Mount Buffalo Chalet dubbed 'Australia's Stanley Hotel', but why is it still closed 12 years on?

The renowned author writes on his website that his stay in 1974 inspired The Shining.

"That night I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors ... he was being chased by a firehose," he said.

"I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed. I got up, lit a cigarette, sat in the chair looking out the window at the Rockies, and by the time the cigarette was done, I had the bones of the book firmly set in my mind".

The federal-style 1909 hotel that enraptured King back then, today has a connection to our part of the world.

About eight years ago, Sean Hallam was hiking on Mount Buffalo and heading towards the national park's plateau.

"I was doing a walk from Lake Catani, and I came around in front of the Chalet for the first time and thought 'Oh my god, we have The Shining here'," he said.

"I'd only recently watched the movie - it was surreal."

Mr Hallam wanted to explore the building, but it had been closed to the public since 2007.

When in 2015 the demolition of 70 per cent of the Chalet was planned, to campaign for its protection Mr Hallam drew on the similarities between the North East's 'Grand Old Lady' and the Stanley.

Both boast grand facades of between 63 and 65 metres in length.

They share sweeping corridors, ballrooms belonging to a time gone by, and stories to tell - one of inventor Freelan Oscar Stanley's bid to make Estes Park a resort town, and the other of Australia's earliest surviving ski accommodation.

Concerned by the prospect faced by the Stanley's southern cousin, then-vice president of the Grand Heritage Hotel Group Reed Rowley wrote a letter of support to Mr Hallam.

"They were built one year apart, are in or very near to national parks, are historically-listed, and share some common design elements," he said.

"Like our hotel, your Chalet has strong social history. The fact it is Australia's largest timber building is of considerable note.

"I encourage you to carefully consider preservation of this unique property."

The incoming Andrews Labor government abandoned the Liberals' demolition plans - in part because of the cost of the project - and appointed a community group to "discuss any future options for the Chalet".

Four years on, the Chalet is still closed, sitting dormant.

It has led Mr Hallam to ask: Why can the United States manage to keep their heritage buildings functioning, but we can't?

So he went overseas to find out.

"I wanted to know if I was flogging a dead horse with the Chalet - but visiting confirmed what we've been fighting for over these last few years - these places do make money and people do want to visit them," he said.

"Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone Park, which is one the largest log structures in the world, has over 300 rooms and they are booked out months in advance.

"The reasons we're always given for the chalet not being able to function as an accommodation venue, aren't accurate in today's world where people want to say at these places.

"We paid $280 for quite a small room with no modern modcons, a shared bathroom, and no view.

"Some say the Chalet is too big and there is too much unused space - these places we visited were huge, and all the space was used for storage, recreation accommodation - it would be very difficult to see how a fully-functioning Chalet wouldn't need the footprint it currently has for a viable operation."

The Stanley is visited by 430,000 people annually, and Mount Buffalo attracts 181,000 without the Chalet being open.

Another similarity between the attractions is they were not built for longevity.

But in the Stanley's case, its age isn't considered a barrier - the Grand Heritage Hotel Group's Scott Stubbs told the Estes Park Trail-Gazette last year it was undergoing a "100-year-plus restoration" to replace wood damaged by decades of moisture and cold.

"We spoke to staff and visitors to get their impressions of what they were there for, and what they thought of the buildings," Mr Hallam said.

"For them, the building was 'the view'.

"As far as I understand, these places don't rake in the dollars and yet they are still operated and maintained for the public to enjoy.

"I explained the situation with the Chalet and they agreed it would make no sense to have a cafe open in the Stanley Hotel while the rest of it stayed dormant - it's just ridiculous."

Alpine Council made a bid for $2 million from the Victorian government during last year's election to establish a cafe in the building, in line with recommendations made by PricewaterhouseCoopers in a feasibility study.

Their assessment put $38.7 million as the total capital cost to restore the Chalet to be a 42-room boutique hotel, which would "not produce a positive financial return in its own right".

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The cafe in the Chalet, eco-pods, an outdoor education centre and a skywalk were recommended for development first, over the Chalet's restoration.

It has now been nine months since PricewaterhouseCoopers' study was released, but the state government has not responded.

It's been more than three years since the state government first appointed a community group to determine a way forward for the Chalet, and announced $2.8 million for works to make it "safe and secure".

In that time, Melbourne's Flinders Street Station and Regent Theatre have received $100 million and $14 million respectively from the Andrews government for restorations.

Only yesterday, the government refused to extend a permit for The Halim Group, who are proposing to demolish part of the rear of Hotel Windsor and build a luxury hotel behind it.

"The Hotel Windsor, built in 1883, is of architectural and historical significance to the state of Victoria," the media statement said.

"It is also listed on the Victorian heritage register which means the owners must maintain it and not allow it to fall into disrepair."

Mr Hallam wonders how the Victorian government, the owner of the heritage-listed Chalet, will ensure it does not fall into disrepair if it continues to sit unused.

"It is infuriating that millions are poured into these other buildings, and not the Chalet," he said.

"It's city people who would visit the Chalet. We don't having anything else like it in the country.

"No one is going to take over the Chalet in its condition, unless the government restores the bones of it.

"If that doesn't happen, I'm sure it will end up being demolished."

And just like The Shining, that would be a nightmare.