The Stanley Hotel

As a huge fan of horror history, I was thrilled to stay at this historic hotel. Knowing it was the original inspiration for Stephen King’s The Shining and the actual filming location for the miniseries made it a bucket-list trip for me. Walking through a luxury hotel of the past is undeniably cool, but unfortunately, the historical charm was completely ruined by the fact that management and staff are letting this legendary property slide downhill.Our disappointment started immediately at check-in. Despite arriving at 4:00 PM—our guaranteed check-in time—our room was far from ready. When we were finally able to head up, the walk to our room was a warning sign of what was to come. The hallway carpet was incredibly dusty and heavily stained, looking as though it hadn't been vacuumed or cleaned in a very long time. Regrettably, things got much worse once we opened the door. It was clear the room had not been cleaned since the previous guests checked out. The bed was disgusting; there was stray hair on the sheets alongside visible stains from a spill. The bathroom was entirely uncleaned and completely lacked toilet paper. The overall lack of basic housekeeping throughout the room was shocking for a self-proclaimed luxury hotel. The curtains were covered in old, set-in stains and looked like they hadn't been washed in years. Paper trash and debris were scattered across the floor, the carpet was thick with dust, and the ceiling fan had a heavy layer of dust caked onto the blades. It is heartbreaking to see such an iconic piece of Colorado history treated with such neglect. If you are visiting Estes Park, stop by to look at the lobby and take a ghost tour, but save your money and stay somewhere else until they hire a staff that actually cares about cleanliness and hospitality.

Unfortunately I have to agree with the other recent reviews. This hotel needs leadership. Our room was great - clean and historic. I’m not going to complain about the lack of AC - that is normal for the area and kind of quaint however I wasn’t entirely comfortable having the windows opened on the first floor but did out of necessity. The amount of non hotel guests wandering the property is like nothing I have ever seen. We had to walk through large empty rooms and tours in progress to get to our rooms off of a seemingly forgotten hallway. Very disappointed.

Beautiful facade and view on the outside but the accomodation is another story. I expected a pleasant experience because paying $600++ / day was quite above the usual rate of equally nice hotels in Europe or elsewhere with more captivating and historical stories. Personal observations: Pros: 1. Staff were very nice (because some were new to the job and from other countries) 2. Very good food Cons: 1. Rooms will not be cleaned nor bed be made if staying for only 2 days 2. Internet was not working at all 3. Furniture is scuffed and outdated 4. No chair to sit on 5. No drinking water (you have to buy at the coffee shop) 6. No fridge 7. Plastic cups (expensive hotels use real glass) 8. Very poor amenities 9. Only one side of the bed has a side table 10. No central AC 11. Creaky doors that doesn’t fit thus will make a loud bang when forced to closed

Cool hotel, but they made no effort to hide the major construction in process, which really took away from the nostalgia. Don’t plan on sleeping past 7am, which is when the construction begins daily. The noise at 7am was unreal and directly outside of most of the hotel rooms. At checkout, I asked to speak with the Manager, Bob Graff, who was unavailable and unresponsive to my request for a phone call or email to file a complaint about our stay. I would avoid until construction is complete, which will be many months from now.

The staff was terrific. A visit for photos is worth an hour , but don’t stay until construction is finished. You get more amenities at a quality inn. Chop house restaurant was very good.