For sale: SA’s haunted Mount Torrens Hotel comes with ghosts

The new owners of SA’s Mount Torrens Hotel will need to be willing to embrace more than just a historic building – two ghosts are also part of the deal.

The 4832sqm corner property at 1 Townsend St, which has hit the market, is haunted.

But publican Angie Lo-Faro assures George Dunn, who was one of the area’s earliest settlers and built the property, and Mary Turner, who ran the pub for 30 years until the 1920s, are both friendly.

“I think it’s really cool and they don’t do any harm,” she said.

“I can see them and I can feel them – they keep me company.

“George is not happy about us selling.”

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Angie Lo-Faro says the Mount Torrens Hotel has two resident ghosts. Picture: Ben Clark

The hotel recently hit the market. Picture: Dean Martin

The Lo-Faro family has restored the hotel to its former glory.

It looks much like it did when it was built in the mid 1800s.

The iconic Adelaide Hills hotel was built in the mid-1800s and spans two levels, with the bar and restaurant on the ground floor and eight rooms upstairs.

Ms Lo-Faro has run the hotel with her husband Daniel and daughter Kaitlyn since purchasing it in 2019, just before the bushfires and Covid pandemic hit.

It was a rough start but she said the community rallied behind them.

They have since restored the hotel to its former glory through a renovation – carefully and respectfully given it’s in the Mount Torrens State Heritage Area.

“During the seven years, we’ve restored the whole historic building back to its original state,” Ms Lo-Faro said.

“One of the reasons we bought it was because we like heritage buildings and we wanted to renovate it.”

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It’s modernised in parts.

It’s listed with a $950,000 asking price.

George Dunn, one of Mount Torrens’ earliest settlers who built the hotel, is one of the ghosts in the building.

The property has stood the test of time.

While reluctant, they have decided to sell the property to focus on family.

“The only reason we’re selling is because my husband is quite sick,” Ms Lo-Faro said.

“It has to be done for his health but that doesn’t mean our hearts are not still here.”

She said it was a special place and if the new owners embraced it like they had, they would be welcomed with open arms.

“It’s the meeting place, it’s everything for our community – this is where people come in good times and in bad,” Ms Lo-Faro said.

As for George and Mary, Ms Lo-Faro’s advice to the new owners was treat them like any other people and explain what’s happening.

“I walk in here and say, ‘Hi Mary, hi George.’ They don’t do any harm, they’re quite kind.”

The property is being sold by Savills Adelaide’s Sam Alexander and Rob Williamson with a $950,000 price guide.