The Stanley Hotel
Rooms 217 and 401
Estes Park, Colorado
August 11-12, 2016
Website
We return to the Stanley Hotel for our 5th Anniversary and this time stayed in the hotel's most requested rooms. Room 217, more infamously known as the Stephen King Room, as this is where he was staying when he got the inspiration to write The Shining. We also stayed in Room 401, aka The Lord Dunraven Room on the 4th floor. Would we experience anything again like we did five years prior? Let's find out!
Leaving in the wee hours of morning from Kansas City, we arrive in Estes Park, Colorado around noon-ish Mountain Time. As you can see from the photo below, it was a little overcast and a little sprinkly. We checked in at the front desk for two nights. The first night was to be in Room 217, aka the Stephen King Room. If you know anything about the Stanley Hotel, you know what the whole story is behind Stephen King, The Shining, and The Stanley Hotel, so no need to get into that. Our second night was up two floors to Room 401, Lord Dunraven's Room.
After a quick unpack and a cursory look around the room, we headed downstairs to Cascades for appetizers and adult beverages before walking around the grounds. The first thing that is noticeable is that The Stanley Hotel built a hedge maze. I guess people who have stayed here in the past think the movie The Shining was shot here and wondered where the maze is. Spoiler alert, it was not shot here, but rather built on a studio lot in England where most of The Shining was filmed. In 2015, a hedge maze was constructed in the front of The Stanley Hotel. When we arrive a year later, it was still a sad little hedge maze. If they planted junipers that would have been more than 6 or 7 feet tall and a little more filled in, it would have been pretty cool. Instead, along the maze path, the trees are anywhere from three to five feet tall. You can also see in between the trees to the other side. Ok, I get it, maybe the trees still need to grow and fill in the gaps, but if the first year of growth is any indication, this will take forever to be anything resembling a foreboding maze like what was in the movie. Essentially, it was a walking path lined with little trees. No chance of getting lost in it, and nobody would mistake this for being a maze. Disappointing.
Another difference between when we last stayed here is they covered over the pool out front and made it some sort of adventure excursion where I guess you can go on hikes, rafting, and the like. I would have rather taken a dip in the pool, but whatever. After reminiscing we head back to the room to get ready to head out to the Dunraven Inn for dinner. But first some hijinx and shenanigans. Anybody who has stayed at The Stanley Hotel knows they give tours talking about the history of place, F.O. Stanley, Lord Dunraven, Stephen King, The Shining, Jim Carrey's experience when filming Dumb and Dumber, blablabla. If you have stayed here you have heard the tour speech. So while hanging around the room waiting to go to dinner, we hear a group come down our part of the dead end hallway. The tour guide is talking about Room 217, where we are staying and that this is the room where Stephen King stayed in when he stayed here and got the inspiration to write The Shining. So I am on the other side of the door, the group is leaving and walking back to the main hallway. I jiggle the door handle and I can see through the peephole that some guy and his ladyfriend look back at the door and point. The guy walks up slowly to the door, and I give the door a good rattling. Boy did they take off to catch up with the group. I'm terrible. To this day, I bet those people are telling their experience of Room 217.
Now that we are on the topic of the paranormal at The Stanley Hotel, did it leave us disappointed? Not in the least. We left the voice recorder running while we would be out of the room when walking around or out to dinner and we caught some interesting things to say the least. In Room 217, we got a few things. While out in Estes Park for dinner at Dunraven Inn, we got a couple odd sounds that sound like a thud and a snap. Definitely two distinct noises that sounded like they came from inside the room. After we got back from dinner and we were sitting on the veranda like fancy people do at fancy hotels, I went back up to the room to get a couple drinks. You hear me leave, close the door, and then for another two minutes there are noises that sounds like someone is walking around inside the room. This was the first year of us using the SB7 and I am already apprehensive because all it is is radio stations. It would be for example 91.9 FM for a brief millisecond, then 92.1, then 92.3, and so on up the dial, so it's not unusual you would hear words occasionally. I'm not exactly sure how that equates to picking up voices other than actual human voices, but whatever. However this time the wife asked who I am and got a "Pat"..."Trick". Not saying it was paranormal, just interesting.
The next day we moved up to the 4th floor to stay in Room 401, the Lord Dunraven Room. In here some of the more interesting things we picked up on recorder were after one of the tours left, there is whispering followed by a loud knock and moaning noise. An odd noise that sounds like a muffled giggle. Silverware and glasses being moved. What sounds like a metal latch closing a couple times. But the best thing from this room when we left the recorder running was what sound like whispering saying, "There it...there it is, right...there" and right after that there sound like a glass hitting the table, more whispering and walking away. We were out in town and probably at Mama Rose's at the time and I assure you, there was nobody in the room and I have not idea what all that noise was. We did not have any silverware or glasses in the room, except maybe a couple small glasses on the alcove that overlooks the patio out back. I have not idea what would have been making that silverware or glasses sounds.
One of the claims of staying in Room 401 is if a woman sits in the closet and asks to have her hair stroked, Lord Dunraven, known to like the ladies, will stroke your hair. Whatever, so my wife sits in the closet and sure enough, she said she got her hair stroked on the left, right, and middle of her head. When she got up and out of the closet, she was was a little on edge. Not in a scared or freaked out way, but just amazed that just happened way.
Final investigation of the night, we set up some stuffed animals, and balls out in the hallway. We didn't get any movement with the teddy bears or balls, but once again we got some interesting sounds. Such as what sounds like jingling, and a low voice or mumble.
If you do decide to come to The Stanley Hotel and want to stay in Room 217 or Room 401, be sure to call months in advance. As for which room we had more stuff happen in, definitely Room 401, the Lord Dunraven Room. For about $500 a night for those rooms, I would recommend Room 401 over Room 217 any day. It may not have the sexy Stephen King and The Shining background story, but honestly didn't really have much in Room 217.
Overall it was a good five year anniversary return. We spent more time out in town this time and did some shopping. One memorable experience was a late night trip outside and someone was coming back inside and mentioned they just saw a bear out back. Not exactly out of the ordinary, so we headed back in as well. And maybe just one day that sad little hedge maze will be all grown up.
