COLORADO NEWS

Colorado hotel that inspired ‘The Shining’ plans a massive upgrade to attract more fans

Oct 9, 2025, 5:17 PM | Updated: Oct 10, 2025, 11:46 am

When you think of the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, you immediately think “The Shining,” so why wouldn’t they use that fame to attract more tourists to town?

The hotel that inspired the horror classic is making major upgrades. The new owners of the Stanley Hotel are tapping into municipal bonds to use nearly $300,000,000 to add more rooms, an event center and a horror museum curated by Blumhouse. That’s the production studio behind movies like “Halloween” and “Paranormal Activity.”

The goal is to take advantage of the Sundance Film Festival, relocating to nearby Boulder in 2027.

The Stanley Hotel is an independent 196-room hotel on 40 acres that opened in 1909, and is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places.

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Colorado hotel that inspired ‘The Shining’ plans a massive upgrade to attract more fans