Escape to These Luxe Hotels Featured on the Big (and Small) Screen

In the world of film and television, sometimes the setting can prove just as captivating as the plot or characters. The screen—both big and small—has an incredible ability to inspire and influence, introducing us to new locations, cultures, and styles. Sparking our sense of wanderlust, these stories provide a window into new worlds via exotic locales, chic destinations, and stunning landscapes—and, of course, plenty of glamorous hotels and resorts. From iconic properties to places off the beaten path, here are some of our favorite hotels that have basked in the cinematic spotlight.

Carlton Cannes

To Catch a thief (1955)

Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 romantic thriller To Catch a Thief, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, owes much of its cinematic cachet to the “grande dame of the French Riviera,” the Carlton Cannes, on the prestigious Boulevard de la Croisette. It’s said that Hitchcock favored the hotel for its Grand Salon and private Carlton Beach Club, not to mention the Belle Époque decor, clay tennis courts, and ornate ballrooms perfect for waltzing.

Today, the Carlton is a favorite among the Cannes Film Festival crowd who flock to the luxe new studios (seven in all), the longest infinity pool in the city, and a penthouse with an enclosed inner courtyard and garden. The centuries-old hotel reopened last year after an extensive renovation spearheaded by French interior designer Tristan Auer, whose talents are also on display at Cartier and the Hôtel de Crillon.

Hotel degli Orafi
Florence, Italy

A room with a view (1985)

The 1985 Merchant Ivory classic A Room with a View is a love letter to the city of Florence. Based on E.M. Forster’s 1908 novel, it tells the story of a young woman, Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter), living in repressed Edwardian England. She travels to Florence, Italy, to stay with her cousin Charlotte and meets a cast of unconventional characters at her hotel, the Pensione Bertolini.

The title of the film is indicative of things to come, as we’re taken on an enchanting city tour dotted with views of the Ponte Vecchio and Arno River, the Piazza della Signoria, the Duomo, Palazzo Pitti, and Uffizi Gallery, to name just a few.

What served as the Pensione Bertolini in the film is now the Hotel degli Orafi, a four-star hotel in the historic center of Florence. A former 13^th-century Augustine convent, the hotel has preserved many distinctive architectural features, such as the Florentine ballroom where breakfast is served, complete with 19^th-century frescoes on the vaulted ceiling. The rooftop bar offers magnificent views of the Palazzo Vecchio, Brunelleschi’s Dome, and the hills surrounding Florence. Ask for Room 414, which showcases the breathtaking river views made famous in the film.

Le Bristol Paris

Midnight in paris (2011)

Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen’s 2011 romantic ode to the City of Light, stars Owen Wilson as Gil Pender, a disillusioned screenwriter visiting the city with his fiancée, Inez, played by Rachel McAdams. Gil spends his evenings time-traveling the streets of Paris, meeting 1920s luminaries like Ernest Hemingway, Cole Porter, and Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald. The film becomes the ultimate Parisian travelogue (don’t miss the opening montage) as Gil visits the Musée Rodin, Le Marché Paul Bert Serpette, and the Musée de l’Orangerie.

Coined a “rare jewel in the heart of Paris,” Le Bristol serves as home base for Gil and his future in-laws. Located on the exclusive Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the storied hotel opened in 1925 and has been the destination of choice for a who’s who of Hollywood, from Grace Kelly and Charlie Chaplin to George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio.

One of the most quintessentially chic hotels in Paris, Le Bristol features charming red-and-white awnings, luxurious Egyptian sheets, and a penthouse swimming pool with Eiffel Tower views. Be sure to stop by and greet the hotel’s feline resident, Socrate, who often rides the luggage carts, sleeps in a lobby bookcase, and can visit your room upon request.

Grandhotel Pupp
Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

CASINO ROYALE (2006) and LAST HOLIDAY (2006)

Located in the picturesque spa town of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic, the centuries-old, Neo-Baroque Grandhotel Pupp has enjoyed its time in the spotlight. It doubled as Montenegro’s Hotel Splendid for the poker scene in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, and was featured prominently in the 2006 film Last Holiday. Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel also took design cues from the Pupp, particularly its elegant interiors and ornate plasterwork.

Juvet Landscape Hotel
Valldal, Norway

Ex Machina (2014) and succession, season 4 (2023)

The Juvet Landscape Hotel in Valldal, Norway, made its big-screen debut as the retreat of reclusive tech CEO Nathan (Oscar Isaac) in Alex Garland’s 2014 film Ex Machina. The futuristic (now timely) sci-fi drama centers on an experiment with one of the company’s coders, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), and a female robot, Ava (Alicia Vikander), the world’s first robot with artificial intelligence.

The film’s real star is the awe-inspiring setting, the product of a global search for a modernist hideout worthy of a powerful billionaire owner. Production designer Mark Digby looked at hotels throughout Europe, including the Alps and Finland, before landing on Juvet. With fjords, mountains, and untamed wilderness as a backdrop, the award-winning architecture (by Oslo firm Jensen & Skodvin) is composed of a variety of lodgings, from the Bird Houses, constructed like traditional Norwegian log houses, to the glass-walled Landscape Rooms, which open onto stunning mountainside vistas. Blending nature and minimalism, the setting adds to the mystique of this cult film classic.

Several years later, the producers of HBO’s Succession were also attracted to the dramatic scenery of the Juvet, finding it tailor-made for the Roy family gathering in the series’ final season. This architectural gem, touted as a “once-in-a-lifetime escape,” was the perfect setting for the Roy family showdown.

Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea

The White Lotus, Season 1 (2021)

The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea cemented its place in television history as the setting for the first season of HBO miniseries juggernaut The White Lotus, which contrasts the travails of the haves and have-nots at a luxury resort. While the rooms may not look exactly like those created by the show’s set decorator, the idyllic ambience remains the same.

Just as in the series, the open-air beach resort features stunning ocean-view suites. While there is no actual Pineapple Suite (the one that general manager Armond disastrously double-books), filming took place in the Lokelani Presidential Suite, redesigned for the show by production designer Laura Fox, which can be booked for a cool $29,000 a night.

The resort offers unforgettable adventures such as outrigger canoe rides and private helicopter volcano tours, as well as snorkeling, surfing, and sailing. Hijinks, family drama, and murder—hopefully—not included.

San Domenico Palace, Four Seasons
Taormina, Italy

The White Lotus, Season 2 (2023)

The second season of The White Lotus is set at the San Domenico Palace, a Four Seasons hotel in the charming seaside town of Taormina on the island of Sicily. The 14^th-century former convent—in the late 1800s, it was expanded and transformed into a grand hotel—overlooks the Ionian Sea with incredible views of Mount Etna from a clifftop infinity pool that seems to melt into the sea. Its storied history includes guests such as Oscar Wilde, Truman Capote, Greta Garbo, and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (who came for a romantic escape during the tumultuous filming of Cleopatra).

The architecture is in the Liberty style, an Italian variation of Art Nouveau, and the rooms are designed with both classic and contemporary furnishings in a serene neutral color scheme. The common areas in the former convent showcase many original architectural details, including walnut boiserie, vaulted ceilings, and a Taormina stone fireplace.

Fans of the show will enjoy the stylish palatial setting that features magnificent Italian gardens and activities such as sailing along the Sicilian coast, visiting a local winery, or, like the show’s characters, taking the Godfather Movie Tour. Enjoy a drink at the piano bar or breakfast on the jaw-dropping cliffside terrace where much of the action in the show takes place.