We chose to stay at The Stanley due to it's historic nature and because I THOUGHT that is where they filmed The Shining with Jack Nicolson. This was our honeymoon, so I also thought it would be an above average hotel, given the price and location. Well, our room was very comfortable, except none of the rooms are air-conditioned. Fortunately we were there in late September, so at night things cooled off nicely. No bathrobes in the rooms, which greatly surprised me because that is almost standard these days, especially in better, full-service establishments. No coffee maker in the room, which again, I ASSUMED would be standard. There was a lovely coffeeshop downstairs however. The towels were HORRIBLE! Several were shredded and tissue-paper thin. Also like sandpaper. I got a rash on my legs and arms from the sheets and towels. The food was very good. The tour was interesting, but I have to agree with another reviewer; a bit mind-numbing. Don't think it had to be that long of a history lesson. Stephen King did stay here and that is where his inspiration came from for the movie. The hotel simply wasn't right for filming, so they chose a hotel in Oregon and remade some key elements on sound stages. It's fun and weirdly interesting. The mountains are BEAUTIFUL. Go, enjoy, but don't expect a hotel quite up to today's standards.

We recently spent a night at this beautiful, haunted historic hotel, and must say that despite other reviews, we found the customer service to be excellent. While the rooms are a little small, they are well-
appointed (except for there was no bathtub - it was showers only), and the hotel, itself, is magnificent - with a huge front patio to enjoy afternoon drinks or tea and enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Rocky Mountains. While we normally don't spend close to $200 for an overnight getaway, after finding a lot of great TAPS ("ghost-hunters") footage on youtube of their Stanley investigations, the $200 seemed little to pay for such an adventure of our own! If you're looking for paranormal activity, we highly recommend staying on the 4th floor: the most haunted floor of the property, which was once home to the servants and their children, and known to have two child-spirits as well as the spirit of a cranky old man who was known to "pinch the bottoms" of the female servants. In preparation for this trip, we took a box of old-fashioned glass marbles (in hopes to entice the children out to play), pre-made a pandora.com radio station to play barbershop and other music of the early 1900's, and packed two digital cameras, videocamera and lots of tapes, and tons of batteries since spirits are known to leech the power out of them. With our own eyes, we saw our open closet door swing lightly on its hinges, got photos of a forked streak of light coming through the top of our bedroom door, heard our windows rattling throughout the night when there was no breeze outside, and most excitingly, after reviewing our all-night videos (getting up hourly to swap out the tapes), we heard two distinctly male whispers as we were sleeping! We will definitely be going back to the Stanley again for more ghost-hunting fun, and next time will try the Stephen King room, which is reportedly very haunted as well. If you live in or are visiting Colorado and are budding ghost-hunters like we are, the Stanley is a super-fun overnight getaway, and you may, like us, get lucky - or even luckier! We do recommend that you stay away from the weekends, since they host a lot of weddings - and with it, the loud, intoxicated guests which we feel may have somewhat chased the spirits during our own stay into hiding.

The Stanley is a striking, unique, charming, historic hotel on a scenic piece of property overlooking Estes Park and the peaks of Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park. They have done a fantastic job restoring and modernizing it without destroying its original character. At the Stanley, you are staying in a piece of history. If you appreciate the unique features of turn-of-the-century architecture (old-fashioned rope-pull windows with leaded glass, heavy wood doors, ornate banisters with carved detail), you will love the Stanley. If you are looking for microwaves and mini-fridges, you would probably be happier at the Holiday Inn.

I would have given the Stanley an "Excellent" rating if it weren't for the supremely disappointing tour. Based on the website description and the title of the tour ("Stanley Hotel Historic Ghost Tour"), we obviously thought it would be about the history of the hotel and ghosts. In fact, it was a one hour lecture on F.O. Stanley and his family. It was like a boring history class -- they probably should offer college credit. Instead of taking us around the hotel and showing us different features (which is my understanding of a "tour"), the guide just brought us to four different rooms (including 15 minutes inside the tour office) and made us sit down while she lectured us. She barely mentioned the hotel or ghosts. She also had a presentation style that would have been more appropriate for young children or people who don't speak English, but it came across as if she thought we were simple-minded. It was highly annoying, boring, and a huge waste of $10.

I had high hopes for this hotel after the information desk at Denver Airport couldn't stop singing the hotels praises.

Well, I don't think they ever stayed at The Stanley. It's pretty bad.

Most disgusting of all was my moldy shower curtain. Secondly the baseboard heating that was pretty much falling off the wall. Thirdly was the grody carpet. Someone else mentioned that the hotel had recently been redecorated...honestly, I think they maybe painted it, but nothing else.

I was in the other building--not the main building where the reception area was. I couldn't fault the staff really...they seemed nice. But I had just arrived in from London and it's not like there were bellhops waiting to meet me or anything. (No bell services at all, as far as I can tell.)

The bed felt like 2,000 people had slept in it before me.

We ate in the bar one day for lunch and the food was actually really good, but it took AGES. When we questioned the waiter, he explained that there was only one person working in the kitchen. On a weekend? Yikes.

OK, last thing and I'll stop...the constant tours through the hotel lobby. Annoying.