In honor of movie award season, hotel search engine Trivago has put together a list of “The Top 10 Movie Hotels.”
Its criteria for the tribute to the unacknowledged stars of the show, the hotels, was that it was recently featured in a major motion picture and how each property measured-up overall in Trivago’s search ranking, as well as traveler response.
Star hotels include the space where character Mr. Big once pined for Sarah Jessica Parker in the “Sex and the City” movie; Batman’s (a.k.a. Christian Bale’s) attic in “The Dark Knight” and the room where many love-triangle scenarios unfolded between Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Scarlett Johansson in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
1. Hotel de Paris (located in Monaco)
The Hotel de Paris in Monaco was featured in one of the scenes in “Iron Man 2” (2010) starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Mickey Rourke. The film grossed over US$600 million in box offices worldwide. In the film, the superhero must face his enemies in the middle of the Formula 1 race in Monte Carlo — making for a good excuse to go through one of the most luxurious hotels in the city.
2. Hotel Park Hyatt Tokyo
Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson stay in the Hotel Park Hyatt Tokyo under the direction of Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” (2003). The film, which won the Oscar for best original screenplay in 2004, tells a sad love story of two characters at different stages of life. The film follows the pair as they explore Tokyo’s night scene.
3. Grand Hotel Cabourg (located in Cabourg, France)
Several cities in the region of Normandy, France, appear in the biopic “Coco before Chanel” (2009) about one of French couture’s key individuals, Coco Chanel. Performed by the star of, “Amelie” Audrey Tautou, some of the film’s sequences were shot at the legendary Grand Hotel de Cabourg, in the French town of the same name. In the movie, the hotel appears to be in a luxurious palace in Deauville, on the coast of English Channel — which is not surprising considering its nineteenth century architecture.
4. Hotel Giraffe (located in New York City)
In the movie “Sex and the City,” (2008) the fabulous apartment of Mr. Big is actually the Piano-Suite Hotel Giraffe, in the heart of Manhattan.
5. Hotel Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce (located in Bruges, Belgium)
In the film “In Bruges,” (2008) the Hotel Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce gives shelter to two hired murderers, played by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The protagonists travel to Bruges, the best-preserved medieval city in Belgium, to relax and escape their difficult and everyday life in London. However, the characters soon discover that the beautiful Bruges is not as perfect as expected. The Hotel Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce, with its original wooden façade, is one of the most important pieces of the film, as it is located next to one of the canals in the historic center of Bruges.
6. Budapest Marriott Hotel (located in Budapest, Hungary)
Director Steven Spielberg passed the Marriott Hotel Budapest in the Hungarian capital off as a London hotel during scenes from the movie “Munich,” (2005) starring Eric Bana. Bana narrates the events following the attacks of the Munich Olympics in 1972.
7. Hotel 71 (located in Chicago)
The suite on the 39th floor of the Hotel 71 in Chicago was “home” to one of the world’s favorite heroes, Batman, played by Christian Bale. In the latest installment of Batman, “The Dark Knight,” (2008) the suite acts as the attic where our hero lives and rests after every encounter with his enemy, the Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger. The film, which went on to gross more than US$1 billion at the box office, making it one of the most successful in cinema history, was directed by Christopher Nolan. By choosing Hollywood sets such as this hotel, Nolan wanted to give the film a sophisticated air of the golden age.
8. Hotel de la Reconquista (located in Oviedo, Spain)
The Hotel de la Reconquista in Oviedo, Spain, is not only famous for being one of the stages of the Principality of Asturias. World-famous director Woody Allen, a fervent admirer and frequent visitor to the city of Oviedo, filmed some of the sequences of his film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” here with Penelope Cruz, who took home the Oscar for best supporting actress. The hotel is home to some of the most important scenes in the film — including those spent between the sheets of protagonists Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Cruz.
9. Grandhotel Pupp (located in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic)
“Hotel Splendide” in Montenegro was the setting for James Bond’s “Casino Royale” (2006) played by Daniel Craig. In reality, however, the Hotel Splendide is, in fact, the Grandhotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary — a spa city in western Bohemia, Czech Republic. In the middle of the hall is where the famous 007 meets Bond girl Eva Green. Other areas such as the hotel’s restaurant were also features in the film. Although a major role for the hotel, James Bond is not the only film to feature this historic establishment. The Jackie Chan movie, “Shanghai Knights,” for example, was also filmed here. In addition, the hotel has hosted actors like John Malkovich and Antonio Banderas on several occasions. The building dates back to 1701.
10. Hotel Regina (located in Paris, France)
The Hotel Regina in Paris played a key role in the action film “The Bourne Identity,” (2002)where Oscar winner Matt Damon plays Jason Bourne, a secret agent who loses his memory after an accident and tries to discover his true identity (with the help of the German actress Franka Potente). The Hotel Regina is a historic building in the heart of Paris, facing the Louvre Museum and opposite the Tuileries Gardens. The hotel is where Borne discovers where his alter ego, John Michael Kane, had been staying.