The Shining · Filming locations · Colorado and Oregon
The Shining hotel: which one you can actually sleep in
Three places carry the story between them, and only two of them have beds. Here is what each one really is, what a night costs at the two you can book, and the sold out date in October that most pages have not checked.
By Jack Williamson, Luxury Travel EditorPublished 16 September 2026Verified 16 September 202611 minutes
The quick answer
Two hotels, one studio. The Stanley in Estes Park, Colorado inspired Stephen King's novel and you can book room 217. Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood, Oregon played the Overlook's exterior in Kubrick's film. Every interior was a set at Elstree Studios in England and no longer exists.
If you want the room from the book, that is the Stanley. If you want the building you recognise from the opening titles, that is Timberline. If you want the Colorado Lounge or the corridor with the twins, there is nowhere to go, because those rooms were built on sound stages and struck once filming finished.
We may earn a commission when you use our links, at no extra cost to you. How rankings and funding work.
The three places, told apart
Almost every article about this subject blurs the line between the hotel that started the book, the hotel that appears on film and the studio where the film was actually made. They are three separate places in three separate countries, and only the first two take bookings.
The location breakdown comes from SlashFilm on the filming locations, and the set work from Den of Geek on Roy Walker's Overlook interiors.
| Place | What it actually is | Can you stay? | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where Stephen King stayed in October 1974 and dreamt the book. Also the real filming location for the 1997 Stephen King miniseries. | Yes, including room 217 | 75 miles from Denver airport, about 90 minutes | |
| The Overlook's exterior in Kubrick's 1980 film. Second unit establishing shots only. | Yes | 60 miles from Portland, just over an hour | |
|
Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, England
|
Every interior: the Colorado Lounge, the corridors, the Gold Room, the hedge maze. Built as sets 1978 to 1979, designed by Roy Walker. | No. The sets are gone. | Not a hotel |
The Stanley is my pick of the two bookable hotels for a first visit, because it is the one the story came out of.
The Stanley Hotel, where the book began
Stephen King and his wife stayed at the Stanley on 7 and 8 October 1974, in room 217, as the only guests in the building before it closed for the season. He dreamt that night of his son being chased along the corridors by a fire hose, woke up, and had the seed of the novel. That single night is the whole reason Estes Park is on this map, and the hotel has never pretended otherwise.
The building itself is a white Colonial Revival hotel at 7,500 feet with the Rockies filling every west facing window. It is grand rather than modern, and the appeal is the age of it. If you are coming for the story rather than the thread count, that is the right expectation to arrive with.
Room 217, and whether you can have it
You can. The hotel sells it today as the 217 Spirited Grand King, a corner room with a king bed, a sleeper sofa and mountain views. It carries a premium over a standard room rather than a normal rate, and the hotel does not publish a fixed nightly figure, so treat any number you see quoted elsewhere with suspicion and check live rates for your own dates.
The harder problem is availability. Room 217 books out months and often close to a year ahead, and October is effectively gone by August. If your trip is built around sleeping in that specific room, you are planning a year out, not a season out.
The other rooms guests talk about
Beyond 217, the numbers that come up again and again are 428, 418, 407 and 413. Guests report footsteps and furniture noise overhead in 428, children heard playing in the corridor near 418, and lights and taps behaving oddly in 407 and 413. That is what people report, which is a different thing from what happened, and I am not going to dress it up as anything firmer.
I have no verified rates for any of those rooms, so I am not quoting any. They sit in the normal room pool rather than being sold at a premium, which in practice makes them easier to get than 217.
The ghost tour, what it costs and what it is not
The Stanley's own ghost tour runs at $35 per person for 60 minutes, capped at 20 people, with a minimum age of 8. You do not need to be a guest to book it, and it does not go inside occupied guest rooms, which is worth knowing if you were expecting to be walked into 217.
One widely shared travel blog still quotes $30, so confirm the price at the point of booking rather than budgeting from a secondhand figure.
The Shining Ball 2026 is sold out
The Shining Ball is the hotel's masked October party, held in the Concert Hall. The 2026 edition is Saturday 24 October, doors at 7pm. As of 16 September 2026, the official event page lists it as sold out.
That is the single most useful fact on this page, because a great many articles are still telling readers to buy tickets. If the ball was the reason for the trip, either watch that page for released returns or move your dates and treat the hotel itself as the occasion.
The correction: Kubrick never filmed at the Stanley
This is the error almost every page makes. Kubrick did not shoot a frame of the 1980 film at the Stanley and reportedly passed on it. What was shot there is the 1997 ABC miniseries), written by King himself and directed by Mick Garris, with production starting in March 1996.
The production spent about $100,000 trucking in artificial snow because Estes Park hit a freak dry spell, which is a very literal illustration of how much the story depends on being buried. King made the miniseries because he disliked Kubrick's film, his objection being that Jack Torrance has no arc in it and is already unravelling when he arrives.
The hedge maze is younger than the film
The maze people go looking for never existed at either real hotel. The Stanley had no maze at all until June 2015, when a three foot high juniper maze designed by Mairim Dallaryan Standing was planted following a public design contest, as Smithsonian reported.
It is deliberately kept low so children cannot get lost in it, which is a quietly funny piece of risk management given the film. Kubrick's maze was built on the back lot at Elstree and is long gone.
Timberline Lodge, the one nobody writes about
This is the building you actually recognise. The exterior shots that open Kubrick's film, the ones the helicopter climbs towards, are Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in Oregon. Second unit establishing plates only, no cast, no interiors, which is exactly why so few articles bother with it. It is also the reason it is the better value of the two.
Timberline is a National Historic Landmark, built in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration, standing at around 6,000 feet on the flank of an active volcano. It still works as a ski in ski out lodge, with a restaurant, a sauna and a hot tub, pet friendly rooms and no elevator anywhere in the building. It is rustic and historic rather than luxurious, and I would rather say that plainly than sell you a five star fantasy. If polish on a mountain is what you are after, the best luxury ski hotels are a different guide entirely. The stonework and the carved timber are the point.
Accommodation runs across nine lodge room types plus four chalet sizes sleeping anywhere from two to fifteen, so it handles a family or a group better than most historic hotels. Rates move hard with the ski season and I could not verify a seasonal figure I would be willing to print, so check live rates for your dates rather than trusting a number from an article written two winters ago.
Why the room number changed from 217 to 237
Room 217 in the novel became room 237 in the film at Timberline's own request. Management asked Kubrick to change it because they feared nobody would ever book the real room 217 again once the film came out, and they offered 237, 247 or 257 as replacements. There is no room 237 at the lodge at all. It was invented for the film.
Kubrick took 237 for his own reasons as well. Far Out reports that he liked it because 237 is the code that triggers nuclear war in Dr Strangelove. So the most famous door number in horror is half a hotel's commercial worry and half a director's private joke.
The April 2024 fire, and why it barely made the news
In April 2024, embers from the fireplace in the historic headhouse set the roof alight. Damage was contained to the roof and attic, and OPB reported the hotel reopened two days later. Almost no article about The Shining mentions it, which tells you how little attention this building gets compared with the Stanley.
If the Stanley is sold out, which in October it will be
October in Estes Park is the busiest month of the year and the Stanley goes first. These three are the alternatives I would work through, in that order, all of them in or beside the town. Rates were checked in September 2026 and rates move, so treat them as a starting point rather than a quote.
| Hotel | What it is | Who it suits | From, checked September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.7 miles from downtown, indoor pool and a game room | Families who want the town within walking distance | From roughly $124 | |
| Lakefront on Lake Estes, with a restaurant and a spa | Couples who want a view without the drive | From roughly $199 | |
| Adults only, 3.1 miles south near the park entrance, Twin Owls Steakhouse on site | Adults who want quiet and dinner downstairs | Needs a live check |
Taharaa scores 9.6 out of 10 from couples on Booking.com. Rates were checked in September 2026 and move with demand, so open the live rate for your own dates.
Questions readers actually ask
Which hotel is the real Shining hotel?
It depends which Shining you mean. The novel came out of the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, where Stephen King stayed in October 1974. Kubrick's 1980 film used Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood, Oregon for the exterior. Both are real and both take bookings.
Can you stay in room 217?
Yes. The Stanley sells it as the 217 Spirited Grand King, a corner room with a king bed and a sleeper sofa. It carries a premium over a standard room and books out months ahead, with October often gone by August, so plan a long way out.
Is room 237 real?
No. There is no room 237 at Timberline Lodge. Management asked Kubrick to change the novel's 217 because they were worried nobody would book the real room again, offering 237, 247 or 257. He took 237, partly because it is the nuclear launch code in Dr Strangelove.
Was the film shot at the Stanley?
Not a frame of it. Kubrick reportedly passed on the Stanley. What was filmed there is the 1997 ABC miniseries, written by Stephen King and directed by Mick Garris, with production starting in March 1996.
Is the Stanley haunted?
That is a matter of what you believe rather than what anyone can show you. Guests consistently report footsteps in 428, children in the corridor near 418, and odd behaviour from lights and taps in 407 and 413. The hotel leans into the reputation and runs tours on it.
How much does the Stanley ghost tour cost?
It is $35 per person for a 60 minute tour, capped at 20 people, with a minimum age of 8. Non guests can book it. It does not enter occupied guest rooms. One travel blog still quotes $30, so confirm the price when you book.
When is the Shining Ball?
The 2026 ball is Saturday 24 October, doors at 7pm, in the Concert Hall. As of 16 September 2026 the official event page says it is sold out, so watch for released returns rather than assuming tickets are available.
How far ahead do you need to book for October?
For room 217, close to a year, and October is often gone by August. For any room at the Stanley in October, months rather than weeks. For the Estes Park alternatives, you have more slack, though the town fills for the autumn colour regardless.
Where is the hedge maze?
Nowhere you can walk the one from the film. That maze was built on the back lot at Elstree and no longer exists. The Stanley planted its own three foot juniper maze in June 2015, designed by Mairim Dallaryan Standing after a public contest, kept low so children cannot get lost.
Is Timberline Lodge worth staying at?
Yes, if you want the building from the screen and you are honest with yourself about what it is. A 1937 Works Progress Administration landmark with ski in ski out access, a restaurant, sauna and hot tub, pet friendly rooms and no elevator. Rustic and historic, not luxurious.
How far is the Stanley from Denver?
About 75 miles from Denver airport, roughly 90 minutes by car in normal conditions. Allow longer on an autumn weekend, when traffic into Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park backs up badly.
What happened to the Overlook interiors?
They were sets, built at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, England between 1978 and 1979 and designed by Roy Walker. The Colorado Lounge, the corridors and the Gold Room were struck after filming. There is no building anywhere with those rooms in it.