I know this is a LONG review, but as a warning to others, read this and AVOID the séance and magic…read moreshow at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park!
Before our trip to Estes Park, Colorado, where the Stanley Hotel is located, I decided to reserve tickets to the Séance show/session performed by resident "apparitionist" Hannibal and his wife, Rebecca (AKA "Becca"). My husband, Byron, and I were scheduled to see the show on Thursday evening (July 2). I mistakenly set the show's start time incorrectly on my Apple Watch. We were asked to be in the lobby 15 minutes before the start time. We were in the lobby at 9:45 pm, confused about the time zone, when we were told the show was in progress and we had missed it. We felt deeply disappointed and spoke to the gentleman at a desk (who was associated with the show) in the lobby. We asked if he could speak to management about possibly using our tickets for another evening, after admitting it was our mistake and apologizing for missing it. We understood they had a no-refund, no-exchange policy, but we asked for leniency when we explained why we missed the show, and we told the young gentleman we would accept standby status for Friday (July 3) or Saturday (July 4). Since it was late (after 10:00 pm), he told us he would call us back the following morning after speaking with his manager, but he never did. The following morning (July 3), while at another tour desk in the hotel, we decided to buy tickets to the magic show (apparently performed by the same people, "Hannibal" and his wife "Becca") for July 3, which started at 8:00 pm and lasted until 9:00 pm, allowing us also to attend the Séance IF they agreed to let us attend on a standby basis, as it was held in the same location. The following morning (July 3), after not hearing back from the young gentleman as promised and being told that it was his "day off," we approached someone else at the tour desk, explained our dilemma, and the gentleman referred us to his manager, who came to speak with us. She explained that the performers are vendors, not hotel employees, and that the decision would need to come directly from them. She gave me their telephone number, and I immediately called, reached their voicemail, and left an apologetic, heartfelt message asking someone to please call me back to see if there was any way they could accommodate us. I received a call back from the performer's assistant, Hannah (at 11:41 am on July 3), which went to my voicemail (as we were at a late breakfast). After listening to her message, I decided to call her back, hoping there was good news. So, I excused myself from the table and went outside (so as not to disturb the other restaurant patrons) to make the call at 12:10 pm. I reached Hannah (their assistant), and she told me she had listened to my message and that I would need to email the performers directly (I was never given their email address, nor had I ever received an email from them regarding the show, nor a text or email reminder about the show, which would have been EXTREMELY helpful!), so I asked her, "Can you please have one of the performers call me back rather than having to trade back-and-forth emails?" Moments later, at 12:14 pm, once I was back in the restaurant, "Becca" (the performer's wife) called me. I told her I was at a restaurant and was going outside to take the call. I thanked her for calling me back, and from the start of the call, I could tell how irritated she was to have to speak with me (hello, where is any level of customer service?). She told me she didn't appreciate having to call me back, and accused me of "berating" one of her staff members (Hannah). I told "Becca" I merely asked to speak to the owner/performer, or his wife, and asked how that would be described as "berating" someone. I remember being firm with Hannah, but I did not "berate" her in any way. Upon hearing this, she became even more hostile and told me, "We have a no refund, no exchanges policy; you knew that when you bought the tickets ." I asked her very nicely if they could reconsider, noting that it was an honest mistake on my part. She wouldn't hear of it. In my opinion, Becca is simply mean-spirited & unprofessional. We had tickets for the magic show (they're the same performers, which we didn't know when we bought the tickets), and she then dared to say, "I'm canceling your tickets as you're not welcome here." At that point, I remember becoming angry and telling her, "Go to hell, and that she better refund our money! (in the amount of $133.00). To date (September 10, 2026), they haven't, and now we are in dispute with our credit card company. Our credit card company shared with us that they LIED about me physically threatening Becca when I never met these people face-to-face. To summarize: skip this show and avoid dealing with these nasty, unprofessional people who apparently enjoy stealing people's money. The only thing that will disappear is your money!
