his suite during his illness.


 * In Homecoming, memos reveal that Mayor Bartlett volunteered his time to tend to the Atrium. They also reveal he used this opportunity to bury his son while still alive under it.




 * In Homecoming, part of a painting of a woman called "Rite of Spring" is later seen in the Church of the Holy Way, possibly implying that the Grand Hotel is connected to the Order and may be one of their bases. This is true for Mayor Bartlett.
 * There is a secret passage hidden behind the painting, a probable reference to the film. Alex also uses a knife to slice open the painting vertically like Rose did.

Gallery
A complete list of images of the Grand Hotel

Silent Hill: Homecoming
Grand Hotel