Heartbreaking. I spent many happy Sunday afternoons having dinner with family there. It brings tears seeing what has been allowed to happen to this historic treasure.

I stayed there many times, always loved it.The hotel was a place where I could get away and have nobody even think that I could be there. The dining room was wonderful, with a fabulous view and good chow. The room didn't have a TV, nor a phone. That, alone made it unique, and restful. I miss it very much.

I believe my grandfather helped build this structure. He was John Hickman. A great man and he built 2 homes I was raised in. He often spoke of Harpers Ferry.

The musical choices make this video so hauntingly beautiful

It's not forgotten. It holds many fond memories for me over a lot of years, many a Sunday dinner was had here by my family. Loved Harpers Ferry as we lived just over the border in MD,

Thank you for a lovely video, although it made me sad. I did my Peace Corps training in 1981 at the Hilltop. I remember delicious food and cramped sleeping quarters. The single men got beds in the attic, two beds to each gable. Our week of cross-cultural training was done on the porch with stunning views to the river below. I had no idea the hotel had been abandoned, let alone that it had deteriorated so terribly. This video brought back happy memories, even as it made me sad at the demise of the Hilltop. Thank you again for sharing it.

I worked in this hotel as the night auditor for a year. Oh the stories I could tell.. It is certified haunted. And there is an amazing history behind it. I hate to see the Grand Old Lady in this condition.

@cocoadog1998

5 жыл бұрын

What experiences? I'm so interested

@NerdyGal_https

3 жыл бұрын

Tell us everything!! I'll get the popcorn 🍿

@ElizabethBattle

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, please! Do tell!

@Thewenchspeaks

3 жыл бұрын

Working the night shift in that place. You go up to the 'honey moon suite' at night? No thank you. Looking out the windows on a dark, moonless night? Double no thanks. Taking the maid stairs up out of the kitchen? Yeeeah, no.

@Dorrie-qc5ex

2 жыл бұрын

May I ask somehow Who You Are? I also worked there in 2003 and oh the stories I could tell as well

This video breaks my heart. On the bluff overlooking where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers merge into one is where two others became one unified force as well. My husband were married at Hilltop House in Harper's Ferry. Sadly, this once amazing hotel has now been abandoned and neglected. It tugs at my heart to see the room I got ready in and saw my husband approach the alter custom built on the bluff, then seeing the room our reception was and finally the room we stayed in as husband and wife. We took our daughter to see where we got married and almost started crying.

That was absolutely AWESOME!! Living in WV, I knew about this once grand hotel way up on a tall, rocky hill, overlooking such a magnificent historical town. While it sits decaying, it's 17th and 18th Century stones, crumbling, you brought back a bit of her glory while showing reality with such beautiful music, and superb camera glides.

@superlovelynumber1

2 жыл бұрын

Hi! does anybody know the address or like street of this place and I know there's a fence around I was gonna go like how much trouble do you really get into if we were to sneak in somewhere(?)0

@livesimplyandhumbly

Жыл бұрын

Many hotels will fail, unable to compete in the cut throat discounts of the Internet or a business model like AirBnB.

It was truly an awesome place to visit, enjoy the scenic views, and have a wonderful meal during it's better years between the 1970's until the early 2000's. Stopped there many times for dinner going home from Virginia to Baltimore. They used to serve the best family style meals leaving the generous food serving bowls right on the table, and their fried chicken was to die for. On our groups last stop there around 2000 we were heading back home on a Sunday evening from Virginia driving for hours battling a snowstorm in the dark, as we entered the door we were kind of hesitant to even ask if the restaurant was still open as it looked like a ghost town with only a few people there. They were very friendly welcoming us in with open arms, but told us only a few items were available to be served including the fried chicken. What was available all sounded awesome as I made a new choice of steak and shrimp, and was not disappointed at all. They served us probably one of the best meals we all have ever had anywhere. I stopped in there again around 2004 but it was closed under renovation and expected to re-open in the near future, but it never happened. I'm very happy for all of the very good memories of the place, but very sad of it's deterioration, and likeliness that it will never be re-opened again for the public to enjoy.

@gordondurr1226

5 жыл бұрын

Carmine Falconetti I like it

I must say, you captured the beauty yet sadness of the abandoned Hilltop Hotel. For years, I took my fall retreat at the Hilltop Hotel because of its peace. I found that my visits allowed me to realign my spirit. I am saddened by the state of the hotel. Thank you for memorializing a bit of American history.

Went there for a dinner party as a child and I decided to explore the place. I felt like I was in The Shining

@TheBikemaster94

8 жыл бұрын

loccs like that house in family gay

@unapprovedtruth7116

7 жыл бұрын

TheBikemaster94 Nigga, what?

@daleleibfried8648

7 жыл бұрын

ShaDHP23 cool. I'm 36 now but dad said we ate there when I was 3. I also have been to hf to many times to count. was there a couple months ago and got into the small hotel. things are a lot worse now😞

@Thewenchspeaks

7 жыл бұрын

ShaDHP23 Top floor, not the floor with the 2 suites...when it was open and there were no customers in the building looked exactly like the twins scene. The sound of the place at night, the creaking of the building on a cold, moonless night...:shudder:

@doctordeath.5716

4 жыл бұрын

What happened to this place?

Wonderful video, yet excruciatingly painful to watch. I visited here many times with my family over the years. And later with my husband. In a child's mind and even as an adult, it was always very majestic to me.

Loved that place. We stayed there in the early 1960s. The room overlooked the Potomac. Room smelled like soap and had claw foot bathtub. Restaurant was excellent. Dad loved the Tap Room that overlooked the canal. The gift area was heaven to me. We took the B&O to get there which was another great event in itself.

I love the contrast between the natural vs the man made and which one triumphs in the end ... or maybe I've watched this too many times!! Still the gold standard for home videos in my humble opinion.

This makes me so sad! We stayed here once and and loved it. So quaint! I wanted to get away for a few days and googled The Hill Top House to get the number to make reservations and found this instead. It was like a punch in the stomach.

I went to Harpers Ferry two years ago. What an amazingly beautiful place. We loved it. We talked and dreamed of being able to move out that way. Dreams are free....

Heartbreaking, I want to cry every time I think about this beautiful place going to ruin. Back in the 70's and 80's we went there nearly once a month on Sundays for the great family style dinners the hotel served. I loved that place and cannot understand how the town did not fight to save it.

I stayed there a couple of times. Including once in the Fall. Neat watching the moon rise from behind the mountains, and the occasional train horn reverberating in the valley... Shame what happened to the old Hilltop House...

I stayed the main building before it was abandoned in 2006. It was definitely in decline by that point, our bedroom was overrun by spiders and when I complained to the owner she just kind of shrugged. All the same, glimmers of its past glory were all around. From the dinning room you could see the Shenandoah and Potomac meet. When trains passed their horns would thunder through the valley. I hope it can be saved.

@STho205

2 жыл бұрын

My wife and I were filmed in a Wva PBS living today section piece on the hotel dining room in the sunroom section you see in the film. I think that was around 1995. We were back in 97, then again with my daughter in 2003 or 04. She played that lobby piano as she was taking lessons at 6.

This was a crazy video to watch. Worked there back in the very late 90s. It was spooky seeing the rooms this way, kind of like when they were showing the Titanic and the sunk rooms vs how they were supposed to look. I was bummed you didn't go into the kitchen.

I wonder what the story is. Someone is cutting the grass and shrubbery. Someone raises the flag each day - its not at all tattered like a flag forgotten.. Great drone camera work!

@Kat-qr7hv

4 жыл бұрын

Whoever owned it decided they didn’t want it, someone down the road bought it to restore it and the mayor tried to cheat his way into not allowing it to be restored because he lives next to it and didn’t want the traffic and people near him. So someone owns it and cares about it! They’re just being held up and not allowed to fix it!

@jgbathens

4 жыл бұрын

@@Kat-qr7hv The asshole mayor has been blocking this for a long time now. But state legislation passed in February this year that allows the owners to ignore the Mayor's demands. So of course, now, the mayor is willing to "negotiate" on rebuilding the hotel with the owners.

@Kat-qr7hv

4 жыл бұрын

jgbathens the mayor is a POS and as a resident, I can’t wait for him to be gone

@greenvegansara

3 жыл бұрын

There was 24 hour security there when we went to visit past year. They told us about the mayor. The plans they have to renovate it are amazing!! I truly hope they can do it the way they plan!!

@ems7623

3 жыл бұрын

It is in a National Historic Park.

That was such a beautiful video. Thank you. The photography and music created a sad and sweet mood for a hotel past its heyday.

I remember staying at this hotel, a looooooong time ago. Back when I was a kid, (I'm 37 now), I stayed at the Hilltop hotel with my Mother. Sad to see that place now.

I have never been there, but this video makes me want to cry; to see such a gorgeous place (and location) go to ruin is heartbreaking.

@grovercollins7318

6 жыл бұрын

Jeanie Coolahan my mother and father used to drive from Leesburg VA to this hotel and stay the weekend I have not seen this sence 19’85

@20greeneyes20

5 жыл бұрын

It sure is sad. The history , beauty and the scenic view. It's truly a sad site.

@johndunn4228

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah some rich foreigner from DC will probably buy it, tear it all out for a Mcmansion with a huge fence around it. It is sad.

I've visited Harpers Ferry from the UK several times now, and although I've a rough idea where it is, I've never been up to the old hotel. Part of me wants to thank you for taking the time to show what it looks like now, and part of me thinks it's a crying shame it has gotten into this almost unrepairable state! So very sad! Hope you didn't get into trouble filming / walking around. Hope it's brought back to its once glorious condition?? Thanks for sharing this with us though! Great filming.

Sad. I know this place. Oldest brother and his son, many years later, had had there wedding receptions there. went to Junior High just a few miles away. Was supposedly bought for restoration a several years ago, guess those plans are gone now. Was a very beautiful, neat place.

I live near by, and actually was married in the old tap room. Too bad the rock strata (ie. the caves underneath the building finally destroyed the foundation. Its really a shame nothing has been done with the building. It is a historic building that dates back to the 1890's and had DC power for lighting. I wonder if the consortium of Lawyers still own the building. The view is absolutely breath taking and is TOTALLY AWESOME when shooting black and white during the winter. (I have the pictures)

@yotchsyr1673

5 жыл бұрын

hI! I was there last week I couldn't find this place. If you can share with me the way up there please contact thr IG . photography_by_mrruiz . I would really appreciate it!

@debvas34

3 жыл бұрын

If you still.have these pictures please share

Amazing video thanks for making it and sharing it with us. Great place on the top of that hill to take photos of the river valley. I was there many times when the inn was still open. I wish one day someone would rescue it and rebuild it. It would be a gorgeous spot even for just a restaurant.

You should be a camera man for hollywood, you do a really good job. A camera man or a director you're a good cinemaphotographer.

The pixies music just killed me. Beautifully done

I have watched this so many times and it never ceases to amaze me! Hands down my all time favorite. At 6:25 ... perfect choice of music.

I grew up around there and climbed all over those mountains! I had a girlfriend worked in there for years. It was a beautiful beautiful building and sights!

hauntingly beautiful...music, shots...love it!

@cocksicklestick

8 жыл бұрын

thank you

@laineyfabriccio5984

8 жыл бұрын

beautiful music to accompany a very well done video, enjoyed every minute of this, well done, please do some more, I await in anticipation, shame it was left to rot.

Your vids just keep getting better and better! Thank you for sharing!!

wow that was some filming, and with the music just beautiful. Thanks it was incredible to watch.

You have the ability to make any place seem eerie. The decaying rooms at the end coupled with the last song makes it feel like ghosts of the past singing.Many thanks for sharing

Great Video...Never new of this place until now! Keep up with your adventurous video's & musical choice's. You're taking people to unknown place's they have never seen or been to. Keep up the Awesome work!

I have watched hundreds of UE vids and yours are by far the best! Fantastic man!! Your equipment and the shots you get..... Perfection!! . PS the soundtracks you use are great.

I spent my childhood there looking through the quarter binoculars and eating at the buffet table :-) I visit as often as I can. I just love sitting atop the hill and staring down. We used to find arrowheads and bullets up there.

What spectacular views! Such a crying shame this beautiful grand hotel is abandoned and decaying.

I love this video so much! I wish I could have gone inside while the pictures were being taken. It breaks my heart to see buildings like this that were once so wonderful and are now falling to ruins. Thank you for sharing it. I've watched it twice already and bookmarked it. The music is a perfect fit.

Excellent...you need to revisit that place and get more footage, but also the small old houses below beside the river and all that beautiful surrounding scenery around the River and Mountains.

I sure miss this place. great memories have been made here. it was our family tradition to come at Thanksgiving. We seen it change over the years. and know my heart is broken to see this special place of ours in ruins... it matches the town of old and what once was. I will always cherish those memories.

I spent a little over 2 years of my life in that place. This is so very sad. I almost cried when I saw the front desk.

@cocksicklestick

8 жыл бұрын

did u work at the front desk?

@75julianne

4 жыл бұрын

Do you know the history of this place and the old owners possibly?

It's a shame this can't be renovated. With the exception of the one area on the front, the bones seem to be pretty good. Remove the addition on the far right (which was probably the cause of some of the structural damage), and I'll bet a good job could be done to bring this place back to it's glory days. I wish I was a multimillionaire. I'd look into it.

@goldpaperclips

4 жыл бұрын

They are supposed to be restoring it. Supposed to be finished by July 4th 2020 or 2021.

@Kat-qr7hv

4 жыл бұрын

TJ Money it’ll be later since the mayor is trying to hold them back

4 жыл бұрын

not so. latest news is that a new owner owns property and is planning on re starting work in July. If don't believe, come and check it out for yourself. a fence now is around most of property but you can still visit the flagpole area and see the beautiful overlook. There ARE PLANS to tear some of it down and rebuild it to look the way it did. If you visit, there is a huge bulleting board and info area showing pictures and work plans for the future. There will be new life. new owner is somebody named Swan.

@superlovelynumber1

2 жыл бұрын

@@Kat-qr7hv so it's not renovated at all yet?

Wonder if it had been built over an old coal mine. The center collapsing looks to be from a cave in. If not, then the builders cut a lot of corners in the construction. It is so cool.

Very sad. So many memories of that place as a child and teen.

Tragic, that had to been one Beautiful, gorgeous Hotel when opened.. thank you for sharing..

Just the right amount of realism and inspiration in case the right person comes along to restore this gem.

Great job and excellent selection of songs.

I am able to say that i've been there with an old friend. The main reason is because i'm a Harper as well. It is a Beautiful place! And sad they're letting that old building go to waste!

I clicked on this by accident. The filming is amazing. This hotel must of been something in its hay day. You have to be some sort of film maker. The music was also incredible. I guess there are no accidents. Because I am just in awe right now!!!!! Thank you for my Harper Town WV adventure. Some of the shots the way they were filmed reminded me of Secret Window. Thank Again.

We had eaten there a couple of times in the rooms shown that overlook the Potomac river. I LOVED IT❣ Please someone renovate this historic property bordering Virginia and Maryland, where the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers meet, with some of the best views around. 💗🌄🙏 If done right, people from Baltimore and DC will flock to it for it's one of a kind views and atmosphere.

I've been in there. So exciting to see it from this perspective after having walked through there myself

Interesting video. Did not know of the old hotel. The Harpers Ferry area is so full of history. Well done.

Your choice of background music was excellent. I haven't heard Only Time in ages, and I never have heard the lyrics to Once Upon A Dream (I've never considered the possibility that it might have lyrics, to be honest). But I have always loved the tune.

This video made me think about the Titanic. Sad but very nice video along with the beautiful music.

It would be so cool if everybody could combine their pictures and videos together of this Once Upon a Time beauty

Amazing video ! Thanks for the experience and the great music .

Once upon a time this Grand Lady of Harper’s Ferry was alive with the sounds of family and friends making memories. Now She sits silent and alone, with only her memories to keep her company. Sad, haunting and very well done.

Wow, I stayed here a couple decades ago several times when I lived in the DC area. How sad! It was a peaceful and stately hide-a=way.

Everything about this was just breathtaking! You took me to a whole other place! Good job Purkz!

We would go there for their Sunday buffet when I was a teenager- some of the best food ever! My father was fascinated by the woodwork and the "bones" of the place although he was afraid of the "fire trap". We took our children there for Sundays several times and they also enjoyed it. The last time we went to Harpers Ferry (last fall) some of the townspeople told us it had been sold and the new owners planned to renovate it. How sad!

@cocksicklestick

4 жыл бұрын

So many memories!!!! Thanks for the comment!

I've been to Harper's Ferry park and the area. It's a great place to visit. I've walked through this Hotel it was amazing before it was closed down. It's such a shame and a waste not to try to save it. It sits so high up the views are amazing. It also has historic ties as well. I don't understand why they whom every they is, let it go to a point of being torn down. I've been going there since the 1980s. It makes me sad to see this. We are such a wasteful society.....

Thanks for sharing this.... It's really gone downhill fast! I wish I had the resources to restore it!

Me, my ex-husband and some friends stayed there in in 1993. We had the top attic rooms. We loved it! It was so pretty then. When I heard it was closed I was very surprised. The attic rooms were the only ones available. I have my memories though.😢

Excellent video footage. I can feel the history there, all of the people who built and thrived in that place are long gone, but there is spiritual energy just seeing this.

I’m glad they are going to restore the place! What a waste of what could be with that place. I’m originally from Parkersburg, WV so I definitely want to go see it in real life the next time I go up for my family reunion.

This was a beautiful hotel in the 90s. Old and the owners struggled to keep it in repair on a budget, but the public rooms were still beautiful and the rooms themselves echoed Somewhere In Time. I dropped by a few years ago on my way to Baltimore, just to see how the megaplans for super "rennovation" had gone. I saw they had destroyed it and abandoned it. These films make it look like it was abandoned in 1905 not 2005. The developers should be shamed by this, and the town folk were lied to.

@traviscarver4708

4 жыл бұрын

demetri kavoukas Hahaha what are you talking about?

@traviscarver4708

4 жыл бұрын

demetri kavoukas John 8 Titus 1:12-15 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 That’s s my response.

@robinluich5576

4 жыл бұрын

The love and laughter that once lived here you can still almost feel and hear

@ElizabethBattle

3 жыл бұрын

Well said.

I recall you doing a video last winter of this place. All outside shots. I kept watching wondering if you'd fly into one those openings to get a peek inside. It was pretty cool to see the inside of these abandoned buildings that have been forgotten this time around. Thanks!

Love Enya's music. Great choice for this awesome video.

@evasivy855

8 жыл бұрын

I heard Enya and had to turn the sound off. I used to love it but heard it so much that now, today, I cannot listen to it anymore, lol!! Neat video, however. I have been to Harper's Ferry but oddly enough, I never knew that place was even there.

@sarahmadden4891

7 жыл бұрын

It's not on the visitors' maps any more, but if you go up High Street, then take a right, then a right onto East Ridge Street, you'll find it. It's surrounded by high barbed wire fences. Sad ending. Deferred maintenance took its toll ...

@Derfinater

5 жыл бұрын

I thought the music choice was awful

Thank you for sharing this!! You just made me wonderfully homesick!

@cocksicklestick

8 жыл бұрын

your welcome

What a travesty for history. This place was amazing. Last time I stayed there was 1979. It was vibrant and well maintained. So so

Was just there today, don't know how many times I've been here. They are doing more work around this old hotel but haven't touched the main part yet. Supposed to open June 2021. Love the drone video! Awesome job!

beautifully filmed, now a personal twist on our memories of wonderful times spent with family and friends at Hill Top -

Precious memories. My late husband and i stayed here in 2005.

Amazing photography. Great job. Thanks for posting.

Breaks my heart. Thank you for sharing!! Great video!

Beautifully done video of a sad abandoned city; I like to think all the good memories still exist somewhere in time. Extremely well done. 😀

You have amazing 'drone dexterity'! This is such a nice property, well built on a beautiful spot. So I gather it crashed due to not enough else going on around there to attract guests, or/and they've been fracked to death.

@GOTTshua

2 жыл бұрын

Nope.... and nope.

i just love this video...thanks for sharing.

Beautifully done. Thank you for highlighting WVA

really enjoyed this video. Relaxing, beautiful and eye catching. Great job.

wow..amazing video work and the music stunning

I am 30 and I have lived my entire life in Winchester, I went to college at Shepeherd. I am just finding out about this hotel now from this video.

I grew up in WV, but I haven't been to Harper's Ferry since high school. Discovered Dan Bell's video of the Hill Top via his Dead Motel Series awhile back, & now yours has re-sparked my interest. Even tho I stayed in a private home when my choir came thru there so many yrs ago, I still remember the town & its odd, haunting vibe. Such a marked difference in Hill Top's destruction just from one video to the next. A sad, crumbling historical landmark, indeed. Shame they couldn't save it.

@nationdecay

8 жыл бұрын

they plan to save the place by gutting most of the interior and doing a complete facade teardown to start from scratch and rebuild the porch overhang. wether it happens or not remains a mystery. that's what I was told by someone who was in the meeting on dec 5

@TheSWolfe

8 жыл бұрын

+Master Of Decay Well, that's somewhat good news. I hope, at least, that they follow through with some kind of project promoting public access; it's a prime spot of real-estate, with that birds-eye view of the town and its waterways.

@nationdecay

8 жыл бұрын

+TheSWolfe I'd love to finally get some of that famous hilltop food again

@TheSWolfe

8 жыл бұрын

Never got to eat there, but, as a WV native, I've had, and prepared, my share of tasty down-home cookin'.

Love the drone and very steady camera work. Beautiful location.

Loved this video. Congrats on a nice filming of a gorgeous place. I'm so sad it's left to the elements. :(

Very interesting and enjoyable video of Hill House Hotel. Music choice's were good too. Thank you!

I gave you a thumbs up as you gave depth to your vid, it's sad that all things can't stay the same, particularly when mother nature is concerned. You did great with the drone, very steady !Cheers from Australia

Such beautiful piano music

Very well done video in all aspects. Thank you. It is appreciated.

Mike, thank you for making this video. There have been activists in Harpers Ferry that have strived diligently for 9 years with this issue. I am a 9th generation of my family to live in Jefferson County, my grandparents met on the porch of the Hilltop. When the equity investment group bought the hotel, it was a functioning hotel. The town asked them repeatedly to "mothball" the hotel, which of course they did not, and now the hotel is in its current state. Thank you for movingly portraying the lack of care and concern for the property by the current owners.

@cocksicklestick

8 жыл бұрын

+Beth Haney your very welcome

I'm new to your channel to which I find very enjoyable. I like your style and mix of aerial photography !

This was so well done! Really enjoyed it, shots were awesome, and the drone can go where we cant which makes it even more interesting!!! Great Job!!

Great flying! You can still manage some great sunsets in the summer there.

Just discovered your videos. Amazing work.

Amazing video. Music and camera angles are stunning!

Mike...thanks so much for this video. What a talented fellow you are ! I am so impressed with your photography skills and creativity. Kudos ! You have created a most haunting memory with your beautiful video.

@cocksicklestick

8 жыл бұрын

+Pamela Pittman thank you and your welcome...that means a lot to me!