In 1926, Stanley sold his hotel to a private company incorporated for the sole purpose of running it. Stanley operated the hotel almost as a pastime, remarking once that he spent more money than he made each summer. To bring guests from the nearest train depot in the foothills town of Lyons, Colorado, Stanley's car company produced a fleet of specially-designed steam-powered vehicles called Mountain Wagons that seated multiple passengers. The main hotel and concert hall were completed in 1909 and the Manor in 1910. His reputation was such that, when Stanley suggested 'The Dunraven' as a name for his new hotel, 180 people signed a buckskin petition requesting that he name it for himself instead.

Dunraven's presence in Colorado was parodied in Charles King's novel Dunraven Ranch (1892) and James A. Unpopular with the local ranchers and farmers, Dunraven left the area in 1884, relegating the ranch to the management of an overseer. Between 18, Lord Dunraven claimed 15,000 acres (61 km 2) of the Estes Valley in an unsuccessful attempt to create a private hunting preserve, making him one of the largest foreign holders of American lands. The land was purchased in 1908 through the representatives of The 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, the Anglo-Irish peer who had originally acquired it by stretching the provisions of the Homestead Act of 1862 and pre-emption rights. In 1907, construction began on the Hotel Stanley, a 48-room grand hotel that catered to the class of moderately wealthy urbanites who composed the Stanleys' social circle back east as well as to consumptives seeking the healthful climate. However, not content with the rustic accommodations, lazy pastimes and relaxed social scene of their new summer home, Stanley resolved to turn Estes Park into a resort town. By 1907, Stanley had recovered completely.

World of the shining prince