30 Best TV Shows & Films About Hotels For a Cinematic Stay

Hotels provide a home away from home when you are travelling or visiting friends and family.

But many entertaining films about hotels turn a run-of-the-mill service into a romantic dream … or a bloody nightmare.

Away from familiarity and mundanity, hotels are the perfect breeding ground for criminal acts, passion, and deceit.

From adultery to con-artistry, you can hide in plain sight at a hotel!

No one knows your face or your life story. No wonder so many films and TV shows use hotels so often.

The murderous Bates Motel in Psycho (1960) is recognisable from one film still. Some filmmakers take one step further and create an entire movie about a hotel like The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

Others make a hotel one of the most prominent settings, at least.

As a traveller, I’ve checked into countless hotels. I’ve watched an immeasurable number of movies set in the most beautiful, unique, and (usually) luxurious inns, guesthouses, and suites around the world.

I’m obsessed with the coastal retreats in The Witches (1990) and The Lobster (1995). But I wouldn’t turn down a key to the opulent, five-star rooms in Pretty Woman (1990) or Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).

You probably wouldn’t either.

Like me, you probably have more than a few famous movie hotels on your bucket list.

I’ve narrowed down all my favourite movies about hotels and many movies with hotel in the title (my goodness, it was hard to shorten this list!).

I’ve also included all the information you need to know when visiting the hotels. Essential details like room numbers used in the film, any special fan events hosted by the hotel, and how to book.

Make a note of your car registration, grab your luggage, and let’s check into these travel-inspiring films about hotels!

Cross your fingers that you’ve not accidentally booked The Overlook this winter season …

1. To Catch a Thief (1955)

Hotel: Hotel Carlton in Cannes, France
English, French | 106m
93% Rotten Tomatoes

Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief showcases stunning filming locations across the south of France.

It follows a retired jewel thief (Cary Grant) who must prove his innocence when a copycat begins committing crimes.

During his mission to catch the real thief, he becomes acquainted with Jessie Stevens (Jessie Royce Landis) and her daughter Frances (Grace Kelly).

➡️ Did you know? Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco allegedly began their romance in Room 875 at this hotel in April 1955.

The Stevens’ were staying at Hotel Carlton in Cannes, a Regent Hotel.

Jessie’s supposed to be staying in Room 541. However, when Cary Grant’s John Robie accompanies the ladies to their rooms, the numbers on the doors are Room 625 and Room 623.

French Kiss (1995) and music videos by Elton John and New Order also used this hotel as a filming location.

First opening in 1911, Hotel Carlton is an institution. It reopened after a renovation in 2023, and it’s the perfect place for celeb-spotting during the Cannes Film Festival!

2. Some Like It Hot (1959)

Hotel: Hotel del Coronado near San Diego, USA
English | 121m
95% Rotten Tomatoes

Billy Wilder’s hotel movie comedy is set during Prohibition, specifically 1929. Two male musicians (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) accidentally witness the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago.

To escape the mob and seek their fortune, the men disguise themselves as women to join an all-female jazz band heading to Miami, Florida. Of course, Marilyn Monroe co-stars.

But Wilder didn’t film in Florida!

The unnamed resort was actually the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego, a Curio Collection hotel.

Curtis and Lemmon’s characters stay in Room 3327 (302 at the time of filming). Apparently, the hotel still offers room tours for fans.

However, there is a continuity issue with the room numbers shown in the movie. Sometimes, the number on the door was Room 413 and sometimes Room 415.

➡️ Did you know? Kate Morgan checked into the same room used for filming Some Like It Hot at the Hotel Coronado. She died there on Thanksgiving in 1892. Many believe she still haunts the halls.

This four-star hotel opened in 1888 and is absolutely still worth booking a room.

No other movie that compares to Some Like It Hot has ever been filmed at Hotel Coronado. However, The Stunt Man (1977) and Wicked, Wicked (1973) shot scenes there.

3. The Shining (1980)

Hotel: Timberline Lodge in Oregon, USA
English | 146m
83% Rotten Tomatoes

I know you were expecting this movie about a hotel on this list!

Based on the uber-popular Stephen King book, The Shining follows a family with a clairvoyant son hired as the winter caretakers of a closed hotel in Colorado.

Their isolation becomes a big problem when the father, Jack (Jack Nicholson), descends into madness.

Stanley Kubrick famously built the entire interior set of The Overlook Hotel in EMI Elstree Studios in the UK. Apparently, the interior of The Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite National Park inspired the sets.

However, the exterior is Timberline Lodge in Oregon. They requested that Kubrick change the infamous Room 217 in the novel to Room 237 in the film.

They didn’t want people to avoid booking Room 217 due to fears of finding decaying ladies in bathtubs. However, they didn’t have a Room 237, so no issues there.

➡️ Did you know? The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, which inspired King’s novel, does have a Room 217. This hotel is widely known for its haunted history and runs The Shining tours.

Timberline Lodge is a three-star ski resort in the foothills of Mt. Hood. It’s less than a 90-minute drive from Portland!

I want to point out that the road to the hotel isn’t in Oregon.

Jack drove his family’s Volkswagen along the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, Montana. This road also appears in Forrest Gump (1994).

Just an even more scenic, snowy, and gorgeous landscape than Mt. Hood, I guess!

4. Somewhere In Time (1980)

Hotel: Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, MI USA
English | 103m
52% Rotten Tomatoes

Granted, it’s not one of the best films about hotels on this list. But wow, the hotel is spectacular.

Christopher Reeve plays a Chicago playwright who hypnotises himself to travel back in time.

He returns to 1912 to meet the actress, Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), whose portrait hangs in his hotel room, because he’s just a smidge obsessed with her.

The hotel in question? The aptly-named Grand Hotel in northern Michigan. The nearby Mission Point Resort was also a filming location.

➡️ Did you know? The Grand Hotel, built in 1887, is one of the few surviving grand dame hotels of the Gilded Age. Others in the US include the Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire, The Greenbrier in West Virginia, The Vanderbilt in Rhode Island, and the St. Regis in New York.

Christopher Reeve’s character, Richard Collier, occupied Room 117. Jane Seymour’s room is Room 416.

Unfortunately, the suites only existed as soundstages and weren’t actual rooms in the hotel. Luckily, the hotel capitalised on the movie’s success!

The Grand Hotel now offers a ‘Somewhere In Time’ suite (Room 368) and a ‘Jane Seymour Suite’ (Room 392).

Don’t forget to visit the Somewhere In Time tree by the water. Yes, miraculously, it’s still standing.

6. Dirty Dancing (1987)

Hotel: Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke, VA USA
English | 100m
72% Rotten Tomatoes

Out of all the films about hotels on this list, the Dirty Dancing lodge is the one I’m second-most excited to visit!

Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) and her family drive to Kellerman’s Resort in the Catskills for vacation. She meets dancer Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) and experiences a transformative, coming-of-age summer.

She had the time of her life, you could say.

But this movie wasn’t shot in New York’s Catskill Mountains! It was filmed at Mountain Lake Lodge in Virginia.

➡️ Did you know? The cast stayed at Mountain Lake Lodge as well as filmed there. Patrick Swayze checked into Room 232, and Jennifer Grey checked into Room 304/305.

Baby and her family stayed in Virginia Cottage, one of the cabins.

This hotel goes all-in on the Dirty Dancing connection! They have a ‘Kellerman’s Film Package’ year-round for guests, which includes a special screening, a themed Scavenger Hunt, and more.

Check their Events Calendar for special Dirty Dancing Weekends.

It includes dance lessons with professional instructors and fun dance parties! Sign me up!

7. Pretty Woman (1990)

Hotel: Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, USA
English | 119m
65% Rotten Tomatoes

Many Hollywood movies with hotels as a major setting are super luxurious. These are places I will probably never, ever check into.

But that’s okay! What are films for if not to offer a glimpse into another reality?

Pretty Woman stars Richard Gere as a businessman who becomes enamoured with Julia Roberts as a novice sex worker in Los Angeles.

He takes her back to his hotel, which was (and still is) the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

This is a five-star, Four Seasons hotel with a price tag of approximately $1,000 per night.

… The breakfast in the movie looked tasty, though, right? And how about that tub?!

I believe Suite 140 was the location from the movie. It was built into the hotel’s Presidential Suite for filming.

Interior hotel scenes were also shot at the now-demolished Ambassador Hotel.

The Beverly Wilshire is an incredibly prolific filming location. It also appeared in Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Frost/Nixon (2008).

8. The Witches (1990)

Hotel: The Headland Hotel and Spa in Cornwall, UK
English | 91m
94% Rotten Tomatoes

We’re finally heading to my home country for this movie hotel.

The Witches is based on a 1983 Roald Dahl novel of the same name. It follows a boy and his grandmother who stumble across a convention of witches who want to turn all children into mice.

Despite being turned into a mouse himself, he is determined to foil their grand plan.

The movie has a fantastic cast, including lots of Brits and Anjelica Huston as Eva Ernst, the Grand High Witch.

The convention is held at the Hotel Excelsior in Bournemouth.

I’m not sure if such a hotel ever existed. The filming location was The Headland Hotel in Torquay, a few miles west of Bournemouth.

➡️ Did you know? The pram/stroller used in the movie was the family who owned the hotel’s pram. 🍼

In the book, The Grand High Witch stays in Room 454.

In the movie, she checks into Room 208. Director Nicolas Roeg filmed in Rooms 223, 227, and 205 for bedroom scenes.

It’s a surprisingly affordable three-star hotel in a gorgeous cliff-edge location.

9. Twin Peaks (1990-1992, 2017)

Hotel: Salish Lodge & Spa in Snoqualmie, WA USA
English | 3 Seasons, 1 Film
78% Rotten Tomatoes

David Lynch’s Twin Peaks is one of the most popular cult TV series ever made!

Its first two seasons aired in 1990 and 1991, followed by the 1992 feature movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.

In 2017, Lynch created a third season, and most of the original cast returned. It’s part detective fiction, part supernatural, campy, eccentric, non-linear horror melodrama.

The original premise focuses on FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), who travels to the fictional town of Twin Peaks in the Pacific Northwest. He is there to investigate the murder of high schooler Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee).

While in Twin Peaks, he stays in Room 315 of The Great Northern Hotel.

But is that the hotel’s name in real life? No! It’s the Salish Lodge in Washington state.

You can see this beautiful four-star place behind Snoqualmie Falls in the opening title sequence.

Even if you can’t check in, you can check out the themed brunch and gift shop. You can buy fun keychains with ‘Room 315’ on them!

I hope they serve damn fine coffee and cherry pie at the brunch.

10. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

Hotel: The Plaza Hotel in New York City, USA
English | 120m
35% Rotten Tomatoes

Do you remember I said the thing about hotels in movies made by Hollywood is that most are super, super luxurious? And they have a crazy high room rate?

Enter Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

The sequel to the modern Christmas classic Home Alone, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is separated from his parents during the holiday season.

This time, it’s not at home; he’s alone in New York City … with his father’s credit card.

Naturally, he splashes out on a suite in The Plaza Hotel! He checks into Suite 411, which is now known as The Kevin Suite.

➡️ Did you know? The phone number Kevin calls to make a reservation is (212) 759-3000. This is the hotel’s real phone number!

The Plaza Hotel even has a special offer for guests who want to live their Kevin fantasies and recreate some of the more iconic scenes.

Do you think they mean the scenes were Kevin gorges on cookies? Or the scenes where hotel staff walk in on his ‘father’ in the shower??

Regardless, you’d have to pay the $1,200+ a night room rate first! It is a beautiful, five-star hotel with amazing views of Central Park.

As you’d expect, The Plaza has appeared in so many movies. The Great Gatsby (1974) and North by Northwest (1959) are just two more examples out of dozens.

11. The Bodyguard (1992)

Hotel: The Fontainebleau in Miami, USA
English | 129m
38% Rotten Tomatoes

Okay, so The Bodyguard isn’t the most amazing movie. It’s certainly not one of the best films about hotels.

In this instance, the hotel is just a super recognisable movie hotel that I thought was worth noting. It’s a pretty prolific location in this movie, in particular.

The Bodyguard follows a former secret service agent, Frank (Kevin Costner), on his new assignment to guard a pop star, Rachel (Whitney Houston), from a stalker.

One of the main filming locations is The Fontainebleu in Miami. Rachel’s suite is the jaw-dropping 950-square-foot Le Ciel Oceanfront Suite.

For a five-star hotel, the room rates here aren’t too spendy!

TONS of other movies used this hotel as a filming location. Goldfinger (1964), Scarface (1983), and Analyze This (1999) are just some.

12. Groundhog Day (1993)

Hotel: Cherry Tree Inn Bed & Breakfast in Woodstock IL, USA
English | 101m
94% Rotten Tomatoes

If you’re looking to watch movies set in hotels that are the cinematic equivalent of a warm hug, look no further.

Groundhog Day is about a disgruntled weatherman (Bill Murray) who gets stuck in a time loop, repeating Groundhog Day over and over.

Groundhog Day is an annual tradition celebrated on February 2nd in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. There’s a groundhog there named Punxsutawney Phil. If Phil leaves his burrow, sees his shadow, and retreats into his hole … there will be six more weeks of winter.

If not, spring is coming!

Yes, it’s a strange tradition, but I don’t think it’s hurting anyone. Except my mouth when I try to pronounce ‘Punxsutawney’.

In the movie, Murray’s character stays in a creatively named inn called the Pennsylvanian Hotel.

In reality, it’s the Cherry Tree Inn Bed & Breakfast. And it’s not even in Pennsylvania! It’s in Woodstock, Illinois. Room 217 was used for filming.

Thanks to the movie’s success, the whole town of Woodstock goes all out for Groundhog Day!

There’s a festival, filming location tours, and games.

13. Notting Hill (1999)

Hotel: The Ritz Hotel in London, UK
English | 124m
84% Rotten Tomatoes

Granted, Notting Hill is a London neighbourhood, not a hotel. It’s more evocative of a place than a building!

However, there are some cracking scenes set in hotels in Notting Hill.

Richard Curtis’s rom-com follows William Thacker (Hugh Grant), the shop owner of a travel bookstore, who meets world-famous actress Anna Scott (Julia Roberts).

There’s a hilarious scene where William pretends to be a journalist from Horse & Hound magazine and ‘interviews’ Anna in Room 104 (the Lancaster Room) at The Ritz Hotel.

He also declares his love for her (in a roundabout, British sort of way) at The Savoy Hotel. The Nobu Restaurant, where they dine, is at the COMO Metropolitan Hotel.

Notting Hill is a where’s-where of fancy London hotels!

Unsurprisingly, The Ritz in London has appeared in many, many movies. Which is great, for me, because that’s the only place I’ll be seeing this incredible, historic hotel.

Some of my favourites include The Parent Trap (1998), Love Actually (2003), Casino Royale (2006), The Duchess (2008), and Sherlock Holmes (2009).

14. Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Hotel: Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, USA
English | 116m
83% Rotten Tomatoes

I recently visited Las Vegas for the first time. I didn’t think I would like it as much as I did! It’s essentially a Disney World for adults.

Yes, it can be expensive. But there are fun hotels, fun activities, and incredible shows.

I only gambled around $20—plenty for me—but the casinos were colourful, brash, and mental in a good way.

Not only do I love Las Vegas, but I love Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean movies. Heist movies, in general, are the ultimate popcorn movie for me.

Ocean’s Eleven is the first of the trilogy. Danny Ocean (George Clooney) assembles a team of criminal experts to steal $160 million from three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously.

All three casinos are owned by the husband (Andy García) of his ex-wife (Julia Roberts). They are the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand.

I’m highlighting the Bellagio, because it’s spectacular and one I’ve actually visited! Plus, the Mirage has sadly closed its doors and is becoming the Hard Rock Café Hotel.

The Bellagio also appeared in Ocean’s Thirteen (2007) and Focus (2015).

15. Lost in Translation (2003)

Hotel: The Park Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo, Japan
English | 102m
95% Rotten Tomatoes

This is my number one famous movie hotel on my bucket list. By default, Lost in Translation is one of my favourite films about hotels of all time.

What can I say? I love a moody, indie drama.

Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation is about the unlikely friendship struck between fading movie star, Bob (Bill Murray), and a lonely young newlywed, Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson).

They both happen to be staying in the same hotel: The Park Hyatt in Tokyo.

The contemporary five-star hotel has never publicly released the room numbers used for filming.

However, determined film fans have determined that Bob’s was Room 4808 (the ‘Diplomat Suite‘) and Charlotte’s was Room 4706.

The Park Hyatt is currently closed for renovations until autumn 2025.

We don’t know if the hotel will look like it did in the movie! One thing is for certain: I don’t care. I still want to stay in this cinematic skyscraper hotel.

16. Last Holiday (2006)

Hotel: Grandhotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
English | 112m
56% Rotten Tomatoes

This is the only movie hotel that features not once, but twice on this list.

But it’s the only time it appears in one of these films about hotels!

Queen Latifah stars as Georgia, a woman who believes she is dying and splashes her life savings on a trip to Europe.

She heads to the Czech Republic and spares no expense on amazing experiences. Designer boutiques, BASE jumping, gourmet meals … She even reserves the Presidential Suite.

The hotel is Grandhotel Pupp in the beautiful spa town of Karlovy Vary. The suite scenes were filmed in Room 405 (I’m unsure if this hotel has a Presidential Suite).

I believe this room also appeared as a suite in Casino Royale (2006) as Hotel Splendide in Montenegro.

It’s not the most amazing film, but Last Holiday is a fun, foodie-forward travel film.

17. In Bruges (2008)

Hotel: Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce Hotel in Bruges, Belgium
English | 107m
84% Rotten Tomatoes

Having visited, I personally think that being in Bruges is more appealing than death or prison, but one of the main characters in In Bruges would disagree with me.

Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as two hitmen called Ray and Ken, respectively.

Their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), sends them to the medieval Belgian city to lay low after a botched job. They do a fair bit of sightseeing—boat rides on the canal, climbing the Belfry, insulting tourists, etc.

In the movie, they stay in quite a pokey guesthouse. But in reality, the Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce Hotel is a nice B&B in a fantastic location!

I believe Ken stays in Room 20, so that’s the one to book!

Although, other readers have commented that it’s a different room. You’ll have to let me know if you’ve stayed there.

18. The Hangover (2009)

Hotel: Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, USA
English | 100m
79% Rotten Tomatoes

Las Vegas is known for its resorts and hospitality. Naturally, it would appear multiple times on this list!

One of the most iconic films about hotels is The Hangover.

Doug (Justin Bartha) is getting married. He invites his friends Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and his soon-to-be brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to his Bachelor Party in Las Vegas.

The next day, Stu, Phil, and Alan wake up with no clue what happened the night before. Plus, they can’t find Doug.

Famously, The Hangover was filmed in Caesar’s Palace Hotel & Casino.

Unfortunately, the suite featured in the movie was a set built for filming. It was inspired by the Forum Classic Emperor Suite, which you can book!

Caesars Palace has featured in a long, long list of movies.

Some of the most notable are Rain Man (1988), Showgirls (1995), Iron Man (2008), and even The Hangover Part III (2013).

19. Somewhere (2010)

Hotel: Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles, USA
English | 98m
71% Rotten Tomatoes

Growing up with a famous filmmaker father, Sofia Coppola visited Chateau Marmont a lot as a kid.

This West Hollywood hotel was built in 1929, and it retains its Old Hollywood Glamour. It’s still a popular celeb hangout spot and a go-to location for any movie about actors in Los Angeles.

Somewhere is Coppola’s fourth feature film. Johnny (Stephen Dorff) is a washed-up actor living in one of the bungalows at Chateau Marmont.

Specifically, Room 59. At least that was the room used for filming!

His excessive life makes him feel empty, but reconnecting with his estranged daughter Coco (Elle Fanning) offers him meaning.

Maps to the Stars (2014), La La Land (2016), and A Star Is Born (2018) also filmed scenes here.

While this five-star hotel is a pricey stay, it might not be as expensive as you think!

20. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

Hotel: The Ravla Khempur in Udaipur, India
English | 124m
77% Rotten Tomatoes

When you think of movies with ‘hotel’ in the name, one that might pop up is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel!

And maybe it’s similarly named sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

It’s based on a novel called These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach. A group of British retirees move to a ‘rundown’ hotel in India, marketed as a retirement home. They rediscover love, friendship, and their zest for life.

Its ensemble cast is a who’s who of legendary actors, including Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, and Maggie Smith. Dev Patel also stars as the hotel’s manager.

It’s a light-hearted travel movie filmed mostly in Rajasthan, as well as Jaipur and Udaipur. The Ravla Khempur in Udaipur stood in as the Marigold Hotel.

Taj Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur also featured. I cannot believe this hotel’s spectacular setting!

In the second film, the Pearl Palace Heritage Guesthouse in Jaipur is the second-best Marigold Hotel.

21. Midnight in Paris (2011)

Hotel: Hotel Le Bristol in Paris, France
English | 94m
93% Rotten Tomatoes

Midnight in Paris might not seem like a hotel-forward movie. But if you watch the film again, they spend a lot of time in their hotel!

This film stars Owen Wilson as Gil, a jaded screenwriter and wannabe novelist on vacation in Paris with his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams) and future in-laws.

After getting tipsy at a wine tasting and losing his way, famous figures from the 1920s mysteriously pick him up. Gil starts spending every evening with people like Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein.

It’s a beautiful, funny film with many locations all over Paris, plus Versailles and Giverny.

His in-laws are fancy AF and book suites in Hotel Le Bristol. This is an incredibly swanky, spendy Oetker Collection hotel.

I believe Gil and Inez’s hotel room was Room 112.

Le Meurice Hotel, a Dorchester Collection hotel, was a filming location for dinner and rooftop scenes.

22. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

Hotel: Armani Hotel in Dubai, UAE
English | 133m
94% Rotten Tomatoes

I’m not a huge action film fan, but I can’t deny that the Mission: Impossible franchise is phenomenal. The stunts and story are both top-tier and have been since the release of Ghost Protocol.

Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt, a high-level IMF agent. He and his team go rogue to find the real culprits after his organisation is blamed for an attack on the Kremlin.

Like the James Bond franchise, Mission: Impossible movies always hop around the globe.

In Ghost Protocol, they spend a lot of time in Dubai.

The Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel, for example, stands in as an Indian Palace for a black tie event.

But, of course, the most notable hotel is the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa. At 828 meters (2,717 feet), it’s the tallest building in the world.

And the location of one of the most hair-raising, spine-tingling scenes in cinema history.

IMF agent/technician Benji (Simon Pegg) changes the room number of their hotel suite from Room 119G, the room used for filming on the 119th floor, to Room 118G for a mission.

24. Ex Machina (2014)

Hotel: Juvet Landscape Hotel in Alstad, Norway
English | 108m
92% Rotten Tomatoes

If you’ve watched Ex Machina, did you realise Nathan’s ‘Alaskan’ Retreat was a hotel?!

You might’ve just thought it was a remote, modern, minimalist estate.

It’s where Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer, is invited by the company’s CEO (Oscar Isaac) to Turing test an intelligent humanoid robot called Ava (Alicia Vikander).

This luxurious, state-of-the-art abode is nowhere near Alaska. It’s actually a hotel in Norway called the Juvet Landscape Hotel.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out which cabin was the filming location in Ex Machina.

But there are only seven cabins.

This hotel also appeared in Succession. The Roys travelled to Norway to negotiate a deal with Swedish tech mogul Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård).

25. The Lobster (2015)

Hotel: Parknasilla Resort & Spa in Sneem, Ireland
English, French | 118m
88% Rotten Tomatoes

Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos loves an absurd, darkly funny concept movie.

While he was a prolific director in his home country of Greece, The Lobster was Lanthimos’s first English-language film.

It’s set in a dystopian future where finding a love partner is mandatory.

Colin Farrell plays a newly single bachelor who must find a new mate within 45 days of staying at a hotel. Should he fail, he will be transfigured into an animal of his choosing.

No pressure, eh?

The silver lining is that the hotel where they are staying is quite nice. Parknasilla Resort & Spa is located in Farrell’s homeland of Ireland.

It’s a large four-star hotel right by the sea and not the worst place to potentially spend your last days on two legs.

26. By The Sea (2015)

Hotel: Hotel Ta’Cenc & Spa in Gozo, Malta
English, French | 122m
35% Rotten Tomatoes

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s naval-gazing drama set on the French Riviera isn’t great. However, sometimes I like movies purely on the aesthetics alone.

This is not one of those movies for me. But, it might be for you!

Jolie and Pitt (back when they were a couple IRL) play a troubled couple hoping to rekindle the flames of romance on a Mediterranean trip.

Despite making friends, dining at fancy restaurants, and relaxing on the beach, they are haunted by an event in their past.

Although this movie is filmed ‘by the sea’, Jolie filmed it on the island of Gozo in Malta. Hotel Ta’Cenc & Spa is an idyllic (and surprisingly affordable) five-star hotel.

I imagine it was cheaper and quieter to film here than in the South of France.

During the five months of filming, Jolie and Pitt occupied one of the trulli (a traditional dry stone house) on the property.

Malta is such an underrated country. I kinda wish they had just set the film there.

27. Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Hotel: Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore
English | 121m
91% Rotten Tomatoes

You can’t expect a film called Crazy Rich Asians not to feature some seriously luxurious five-star hotels.

It’s also an incredible light rom-com based on author Kevin Kwan’s book of the same title. I’ve watched it multiple times, and it’s hard to scroll past on the in-flight entertainment.

Crazy Rich Asians stars a middle-class Chinese American woman called Rachel (Constance Wu) who is dating the secretly wealthy Nick Young (Henry Golding).

When they’re both invited to a family wedding in Singapore, Rachel is thrown into a world of extravagant wealth and sky-high expectations.

Where should I begin with the hotels in Crazy Rich Asians?

Well, Araminta’s Bachelorette Party was held at the tropical Four Seasons Resort Langkawi in Malaysia.

Raffles Singapore Hotel is a historic hotel which has featured in many Asian movies. It stood in as the Kingsford Hotel, where Nick and Rachel stayed in Singapore.

The former home of a wealthy businessman stands in as Tyersall Park, Nick Young’s family home. Today, the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang, Malaysia, is an atmospheric four-star Chinese hotel.

Eastern & Oriental Hotel, also in Penang, is a colonial-style hotel used in the film’s opening scenes when Nick is young.

Last but not least, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore features in establishing shots throughout the movie.

However, its rooftop bar is the location for Rachel and Nick’s engagement party at the end of Crazy Rich Asians.

Obviously, that’s a stand-out scene!

29. The Eternal Daughter (2022)

Hotel: Soughton Hall in North Wales
English | 96m
95% Rotten Tomatoes

I’ve given you action, rom-com, absurd, crime, thriller, and horror.

How about a Gothic mystery drama?

Tilda Swinton plays two roles in Joanna Hogg’s The Eternal Daughter. She’s an artist daughter as well as her elderly mother, who return to their family home, which is now a hotel.

The hotel appears haunted … By their family’s secrets, maybe??

Hogg chose Soughton Hall in North Wales as the filming location. It’s an 18th-century former Bishop’s Palace with a tasteful horse-themed restaurant.

It’s certainly a secluded, atmospheric hotel. And a popular wedding venue!

Honourable Mentions

There are so many other films about hotels that I could have featured. They couldn’t ALL make this hotel movies list!

Here are a few others I found in my research:

• Grand Hotel (1932)
• Brief Encounter (1945)
• Key Largo (1948)
• Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953)
• Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
• Psycho (1960)
• Last Year at Marienbad (1961)
• Death in Venice (1971)
• What’s Up, Doc? (1972)
• Barton Fink (1991)
• Hope Springs (2003)
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
• Up in the Air (2009)
• Hotel Mumbai (2018)
• The Royal Hotel (2023)