Stanley STEEMers: visiting the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park
A dreary, cloudy, misty day like today seemed the perfect backdrop for @geke and me to make a trip up to Estes Park to visit the Stanley Hotel, a century-old resort in the Rocky Mountains made famous in the movie The Shining. It opened in 1909 and reportedly has several rooms that are haunted. The hotel in the movie looked nothing like the real one, but it was while staying here that Stephen King came up with the story.
We thought this would be a great place for two Steemians to visit, as the hotel's founder, Lord Stanley, was the inventor of the Stanley Steamer automobile, which was powered by steam!
I have some history with this place. I've performed here in a few murder mysteries. Below are a few pics with the cast, and posing with the infamous axed-out door.
When we arrived today, @geke and I approached the front desk where all the room keys hang. The key for Room 217 hangs the wrong way round and when we walked up, the key was wiggling!
The old wooden floors of the hotel's main lobby creaked with age and a cozy fire crackled next to the billiard and music rooms.
The 1909 Otis Elevator didn't look like the bank used in the movie and there was no sign of blood anywhere!
Seven rooms are said to be haunted, some even by ghost children, but Room 217 is the most well-known. According to their official Haunted Rooms pamphlet:
"Many housekeeping events happen in this room. Guests have reported returning to their room after dropping off their bags, and finding their luggage has been unpacked for them. Other guests have also reported their shoes being lined up, neatly, on the end of the bed. Shadows have also been reported passing through walls, as this room was once part of a much larger suite until the mid-2000s."
This door isn't to Room 217 (we weren't allowed up there), but it looked somewhat spooky and we wondered what was behind it!
In the hotel gift shop we found some cute (well, maybe not cute) mugs that made us think of @kubbyelizabeth!
Outside we saw a miniature version of the hedge maze. At the end of our visit we toasted Lord Stanley and his Stanley Steamer. Steem on Steemians!
Spooky fun and lovely mugs! Thanks for thinking of me, I’m excited to hangout with you guys again. Please don’t bring the spooky haunted ghost :)
Were coming in March! We'll go to Haunted Mansion but leave all other Spooks, Specters, and Wraiths here. Let's see if other Steemians will join us. We have free Universal for a few of us and as soon as @geke schedules her day we will let you know the dates
Nice piece of American - and literary - history. Interesting looking building too. Thanks for showing us around.
Sure! It's a great place, full of creepy little rooms and mysterious alcoves and "abandon" areas to explore
Looks spooky and fun. Do they still let people stay in room 217? Not sure I would...but then I'm a real chicken.
Thanks for sharing a really nice view of the inside of the hotel. Love the old decor on the stairs and lobby. Photographer's paradise.
Yes, you can stay in 217 but thanks to marketing and tourism they have divided the origional room into 2 suites! The hedgerow out front will grow to about 6 feet but they won't let it get taller because kids will get scared...lame. But understandable I guess.
Cash-based 'progress' and safety sure seem to push the world these days. Suppose a sometimes sad reality of whenst we live. Though some of the safety things HAVE come about to lead to a lot of good. "Seat belts, nah, I don't need 'em." Suppose there's always a balance to everything.