A Return to the Stanley Hotel

Written by Scotty

There are few things in my life I get really excited over, but my yearly Stanley stay is one of them.  A chance to get away from the hustle that life puts on you can get very taxing at times it is a good idea to get away from them, if even for a day.  If you can find that one place that makes you happy to visit, you need to do it, if you have not found that place yet, you need to find it.  The one thing that pulled me to The Stanley Hotel in the past was it was the inspiration behind my favorite movie, The Shining. 

There is one thing that I will not hide from and it is my love for this story.  I have read the book, watched the movie and viewed the mini-series and love them all.  Although the book and the movie are different enough, they follow the same story line and it is amazing that the idea for a killer hotel could come from such a beautiful place.  With that said, there are several things that I love about the hotel, other than its partial isolation, is what it has to offer.

With the history that comes into play about the hotel and how F.O. Stanley built it for his friends to come and stay when they visited, it is hard to imagine it could be haunted. I will admit that this is a huge draw for me since I love listening to ghost stories, especially if they are true.  It is hard to gauge what is true and what is made up, but if you look the person in the eye when they are telling it, I would hope you would be able to tell the difference. 

The staff in the hotel is great as well.  They are all happy to give you advice on what you are wanting to do when visiting the resort and are even willing to get into long discussions about Stephen King’s stay, even though they have told it countless times.  You might be able to gain a little different nugget of information if you are able to ask the correct questions as well, or possibly figure out that the novel King could not get published during his stay came out thirty years later.

The guests that come out of their way to stay at the hotel are amazing as well.  With The Stanley being a destination point for several people out of the country, it is fun to hear what they know about the hotel, and if they did not come for The Shining, what they did come for.  Then with the people coming to stay from around the county, it is nice to see that some are making their pilgrimage to the hotel, along with others trying the same thing Stephen King did and overcome their writer's block.  I met several writers this trip and they were all happy to talk about what their hold ups were with their current stories and I hope with them getting it out, that they are able to move on and make something magical pop out on the page.

With everything that the hotel offers, you must take one of the tours that they offer.  They have the standard hotel tour that will tell you everything you could have ever wanted to know about the hotel and its history, along with F.O. Stanley’s life and how he was able to overcome tuberculosis while staying in Colorado.  All of the famous guests and movies that were shot in the area are also highlighted as well.  But my favorite tour is the ghost tour that takes you inside of all of the haunted locations, but you have to make sure to do it after the sun goes down.  You will almost get the exact same tour as the hotel tour, but with ghost stories being added in, just adding a little bit extra to your experience. 

With every trip that I take up to The Stanley, I am always sad when it comes to an end.  Real life calls too often and regardless what or why I am away, I have to answer.  I hope everyone gets a chance to visit the historic landmark and has the time of their lives.  I will keep doing this trip, no matter what the situation is as this place has a sort of energy around it that makes me feel like I have found a home away from home, and you never know, maybe I will be lucky enough to be a ghost guest whenever my time comes.  Hope to see you all up there at one point or another.  

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