Whitney Houston -- Found Dead in the Bathtub

Beverly Hilton hotel employees tell TMZ ... Whitney Houston was found dead in the bathtub of her room.

As we previously reported, a member of Whitney's entourage discovered her unresponsive and called hotel security, who then called 911.

We're told police arrived to the scene within minutes and fire was already there on an unrelated call. Paramedics performed CPR, but it did not work and she was pronounced dead at 3:55 PM.

Our sources say there were no obvious signs of foul play, but BH PD detectives have begun a full investigation.