A Historic Visit to Colorado’s Stanley Hotel

I’ve loved travel my whole life and one thing that I love about is the beautiful hotels around the world. I loved hotels so much that after high school, I went to college and got a bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management. While in college, I remember learning about some of the most historic hotels in the US and knew that I needed to visit these hotels someday. The one that stood out the most to me due to its connection to my favorite author at the time, Stephen King, was The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. So, when I found myself heading to Colorado earlier this year, I knew I needed to add a stop in Estes Park.

History of the Stanley Hotel

The Stanley Hotel opened in 1909 and was the idea of Freelan Oscar (F.O.) Stanley. F.O. Stanley was originally from Maine and came to Estes Park in 1903 in hopes that the fresh, dry air would help treat his tuberculosis. It turned out that this was just what he needed, the Colorado air improved his health so much that he returned to Estes Park every summer. In 1907, construction began on the Stanley Hotel in hopes to bring a little bit of his upper-class East Coast society to his summer home of Estes Park.

The Stanley Hotel opened in 1909 just two years after construction had begun. Just one year later in 1910, another building was built next to the main building. What is now the Lodge at The Stanley was opened to house the men staying at the Stanley Hotel. Back when the hotel opened it wasn’t considered proper to have strange men staying in the same building as women, so Stanley built a second building for the men to stay in while the women stayed in the main building.

Also on the grounds was a Concert Hall. Over the years, the Concert Hall hosted popular musicians as Bob Dylan and the magic acts of Houdini, who happened to be a friend of F.O. Stanley. The Concert Hall is still in use today hosting concerts and other events throughout the year.

When the hotel opened in 1909, it not only was a first-class hotel complete with electric lights, telephones and uniformed servants, it also brought electricity to the town of Estes Park. The hotel was a popular summer escape for the rich and famous with rich families like the Rockefellers staying here.

While the Stanley’s were part of high society when the Stanley Hotel opened, F.O. Stanley did not grow up with this same kind of wealth. His family was your ordinary family growing up in Maine, but they did put high value on education. The education that F.O. and his twin brother Francis Edgar received helped them to earn their fortunes in a number of family businesses. Their entrepreneurship began at an early age of 9 when they opened their first business selling maple sugar.

In 1885, the Stanley brothers opened Stanley Dry Plate Company which improved the photography process by allowing more time to develop the photos after taking them. They eventually sold their dry plate formula to Eastman Kodak in 1905.

In 1897, their first steam wagon made its debut, and this set the stage for the Stanley Motor Carriage Company. The company was in business from 1902-1924. As you can see, the Stanley brothers had quite the entrepreneurial spirit so it’s no wonder the Stanley Hotel was such a success.

Stephen King and The Stanley Hotel

As successful as the hotel was, business did eventually start to decline, and it was set to be turned into condos. But that all changed, thanks to an author who just so happened to hail from the same state as the Stanley brothers, the soon to be best-selling author, Stephen King.

Months after his first novel, Carrie, was published, Stephen was taking a trip in Colorado with his wife and young son. As they were trying to drive to Grand Lake Colorado on September 30, 1974, they encountered a blizzard and had to stop for the night in Estes Park, Colorado. He ended up stopping at The Stanley Hotel.

Back in 1974, the hotel was only open for the summer season with September 30th being its last night open. There were no other guests in the hotel that night and the majority of the hotel staff had already left for the season, so they almost turned Stephen away. They eventually let him and his family stay for the night though. They stayed in room 217.

It was just the King family and the bar manager in the hotel. After his wife and young son went to bed, Stephen had some drinks while listening to some ghost stories from the bar manager. As you can imagine, the combination of ghost stories, some alcohol, an empty hotel and an author with a creative mind, led to quite the nightmares during his stay at The Stanley Hotel. The nightmares caused him to have a bit of a sleepless night, and this is where he came up with the idea for his popular book, The Shining, which just so happens to include some of the ghost stories that the bar manager told him that night at The Stanley Hotel.

The Shining was published in 1977 and then in 1980 the movie came out. When people realized that The Shining, while not filmed at The Stanley Hotel, was based on it, they started to want to stay there, making the hotel gain in popularity and eventually end up on the register of historic hotels instead of being turned into condos. Things would have been so different if they had turned him away that September night.

Guests would come to the hotel and think that the Stanley Hotel would be identical to the hotel in the movie The Shining. After years of asking where the hedge maze from the movie was, the Stanley Hotel finally added a Hedge Maze in 2015. It’s gone thru some challenges with amount of wildlife in the area preventing the hedges from growing, but it’s still a fun walk thru it.

The Stanley Hotel Today

Today the Stanley Hotel four different types of accommodations to appeal to all types of travelers.

• The Stanley Hotel – The original hotel catering to guests that want to stay in the historic hotel that dates back to 1909.
• The Lodge at the Stanley – This boutique hotel is in the second building that was added in 1910 and offers hotel rooms similar to the Stanley Hotel at a lower cost.
• The Residences at the Stanley – For larger groups these 1,2-, 3- and 4-bedroom condos can sleep from 4-10 people depending on the size and feature full kitchens, living rooms and private hot tubs.
• The Aspire Hotel & Spa – These apartment style accommodations feature kitchens and living rooms. The Aspire Spa is located right in the same building making it convenient if you are coming for a relaxing spa weekend.

Even if you decide not to stay in the hotel, it’s worth a visit to check out the hotel; you can take a tour, walk thru the hedge maze, check out the common areas of the hotel, visit the gift shop and restaurants and also see some memorabilia from the hotel and the Shining movie. Parking is $10 for day visitors but they do give you a $5 token that can be used on property.

One of the top things that bring day visitors to The Stanley Hotel is their tours. They have multiple tours to choose from:

• Historic Day Tour – On this 60-minute tour you will learn about the history of The Stanley Hotel and visit the grounds, Concert Hall and the main hotel. On the tour you will also learn about the hotel’s connection to the Shining and even visit the floor that the room Stephen King stayed in is located. You will get an opportunity to take a photo outside of room 217. Another interesting thing to see in the hotel is a part of the former tunnels that the staff used to use to get between areas of the hotel while being unseen by the guests. Here you will also see the floating foundations the hotel was built on which explains the interesting aspects you will notice of the corridors and doors of the hotel. I took this tour and really loved it; it was more than worth the money.

• The Shining Tour – For the big fans of The Shining, this tour is for you! This 60-minute walking tour will take you to many spots in the hotel and explain the differences between the novel and the movie and the reasons why it wasn’t filmed here at The Stanley Hotel. The real highlight of this tour is that it takes you to the caretaker’s cottage. Here you will visit the bedroom of the Grady sisters and the bathroom from room 237 in the movie. If you’ve seen the movie, you will remember this scene.

• The Stanley Ghost Tour – This 60-minute nighttime tour will take you to spots around The Stanley Hotel and its grounds that have had been said to be haunted and you will be told this ghost stories as you explore these locations. This would be the perfect tour for the Halloween season!

Make sure to book your tours in advance so they don’t sell out.

Dining at the Stanley Hotel

Remember that $5 token you received when you paid for your $10 parking, well a great way to use it is to get a bite to eat while visiting The Stanley Hotel. There are a number of restaurants to choose from:

• Cascades Restaurant – This American restaurant and Steakhouse is open for lunch and dinner and offers both indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating features views of a cascading waterfall, which gave the restaurant its name.
• Brunch & Co – Located in the lodge, this restaurant is open 7am-noon daily for brunch. It evens offers some “Shining” inspired plates.
• Post Chicken & Beer – Located down the driveway from the main hotel, this restaurant is a must for the fried chicken lover. They also offer a variety of craft beers. I visited The Stanley Hotel after a day of hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park so I was quite hungry and this place really hit the spot!

There are also two bars located at The Stanley Hotel: Whiskey Bar & Lounge features the largest selection of Whiskey and single malt scotch in Colorado. The 217 Wine Bar is a new bar located in the music room in the lobby of the hotel.

Things to do in Estes Park

The Stanley Hotel isn’t the only place to visit in Estes Park. While you are in the area, make sure to check out some of the other attractions:

• Rocky Mountain National Park – The entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park is located right in Estes Park. Here you can see numerous Alpine lakes, hike the over 350 miles of trails and take a drive along the highest continuous paved road in the US.

• Estes Park Aerial Tramway – Open from Memorial Day thru Labor Day, one of the only free span tramways in the US will take you up to 8,700 feet for stunning views (including a great view of The Stanley Hotel) of the Estes Park area and hiking trails.

• Estes Park Riverwalk – If you are looking for a short easy walk for the whole family, head downtown and take a walk along the mile long riverwalk.

• Downtown Estes Park – After enjoying the Riverwalk, head down Elkhorn Ave in Downtown Estes Park to relax in one of the many restaurants and bars. Maybe you even want to do some shopping at the many small businesses on Elkhorn Ave.

On your next trip to Estes Park, make sure you add The Stanley Hotel to your itinerary, its a must for fans of historic hotels and fans of Stephen King.

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