The key from the hotel where it all began.

Old brass and bronze room keys from the world’s great hotels. Name yours and we’ll take you to its key.

Three vintage brass hotel keys with engraved brass fobs, lying at different angles on a clean light background (illustration)

Every key began as a room number at a hotel with a story. We show what we found, and never invent a listing.

Keys from the world’s great hotels

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Raffles Hotel, Singapore (2015)Est. 1887

Raffles

Singapore and beyond

Price varies

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Photo: C1815, CC0

Hotel photos are public-domain or Creative Commons images from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each card (all credits). They show the hotel, not a listed key. Prices appear only when we saw a real one, with the date.

Illustration
Key of the week

Waldorf Hotel, London, 1908

A steel key with a heavy brass fob from room 207. The seller dates it to 1908, and it’s the only key in our survey with an exact year attached. Ask the seller about its history before you buy.

Picked from the 27 real listings we checked on Nov 4, 2026. It may have sold, so check the live listing.

Close-up of the worn, engraved surface of an old brass hotel key fob (illustration)
Collector’s guide

How to spot a real one.

Replicas are sold openly, and some hotels still make new brass fobs. Casting versus engraving, mismatched keys and fobs, and the seller’s return policy all tell you something.

Read the guide

Lost hotelsHotel storiesKeys by yearEvery key we’ve seenFree story card