J. Colton Hill --- Stanley Hotel , Estes Park, CO

The Stanley Hotel

This is the Stanley Hotel located in Estes Park, CO built in 1909. Estes Park is located an hour and a half drive northwest of Denver.  It is at the foot of the Rocky Mountain National Park.

The architect, Freelan Oscar Stanley, was also the owner of this hotel. He was a cofounder along with his brother of the Stanley Motor Company famous for making the Stanley Steamer automobiles in the early 20th century.  Stanley visited Estes Park and decided to build a summer home for himself and close friends.  He developed health issues that required him to move to Estes Park permanently for the clean mountain air.  The hotel was the first fully electric hotel in the region.  Stanley had a generator plant built specifically for this hotel.  

This hotel is most famously known for being the place where Stephen King received his inspiration to write the book The Shining.  The Stanley is also one of the most haunted buildings in North America.  Many guests come to the hotel to try to hunt for ghosts that haunt rooms on the second and fourth flour. 

This building has been used in movies including Dumb and Dumber. It is the hotel where Harry and Lloyd stayed in "Aspen".  You might remember the bar scene where Lloyd waited on Marry Swanson to join him for a drink.  That particular bar and restaurant is on the first floor of the Stanley Hotel.

The Hotel is built in the side of a mountain and has appropriate architecture engineering to let the building shift with the shift of the mountain.  

Here is a picture of the bracings in the basement of the Hotel:

The Stanley is a classy hotel featuring a very large front porch area where guests can sit and visit while enjoying the scenic view of the Estes Park Valley:

The hotel hosts many weddings, conferences, and other events each year.  It is a beautiful hotel full of history and character.