In October 1974, an ascendant horror writer named Stephen King and his wife Tabitha spent a single night at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. They were almost the only guests. The hotel was closing for the season the following day. King had a nightmare about his young son being chased through the corridors by a fire hose that had come alive. He woke up, sat on the edge of the bed in Room 217, and began outlining what would become The Shining.
The Stanley Hotel has been dining out on this story ever since, and good luck to them. It is an extraordinary piece of literary real estate — the place where one of the great works of horror fiction was conceived — and visiting it delivers something that most film and TV pilgrimages cannot quite manage: the genuine, slightly unsettling feeling that you understand exactly why this particular place produced this particular story.
The Hotel and The Book vs The Film
Before you go, there is one important distinction to understand. The Stanley Hotel inspired the novel. It did not appear in the Kubrick film. These are different things, and failing to understand this distinction will cause you disappointment.
When Stanley Kubrick made his 1980 adaptation of The Shining, he did not film at the Stanley Hotel. Insufficient snow in Estes Park ruled it out. The exterior shots of the Overlook Hotel in Kubrick's film are of the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in Oregon. The interior sets were purpose-built at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England, inspired by various American hotels including the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park, but not the Stanley. The corridor scenes, the hedge maze, Room 237 — none of it was shot here.
What was filmed at the Stanley was the 1997 television miniseries adaptation, written by Stephen King himself, who famously dislikes Kubrick's version. King's TV adaptation was shot on location, which means if you are looking for a physical connection to the story as King imagined it, the Stanley delivers. If you are looking for the Kubrick film locations, you need to go to Oregon and Hertfordshire.
Room 217 vs Room 237: In the novel, the haunted room is Room 217. Kubrick changed it to Room 237 for the film because he was worried about the real Room 217 at the Stanley putting off guests. The Stanley has leaned into Room 217 regardless. It is the most requested room in the hotel and books up months in advance.
What The Stanley Is Actually Like
The Stanley Hotel was built in 1909 by Freelan Oscar Stanley — co-inventor of the Stanley Steamer automobile — and it is a genuinely beautiful Georgian Revival building set against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, about five miles from the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. It has 142 rooms, sits at 7,500 feet above sea level and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It is also, by many accounts, genuinely strange to be in. The history of reported paranormal activity at the hotel predates The Shining and has nothing to do with the book's success. Guests and staff have been reporting unexplained events for most of the hotel's existence. The most frequently mentioned presence is that of F.O. Stanley's wife Flora, who apparently continues to play the ballroom piano after hours. Whether you believe in this sort of thing is your own business. The atmosphere is undeniable regardless.
The hotel runs multiple tours daily, including historic tours, paranormal tours and a dedicated Shining tour that covers King's stay, the writing of the novel, the various adaptations and the hotel's documented history of supernatural occurrences. The tours last around 90 minutes and are worth booking in advance. There is also a whiskey bar — the Whiskey Bar — that houses Colorado's largest selection of whiskeys and single malts, which is the sensible option if you are staying overnight and want to prepare yourself appropriately for what follows.
The Blumhouse Film Center
In 2024, horror production company Blumhouse announced a partnership with the Stanley to create a 10,000-square-foot horror film exhibit space within the hotel. This is either an inspired development or an extremely on-brand one, depending on your perspective. It positions the Stanley not just as a literary landmark but as an active destination for horror film culture, with rotating exhibitions, events and experiences curated by the people who made Get Out, The Purge and Paranormal Activity. The combination of a 117-year-old genuinely strange hotel and one of Hollywood's leading horror studios is, it must be said, logical.
Staying Overnight
📍 Book it
The question of whether to stay overnight at the Stanley Hotel is one that tells you something about yourself. The hotel is a real working hotel with comfortable rooms, excellent dining and the kind of mountain views that would be remarkable even without the literary context. Many guests report thoroughly unremarkable nights of uninterrupted sleep.
Others do not. The hotel's own records of reported paranormal activity are extensive and go back decades. Room 217, where King stayed, is booked solid months in advance by people hoping for an experience. Room 418 in the old part of the hotel has its own reputation. The fourth floor in general is considered by staff and frequent visitors to be the most active.
If you are the sort of person who finds this appealing, the Stanley Hotel is one of the most remarkable places you can spend a night in America. If you are the sort of person who finds this alarming, the Rocky Mountain National Park immediately adjacent to the hotel is one of the most spectacular landscapes in the country and requires absolutely no supernatural tolerance whatsoever.
Planning Your Visit
- The Stanley Hotel is at 333 Wonderview Avenue, Estes Park, Colorado — about 90 minutes from Denver International Airport.
- Book Room 217 well in advance if that is the point of the exercise. It sells out months ahead.
- The Shining tour runs daily and covers King's stay, the novel and the hotel's paranormal history. Book online.
- The Whiskey Bar has Colorado's largest whiskey selection. This is relevant information.
- Rocky Mountain National Park is five miles away — allow at least one full day for the park.
- The Blumhouse Film Center exhibit space is now open — check the Stanley's website for current programming.
- The hotel closes for periods in winter. Check availability before booking travel.
Getting There
✈️ Getting there
Estes Park is approximately 65 miles northwest of Denver, making Denver International Airport the obvious arrival point. The drive takes around 90 minutes and passes through some increasingly spectacular scenery. There is no practical public transport option. A car is not optional.
The town of Estes Park itself is a pleasant mountain resort town with good restaurants and accommodation options beyond the Stanley if your budget or your nerves require an alternative base. The Stanley's rates are not cheap, which is appropriate for a hotel that has been charging a premium for atmosphere since 1909.
Would you spend a night there? The real answer is probably yes, because the alternative — knowing you were in Estes Park and did not go — is the kind of thing that stays with you. Some decisions are made for you by the stories you care about.