I Accidentally Stayed at the Hotel Where Jeffrey Dahmer Murdered Someone

My spring trip to Milwaukee was largely revolved around one thing: seeing The Summer Set at The Rave/Eagles Club on their Blossom Tour. The Summer Set is a pop/punk band from Phoenix, Arizona that I have been a fan of since high school. They broke up in 2017, and I wasn’t missing a chance to see them on their first tour since they reunited and put out a new album. Unfortunately, there was no Minnesota stop on this tour route, and the closest they came was Milwaukee, so back in December I bought tickets and booked a room at the nearest hotel, which happened to be the Ambassador Hotel, located across the street from the venue.

My husband Cory and I made a long weekend of this trip, arriving on Thursday afternoon for a Saturday night show, and spent our free time taking in the fun things Milwaukee had to offer like the Miller Brewing Tour, Great Lakes Distillery, the Public Market, and more. Never once did one of the most infamous serial killers in America cross my mind.

Saturday night I was lucky enough to get an interview with Brian Dales, lead singer of The Sumer Set, and was lead back to the green room where I was shown the drained pool at The Rave that all performing artists sign when they play there. It was then, chit-chatting with the band’s tour manager, that I was reminded that The Rave was once a building where Dahmer met one of his victims. I was also reminded that he also once took a victim back to the Ambassador, killed him, and took the body out of the building in a suitcase.

I’ve even seen the series Dahmer on Netflix and it didn’t register in my head that these were the real-life locations until I was standing in the building. Ignorance was bliss I guess.

We didn’t stay in the exact room where the murder happened. Allegedly the murder happened in room 507, and we had a room on the third floor. Thank goodness, it would’ve made that last night’s sleep a tough one to get through. I enjoy haunted and creepy things, but I’m The Small Town Tourist, not the “dark tourism tourist”.

Overall I loved staying at The Ambassador Hotel. The art deco interior was stunning, the rooms were clean and modern, and the service was spectacular. And the location was great too not only for the concert, but also for everything else we did that weekend. If I ever find myself back in Milwaukee I’m booking another room there, and now I know to make sure to stay away from the 5th floor.

Hear a recap of my trip to Milwaukee including an interview with Brian Dales of The Summer Set wherever you listen to podcasts.