What hotel is in The Shining?
Quick answer
The hotel in The Shining is the Overlook Hotel, a fictional, isolated hotel in the Colorado Rockies. It was inspired by the real Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, where author Stephen King stayed in 1974. In Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film, the outside shots show Timberline Lodge in Oregon.
The book and the film
| Novel | Film | |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1977 | 1980 |
| Creator | Stephen King | Directed by Stanley Kubrick |
| Star | — | Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, Shelley Duvall as Wendy |
| Scary room | Room 217 | Room 237 |
King famously disliked Kubrick’s adaptation, feeling it lost the heart of his story about a father fighting addiction. A later TV miniseries (1997) followed the book more closely.
The real hotels
- The Stanley Hotel, Colorado: King and his wife were the only guests one night at the end of the season, when the hotel was about to close for winter. That experience, and a nightmare, inspired the novel. The hotel now embraces its fame with ghost tours, and staying in room 217 is popular.
- Timberline Lodge, Oregon: The exterior in the film. It reportedly asked Kubrick to change the room number from 217 so guests wouldn’t avoid the real room 217, leading to the film’s Room 237.
- Elstree Studios, England: Most interiors were built on sets near London, including the hotel’s huge lobby and maze-like corridors.
Famous elements of the film
- The phrase “Here’s Johnny!”, ad-libbed by Nicholson
- The twin girls in the hallway
- The hedge maze (a topiary garden in the book)
- Danny’s psychic ability, called “the shining”
Sequel
King’s 2013 sequel, Doctor Sleep, follows Danny as an adult. Its 2019 film version returns to the ruined Overlook Hotel.
For another famous movie quote and character, see the Joker’s “Why so serious?”. Colorado’s capital also has a famous nickname: the Mile High City.
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