The Stanley Hotel, commonly noted as one of Colorado’s most famous hotels, has recently been purchased. The hotel, turning 115 this year, has been sold to an Arizona non-profit known as the Community Finance Corporation. The property, now sold, will likely be used as collateral to pay off current debt and to serve as repayment for the bonds issued by the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority.
The Cowboy State Daily stated that the nonprofit does not wish to shut down this iconic landmark. They hope to add an additional 58 bedrooms to the hotel, as well as a new restaurant and 80,000 square-foot film center.
Purchasing the hotel through bonds can save the non-profit a lot of money that can then go to the renovation and additions to the hotel. The Stanley, which was sold in a $475 bond deal, includes the rich history and the ghosts that are rumored to haunt the hotel.
As many Coloradans have been enamored by the hotel, most do not wish to see a change.
“I prefer the original architecture, and I hope they don’t change too much about the original hotel,” junior Callie Glider-Wood said.
The Stanley was originally opened in 1909 by Freelan Oscar Stanley and his wife Flora as a home in the mountains to help cure Freelan’s tuberculosis and get away from the air on the East Coast. The hotel, initially set up to attract wealthy tycoons from the East Coast to the mountains of Colorado, skyrocketed in success after Stephen King visited and stayed in the notable room 217, later writing The Shining in 1977 based on his experiences there.
“I like the stories surrounding Stanley. The haunted history is very exciting and brings more business to our Colorado mountains towns,” Glider-Wood said.
Jim Carrey visited the hotel while filming Dumb and Dumber in 1994, requesting to stay in the iconic room 217 without lasting through the night — he left and stayed in a local Hilton. The hotel’s notoriety has called many YouTubers, such as Sam and Colby, and other investigators to the hotel to try and find out about the ghosts.
Many of the residents of Colorado can only hope that the new owners change as little as possible and keep the rich, haunted history of the iconic Stanley Hotel.
If you wish to stay in the Stanley Hotel before the changes occur, you can visit the Stanley Hotel website to learn more about it.
