The Stanley Hotel

I was really looking forward to visiting the Stanley Hotel and taking The Shining Tour, which I had booked in advance for Friday, April 18th. Unfortunately, a major snowstorm hit the area that day, dumping over 8 inches of snow. My family and I were staying in Denver and monitoring the road conditions closely. With multiple accidents reported and travel advisories in effect, we made the tough decision not to risk the dangerous drive through the mountains. Understanding that weather is out of anyone’s control, I reached out to the Stanley Hotel several hours ahead of our tour to inquire about the status of the tour, road conditions, and whether a cancellation due to weather could be credited or refunded—as their website states may be possible pending management review. I tried calling at least 5–8 times, but no one answered. The phone just rang and rang. I also sent emails to the address provided in the tour confirmation, explaining the situation. Days have now passed, and I’ve followed up with additional emails, even reaching out to the main Stanley Hotel email address. So far, I’ve received no response whatsoever. What’s most disappointing is not the lack of a refund—though that would certainly be appreciated under the circumstances—but the complete absence of communication. I would have accepted even a simple response saying, “Sorry, no refunds.” Instead, I’ve been met with silence. For such a historic and well-known hotel, I expected at least basic customer service, especially when weather and safety are involved. I’m deeply disappointed. I was genuinely excited about the tour and hope to experience it in the future, but this experience left a sour taste.

I have never spent so much to be that miserable in my life. Don’t get me wrong, the staff and the facility were 5 stars. BUT I cannot get over the lack of attention paid to the environment in my room. I checked into room 402 and immediately was hit with a wave of heat. It was in the upper 80’s outside and the air conditioning was not even on, let alone set at a temperature bearable for a guest. The temperature showed the room at 82 degrees. I turned on the small floor air conditioner at maximum and, since it was evening, opened the window in the 2nd window. I called the front desk to fix the air conditioning in the sitting area only to find out it was just a temperature gauge. It took until 5:45 in the morning for it to reach 72 degrees. How can a place like this not be cognitive of the comfort of its guests.

Stepping into a hotel built in 1909 transports you to a time and place where people were not owned by their screens. The lobby, ball room, and music room evoke a longing for a time when the desire for connection was met with dancing, music, and games. However, those rooms are all roped off, which is quite unfortunate as so much could be done to revive a bygone era or at least allow passage. As I entered I was welcomed by a girl dressed in gothic attire asking if I was checking in for the seance. Bypassing the opportunity to dance with the devil, I proceeded to the front desk where I was given a keycard and discovered the assigned room was in a resort across the street, not even part of the main property. I was quite confused as I had booked directly from the Stanleys website. I was presented with an unexpected 20% upcharge if I opted to stay in the Stanley itself. Since we had just finished the 1997 miniseries of the Shining on Amzn Prime (which was filmed entirely at this location unlike the first 1980 version) and made the trip specifically for this reason, I gulped and paid the piper. Our room was quaint and cute but quite drafty and cold. So we turned up the thermostat and retired with our children. My wife and I huddled together as we waited for the room to heat up. We both woke from the cold and realized the baseboard heaters were doing nothing, so we turned the heater up higher, and did so each time we awoke. We did not call the front desk because doing so would have disturbed our slumbering children and in our drowsy state we expected that eventually the heat would kick on with our latest adjustment, which never happened. So we naively toughed it out. The thin doors had us awoken all too early from noise in the hallways and early knocking by housekeeping. Exhausted from the 16 hour commute the day before, skipping an hour due to daylight savings time, and facing a 10 hour drive ahead we realized we simply needed more rest. Expressing the difficulty of our sleep to the manager, we asked if they might comp or discount us another night given the fact our room had no heat. The managers reply was as cold as the night we endured, sorry, but we should have called during the night and they would have brought us space heaters or more blankets (indicating this is clearly a common issue). I was met with a blank stare when I suggested they might just have a thermostat that works properly instead of shifting the blame to guests for not seeking out their unknown resources in the dead of night. We were offered an insulting 10% discount and nothing more despite our protest. I'm also fairly certain the thermostat is just intended for a placebo effect, there was no surprise at all by the staff that it was malfunctioning. So the two stars is primarily for the poor response to a very poor night of sleep (which later placed our lives at risk on the road). I would not dissuade anyone from coming and taking in the charm of this hotel, but I would suggest you only visit the grounds while staying elsewhere for better sleep. Anyone is welcome on these premises and we saw many folks exploring the hallways and lounges who were likely not guests. They have a couple of restaurants, offer tours, and have gift shops and historic displays, all which are reasons to stop by without overpaying for a drafty room.

My family and I stayed in room 330 last weekend (mid February) and had a great time up until we had to go to bed. The room was so uncomfortably hot that we propped both windows open the entire night in mid February and set the “thermostat “ to 52 degrees and the temperature remained at 85 the entire night. Clearly the thermostat is not actually controlling the heaters in the room or it is grossly malfunctioning. I had to open the hallway door several times throughout the night just to get a small cross breeze to drop the temperature a few degrees. I even went to the front desk at 2am to ask for a fan. They provided me a small space heater, and said use the fan portion of that which was highly insignificant to resolve the issue. This was far from our expectation of this prestigious 4 star hotel. Upon asking for a refund their Assistant Manager Lacey only offered 20% discount. Clearly they are lacking customer service as this was their best and final offer for what was the most uncomfortable experience in a hotel we have ever had. Wish we had better memories of our stay.

The Stanley Hotel is such a beautiful historic building. Walking through it is like walking back in time. The lobby, restaurant and bar are probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and the exterior of the building and grounds are maintained impeccably. But... I don't believe in the paranormal...I don't believe in ghosts or spirits... I will lay the facts out of my experience and let you decide... We were at the bar at around 11:00 pm, I believe it closes at 1:00 am. After a few drinks I had to use the bathroom so I went to the one in the basement to use the men's room. There was nobody in the basement but one or two employees milling around who were quickly out of sight. As I walked into the men's room which was fully empty, I got this gut feeling of uneasiness. I chalked it up to having a few drinks and falling for the folklore of the hotel. As I stood in the men's room I felt burning on the left side of my neck. I ran to the mirror and saw four deep scratch marks. I didn't scratch my neck. I believe in science and facts and have been racking my brain trying to find a scientific explanation for this. I have physical photograph proof. I quickly googled the hotels history and read about a "Big Mountain Jim" that allegedly roamed the halls. I remembered back to being at another restaurant earlier on the day, The Bird and Jim. I had a "Big Mountain Jim" burger there. Paranormal? A strange set of coincidences? You tell me.