The Oliver House

“There are lots of ghost stories,” says Amy Naico, who bought the hotel with her husband, Kenny, in 2023. “Our motto is that we’re your ‘haunt away from home.’ ”

The Oliver House opened in 1909, in the aftermath of a fire that burned much of Bisbee. “Perhaps the finest building on the hill is the recently completed private hotel of Mrs. Frank Oliver,” the Bisbee Daily Review reported that year.

Early guests included mining executives and employees, and the hotel often hosted baseball players competing at the city’s historic Warren Ballpark. One of them, Bert Shepard, later lost his lower right leg in World War II; in 1945, he made headlines as the first (and so far only) Major League Baseball player with an artificial leg.

The property changed hands several times before becoming a bed and breakfast in the 1980s, and in recent years, the Naicos stayed there often on visits from Tucson. Amy recalls that after helping the previous owner try to sell the B&B but seeing the sale fall through several times, the couple embraced the idea of relocating to town and “keeping it alive, rather than having it be another place that’s for sale forever in Bisbee.”

There are reminders of the past all over, from the creaky wooden floors to the fact that of the 13 guest rooms, only four have a private bathroom. But don’t expect to wait in line to brush your teeth — there are four shared bathrooms for the other rooms, and their amenities include an upstairs waterfall shower and a downstairs claw-foot tub.

The rooms themselves have been the Naicos’ focus since taking over, and guests will find comfortable mattresses and bedding, along with vintage furnishings. There are no TVs, but given the hotel’s inviting common areas — including a large porch with an unparalleled view of the city — and easy access to Brewery Gulch and nearby shopping and dining, there’s no shortage of things to do.

A continental breakfast is served every morning, and later this year, the Naicos plan to add a beer and wine bar. In many ways, though, the Oliver House looks and feels much like it must have back in 1920 — and that seems to be how Nat Anderson likes it.