The Stanley Hotel

This is one of the worst experiences we have had. We usually enjoy staying at historic properties. How it is rated 4 stars is totally beyond me. This is supposed to be a nice resort. Parking is atrocious. There is no safe or minibar. What you get for coffee pods initially is all you get. No beds remade or cleaning during your entire stay. No room service for food. No real hot water in shower (tried at different times during the day to see if we could get hot water-no luck!). Tried calling the front rest 5 times during our 3 night stay and no one ever picked up. We had made the reservations thru Expedia. When we went to the room, it was dark and tiny( the former 4th floor servants quarters of the original resort). The room was built around one of the dormers on the front of the property so one side of the bed had very little clearance. After hitting my head on the ceiling twice, finally went down to the front desk and asked to be moved. We even offered to pay more! We were informed that since we went thru Expedia, that was all we were not eligible for an upgrade. The front desk manager finally admitted that with their new contract with Expedia, Expedia users were given the least desirable rooms in the Resort. Being a frequent traveler, I knew that was totally false, We eventually got moved to another room which was adequate size at the cost of being placed on top of massive construction which is going on at the back of the property. There is no air conditioning in the rooms and construction right outside our window. We also understand that Colorado is facing unusual heat. The construction luckily did not bother us in that it was drowned out by the noise the Modular’s air conditioning unit made. We appreciate change and the need for new construction but with the no air conditioning and the noisy temporary ac units you were forced to keep curtains closed so the ac units could keep up. This rendered the room very dark. The resort uses its connection with Stephen King and The Shinning as a promotional device. The resort seems to place more importance on its Steven King connection and tours of the hotel more than taking care of its overnight guests. You are constantly interrupted by hordes of Shinning tour participants who clog all parking and the hotel common spaces. The owners appear to have forsaken the comfort of its guests for the race to cash in on its haunted reputation. Take the tour but stay somewhere else!

The place is a dump. High prices, no parking. Rooms have no air conditioning, no refrigerator, no microwave, hot water doesn't get past warm, the mattress is too small for the bed frame, the room was tiny.

STAY AWAY! This place is terrible! Jackhammering starts at 7:15 am right outside room. Lasts all day. Can’t stay in room due to noise. There is no indication that this is an active construction site on the website. We stayed in the Lodge, and the elevator was inoperable for the three days we were here, so we hoofed our luggage and ourselves to the third floor. Few parking places, many in dirt. We weren’t informed upon checkin that there was no housekeeping service,. Rooms are tiny, without even a chair to sit in, and only a tiny shelf in the bathroom for toiletries. This is NOT a relaxing vacation for over $400/night. Extremely poor.

Avoid the Stanley at all costs for a year or two. We booked a room 8 months ahead and were looking forward to the stay. We typically stay at Historic Inns and know the pluses and minus of historic property. The issue with the Stanly is quite clear the moment you drive unto the campus. They are in the middle of a large upgrade and it's well needed. There was construction noise everywhere. From trucks, to backhoes, to jackhammers - and they start early in the morning. Because of construction, parking is extremely limited with no help from their staff at all. However, the worst was the rooms: First off was we had to wait 3 hours for our room to be ready. Once we checked in, we couldn't believe our eyes. The portable window AC unit was latterly hanging out the window with no screws or any attachment at all. There was a 12-16" gap in the window where anything at all could enter your room (animals, birds, dust, etc). The room temperature was 87 degrees!! The furniture looked like it was a gifted from a second- hand thrift store, full of scratches, dings, stains etc. All the windows rattled with 1/4 " gaps everywhere. The tile in the bathroom was cracked in numerous places; The desk was completely unusable as they had an old 1970 microwave parked on top of it. The worst was yet to come. We complained 3 times to the desk clerk that the room had serious defects and needs work. After first stating this was the best they could do, they finally move us to s different room across the hall. This room was even worst!! The A/C was hanging out the window not attached to anything with the frame and glass of the lower sash completely unsecured and about to fall two stories. I truly couldn't believe my eyes that they rented a room like this. I informed the clerk that this room was in serious violation of local building codes and if a young child happened to be in that room, the potential of him falling out the open unsecured window was huge. After booking 8 months ahead, the clerk said this is all we have and that the room was in great condition. It was at this point that I showed him videos and still pictures of the damage. He honestly seemed to care less about the whole situation. It was at that point I requested a full refund and booked a great place down the street ( the Silver Moon Inn - Four Star - Awesome Place) !!!

We booked the Stanley because of the Shining hype and historical reputation. Then we saw that it got 35 of 35 on TripAdvisor and tried to cancel but it was too late to get our money back. I'm glad we went. So the property is under construction-so what? It wasn't even remotely loud and didn't disturb us at all. The staff was friendly. Our room was clean and spacious. Does it need an update? Yes. No SmartTV (we really wanted to watch the Shining!) the sheers were a little worse for the wear and no fridge. But that's why they're renovating. Our room had a portable A/C, which did the trick. We paid about $325 for a room with two queen beds. That wasn't a slurge--it's how much it costs to stay in Estes Park, pretty much anywhere. We enjoyed walking around the buildings and the labyrinth garden and it was overall a positive experience. I think the reviews are way too harsh. I'd stay there again and I'm excited to see what the renovations bring.