Dark Bloo Inn

"This hotel gets creepier every time I see it."

- Huey

Dark Bloo Inn is a location in Paper Mario: Color Splash. The path leading here is unlocked after getting the blue Mini Paint Star in Mondo Woods, and unlocks a path leading to Plum Park.

History
The history of Dark Bloo Inn, from the manual: ''Many years ago, when the Dark Bloo Inn first opened, six Toad friends made a promise—a sacred oath, really—to have a tea party there. They checked into the inn the day before, intending to spend the night before their party began at 3:00 p.m. the next day. But as it happened, the grandfather clock at the front desk broke. When the Toads finally realized this, 3:00 p.m. had long since passed. The six friends fell into a deep depression, and as the years passed, their tea-sipping aspirations remained unfulfilled. Exactly 200 years after the founding of the inn, the grandfather clock was repaired in commemoration. From the moment the clock once again began to mark the passage of time, mysterious phenomena started occurring within the hotel.''

Layout
Dark Bloo Inn has three floors. The first floor contains the lobby, a dining room, a library, and a staircase leading to a storage room. The other two floors each contains three guest rooms. When Mario and Huey arrive here, the hotel staff tell them that strange things are happening, claiming that the hotel is haunted. The hotel is stuck in a time loop, which is being caused by the ghosts of six Toads, who are troubled in various ways. In order to end the time loop, Mario must help the ghosts so they can attend a tea party in the dining room before the grandfather clock strikes three. If Mario fails, he gets ejected from the level and the time loop starts over.

The desk clerk keeps getting calls from room 301, which disturbs him, since there is seemingly no one in there. When Mario enters the room, the furniture starts flying all over the place. When the janitor comes up to clean it, Mario must wait for him to finish then go back in, there will be an object moving back and forth; hitting it with the Paint Hammer reveals the ghost Toad. He will complain that his sheets need changing. The sheets are in the storage room downstairs, but when Mario goes to get them, he gets attacked by Shy Guys. Mario defeats the Shy Guys and takes the sheets to the ghost. After enjoying the new sheets for a few seconds, the ghost goes to the dining room to attend the tea party.

Room 302 is the only one occupied by a living Toad. He is trying to read a book, but it's blank due to having its color drained. After Mario restores its color and makes the book readable, it turns out to be a Tea Recipe Book, which the Toad finds boring and gives it to Mario to return to the library. When Mario enters the library, the books all fly off the shelves except for a big orange one, which continues to wiggle. Hitting it with the Paint Hammer reveals a ghost Toad trying to pry it off the shelf. He complains that the library is missing a book that he wants, which turns out to be the Tea Recipe Book. After Mario gives him the book, the ghost heads for the dining room.

Inside Room 303, there is a birdcage and a ghost Toad standing next to it. After being revealed, the ghost Toad laments that his "red bird" has flown the coop. The birdcage must be repainted and taken to the garden on the right side of the hotel. There is a Toad there trying to catch a bird with some bait. When talked to, he doubts that a bird would just fly into a cage, but then a Koopa Paratroopa shows up and squeezes into the cage; this is the "red bird" that the ghost was talking about. When Mario returns the "bird" to the ghost, he goes off to join the tea party.

There is a cart in the second floor's hallway that seemingly moves by itself; hitting it with the Paint Hammer reveals a ghost Toad. He is trying to find Room 201, but can't find it. There is just a wall where Room 201 should be, however, cutting it out reveals the door and allows the ghost to access the room. After delivering the luggage, the ghost leaves to join the tea party.

Hammering the bed in Room 302 reveals a hole underneath which leads to Room 202. There is a crate behind the door which prevents the room from being accessed from the second floor's hallway until Mario destroys it. There is a ghost Toad feeling around on the floor for his glasses because he can't find them, even though they are actually on his head. Hammering the ghost pushes them down over his eyes and makes him realize his mistake. Afterward, the ghost heads for the dining room.

When Mario enters Room 203, a Shy Guy is seen stealing an invisible object. The ghost in the room starts banging on the balcony railing, upset that "it" has been stolen. Mario finds the Shy Guy in the garden along with some other enemies. A Shady Sledge Bro challenges Mario to a fight; when he's defeated, the others run away and the Shy Guy relinquishes "it". The ghost Toad joins the tea party after Mario returns "it" to him. If Mario hits "it" with the Paint Hammer, it turns out to be Yoshi, which if Mario tries to get on, runs away to The Emerald Circus.

Bringing all six ghosts to the dining room ends the time loop, but they cannot have their tea party yet, because the teapot is missing. When Mario asks the desk clerk about it, he searches the employee-only room for it, but he fails to find it. He does, however, find a purple Mini Paint Star, which opens access to Plum Park. It turns out that Bowser's minions had stolen the teapot and used it to poison the park's water. Mario retrieves the teapot and brings it back to Dark Bloo Inn, allowing the ghosts to finally have their tea party. Afterward, the ghosts leave for good, returning the hotel to normal. Mario's efforts are rewarded with an increase to the amount of Battle Cards he can use per turn in a battle.

Enemies

 * Scaredy Rat
 * Shy Guy
 * Shady Sledge Bro

Trivia

 * Portraits of the Yoshi Sphinx and Hither Thither Hill from Paper Mario: Sticker Star can be seen on the wall near the dining room. There is also a portrait of a snowy area, likely referencing World 4 from the same game.
 * The owner makes a reference to Luigi's Mansion, informing Mario upon arrival that he tried to call Luigi to eradicate the paranormal activity, but he did not answer.