Travelogue: The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado

Originally, I was going to do these posts in strictly chronological order.  But I feel more like jumping around to whatever catches my fancy on any given day.

Today, The Stanley Hotel is on my mind.  This is the hotel that Stephen King based The Shining on, and it's billed as "The Most Haunted Hotel in America." Sarah, amateur ghost hunter, was WILD to go there. We weren't sure if we'd be able to get in--I thought it would be like the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island, where you only get to stand on the front porch unless you're a paying guest.

When we pulled up and saw the guard shack, we were ready to be disappointed, but for $5 parking, we could walk around the grounds and the first floor. That's a cheap price for a good compromise.  It's not unreasonable to expect people to stay off the floors with the rooms.

In the Billiard Room

The lobby is beautiful, and EXACTLY what King describes in the book. The original movie shot at a different hotel, but the mini-series shot there. The music room and billiards room are currently empty, but you could walk around in them. Sarah wanted to be alone in the billiards room to see if she could see a ghost, and she thought she could sight of a shadow in one of the mirrors, but that was the extent of the adventures.

They have the old fashioned keys on a board behind the front desk, and they're all identical except for 217 (and maybe 401, but I didn't look for that one--I was trying to be subtle about taking the picture, but after the fourth or fifth attempt at trying to get a clear shot, I don't think I succeeded!)

I didn't know there was an amphitheater on the grounds (we didn't wander around much, but she really wants to go back and stay sometime, and the price isn't THAT outrageous for a couple people), and we also missed the bronze statue collection out back.  "Next time!"

The area around it is quite built up now, but they had a panoramic shot from back in the 70's, and it was indeed more isolated, though King exaggerated a bit for the purposes of the book.  I told Sarah a little bit of the plot, and she wants to read it now, but I told her she has to wait a couple more years. I think she needs a little more Poe first.