The History
Freelan Oscar Stanley made his fortune manufacturing the Stanley Steamer automobile. Diagnosed with tuberculosis in the early 1900s, he moved to Colorado for the mountain air. The climate worked - Stanley recovered and fell in love with the Estes Park valley.
In 1909, he built the Stanley Hotel as a grand resort for wealthy Eastern travelers. The Georgian Colonial Revival building sits at 7,500 feet elevation with stunning Rocky Mountain views stretching across the Continental Divide. It was one of the first hotels in the world fully powered by electricity, a marvel of modern engineering at the time.
F.O. Stanley's wife Flora was an accomplished pianist who performed regularly in the hotel's grand ballroom. The couple poured their lives into the property, and some believe they never truly left.
Stephen King and The Shining
In October 1974, Stephen King and his wife Tabitha checked into The Stanley Hotel just as it was about to close for the season. They were the only guests. The long, empty corridors stretched out in silence. The furniture was covered in sheets. The hotel felt like a place waiting for something to happen.
King wandered the deserted hallways alone. He had drinks at the bar, served by a bartender named Grady. That night, in Room 217, he dreamed his three-year-old son was being chased through the hotel corridors, screaming. King woke up in a cold sweat, lit a cigarette, and sat on the edge of the bed. By the time he finished that cigarette, he had the entire plot of The Shining.
Stanley Kubrick later filmed the 1980 movie adaptation at entirely different locations - the Timberline Lodge in Oregon for exteriors and Elstree Studios in England for interiors. But the hotel embraces its connection to the story that made it famous. The Stanley is the real Overlook Hotel, and it knows it.
The Hauntings
The Stanley Hotel's paranormal reputation goes far beyond its literary connections. Staff and guests have reported unexplained phenomena for over a century:
Room 217
Where Stephen King stayed and had his nightmare. Housekeeper Elizabeth Wilson died in a 1911 gas explosion in this room. She survived the blast but her ghost reportedly tucks guests into bed and unpacks their luggage. She is a tidy ghost.
The Ballroom
Flora Stanley's ghost is heard playing piano late at night. The piano keys move on their own with no one seated at the bench. Multiple witnesses - staff, guests, and investigators - have seen and heard this over the decades.
Room 401
Children's laughter and the sound of small feet running echo through the fourth-floor hallway. Guests report handprints appearing on mirrors and the impressions of small bodies on freshly made beds. It is the most active room besides 217.
The Tunnel System
Underground tunnels connect the hotel buildings beneath the property. Staff report disembodied voices, fleeting shadows, and an overwhelming sense of being followed. Few employees will walk the tunnels alone.
The Shining Connection
The Novel (1977)
King set his story in the fictional Overlook Hotel, changing the name and moving the location. But the bones of the Stanley - its isolation, its grandeur, its empty corridors - are unmistakable on every page.
The Kubrick Film (1980)
Stanley Kubrick filmed the iconic adaptation at Timberline Lodge in Oregon and Elstree Studios in England, never setting foot in the actual Stanley Hotel. King famously disliked the film.
The TV Mini-Series (1997)
King insisted this version be filmed at the actual Stanley Hotel. He wrote the teleplay himself, determined to tell the story the way he'd always envisioned it - in the building that started it all.
What's There Now
Visit The Stanley Hotel
Address: 333 E Wonderview Ave, Estes Park, CO
Status: Fully operating luxury hotel - you can book a room and stay the night
Room 217: Yes, you can book it. It is the most requested room in the hotel. Plan months in advance.
Highlights: Ghost tours, night spirit tours, an IMAX theater that screens The Shining, and the annual Stanley Film Festival celebrating horror cinema.
Tip: The hotel fully embraces its haunted reputation. Even if you don't stay overnight, the ghost tours are worth the trip to Estes Park.
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