Many London hotels in films are not quite what they seem. Moviemakers are quite skilled in transforming the look of filming locations until they are sometimes unrecognizable. In other cases, the hotel location is meant to be a familiar landmark.
Hotel rooms are often too small to accommodate the cast, crew, and cameras needed to get the shot. When sets are built, they may mimic the style of the actual hotel rooms, or they might look like something else altogether; such is the magic of the cinema.
Notable films feature some well known hotels. In Notting Hill (1999) Julia Roberts stays at The Ritz (pictured) under assumed names to avoid the spotlight, but still finds time for a romance with High Grant.
In Match Point (2005), Woody Allen used the Covent Garden Hotel to highlight the class divide between the main characters.
The Royal Horseguards Hotel is such a London icon, it has been used as a filming location for numerous movies; The Elephant Man (1980) and The Constant Gardener (2005) are just two of the well known ones.
The London Hilton on Park Lane’s familiar facade showed up in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Frenzy (1972), as did another Hilton property, the Hilton Hyde Park.
The gangster film has often been a popular theme; The Italian Job (1969) has Michael Caine living it up in the Lancaster London Hotel, as well as plotting his big heist there, the Jolly St Ermin’s Hotel's distinctive salmon pink exterior made an appearance in Neal Jordan’s Mona Lisa (1986), and St Martins Lane Hotel was Daniel Craig’s playground in Layer Cake (2004).
The grand Langham Hotel was a stand-in for the St Petersburg Grand Hotel Europe in the movie GoldenEye (1995), and the luxurious Royal Suite at The Lanesborough was a perfect look-alike for the billiard room of a wealthy and powerful villain in Stanley Kubrick’s swan song Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
Spotting London hotels in films can be great fun.
The Lancaster London Hotel was a filming location for The Italian Job (1969), although back in those days the hotel was known as The Royal Lancaster.
The Ritz was a perfect location for Julia Roberts’ movie star character to stay in Notting Hill (1999); their luxury and discretion make it a popular hotel with real life celebrities, as well.
Chic St Martins Lane Hotel is the perfect filming location for the hip London gangster film Layer Cake (2004).
The Lanesborough was the location chosen to film one of the final scenes in Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
The Langham Hotel has an elaborate exterior that is similar to other grand European hotels and made it perfect for filming GoldenEye (1995).
Just as in Match Point (2005), the Covent Garden Hotel attracts all kinds of customers; trust fund babies, glamorous would-be actresses, and bright young things on the make are just a fraction of the eclectic clientele.
The Royal Horseguards Hotel is an iconic part of the London cityscape; a magnificent Victorian confection that has been the site of films ranging from The Constant Gardner (2005) to The Elephant Man (1980).
The Hilton Hyde Park was a star in Hitchcock’s 1972 film Frenzy; the main characters book a deluxe room there for only £10.
Alfred Hitchcock used many public locations, such as the London Hilton on Park Lane, during the filming of his masterpiece, Frenzy.
There are London hotels in films you may have seen, many movies rely on hotel shots for atmosphere or as an integral location for the story. Jolly St Ermin’s Hotel was featured in the film Mona Lisa (1986) as one of the locations where George picks up his charge, Simone.
Photo courtesy: Mike_fleming
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