Whether you prefer white, sandy beaches or alpine climes, we’ve rounded up the best locations pictured on screen, so you can book a break with star status.
It’s that time of year again: summer holidays are fast approaching, and booking season is upon us. You may be in the market for a prime staycation, or tempted by a fashion-focused hotel (Karl Lagerfeld and Christian Louboutin both have haute holiday destinations to their name). Perhaps you’re looking for a way to keep your carbon footprint low by travelling in an eco-friendly way, or you’re thinking about booking a holiday with your best friends for the first time in years.
If you find yourself struggling to make a decision, may we suggest taking leaf out of the books of the directors of Palm Royale and jetting off to sunbathe in Los Angeles? Or perhaps you’d rather make like the super spies Mr and Mrs Smith and head to the glamorous environs of the Dolomites? Whatever your preference, you can guarantee a film set has been there before you.
So look to the screen for inspiration, and take your pick from the A-list adventures below. Lights, camera, action indeed…
Gleneagles Townhouse, Edinburgh
Gleneagles’ urban outpost is the perfect base from which to follow the Edinburgh love story of One Day’s Emma and Dexter. Thirty-three bedrooms, a luxury gym and an all-day restaurant, the Spence, are housed within this listed building in St Andrew Square, a 15-minute walk from the university David Nicholls’ protagonists attend. Explore the campus, visiting Old College Quad – the neoclassical backdrop of their first meeting – or take your own loved one for a kiss on Vennel Steps, to recreate the final moment of the miniseries. After walking up to Arthur’s Seat (preferably not in black-tie), relax in the hotel’s Lamplighters roof terrace bar – available only to guests – with a well-earned dram.
Gleneagles Townhouse, from £495 a room a night.
The Biltmore, Los Angeles
The Biltmore’s instantly recognisable jewel-box interior is the glamorous setting of the titular 1960s Florida members’ club, Palm Royale. For a dose of culture, visit the Ebell of Los Angeles, a female-founded arts venue off Wilshire Boulevard, whose grand façade forms much of the club’s exterior, and venture out for potent martinis at the Prince in Koreatown, aka the atmospheric bar where Dinah and Maxine liaise.
The Biltmore, from about £144 a room a night.
Hotel Fanes, The Dolomites
The third episode of Amazon Prime’s Mr & Mrs Smith was filmed at this five-star retreat in Alta Badia, which has everything the modern spy needs, including private ski instructors and its own heliport. When not admiring the snowy peaks from the infinity pool, opt for a day’s adventure with Citalia, exploring South Tyrol’s glaciers and alpine towns – the backdrop to the eponymous couple’s stylish espionage.
A full-day Dolomites excursion with Citalia, from £63 a person.
Hotel Fanes, from about £162 a room a night.
The Peabody, Memphis
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The Peabody was Elvis Presley’s favourite Memphis hotel. When he signed with RCA Records in 1955, Peabody stationery was used to document a $5,000 bonus he was given; and his former wife Priscilla has returned time and again to stay in its glamorous suites. It’s appropriately convenient for exploring places featured in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis – from his first apartment in the city to the beauty shop Priscilla frequented during her marriage.
The Peabody, from about £175 a room a night.
Strawberry Hill Hotel, Blue Mountains
In southeast Jamaica, a 20-minute drive outside of Kingston, Strawberry Hill stands in the foothills of the misty, lush Blue Mountains, cushioned by cedar, hibiscus and soapwood-trees. The hotel provided sanctuary to Bob Marley while he recuperated from a gunshot wound in the late Seventies, and is where several scenes in the biopic Bob Marley: One Love were filmed. Today’s travellers will find R&R (and a little reggae) here, too, in the 13 white wooden cottages, swimming pool surrounded by banana plants, and breakfast of ackee and saltfish with, of course, the exceptional coffee from beans grown nearby, best taken on the veranda overlooking the dramatic forest.
Strawberry Hill Hotel, from about £297 a room a night, B&B.
62ºNord, Norway
Continue the glamorous legacy of the hit series Succession with a jaunt to Norway, where the Roy family famously touched down. The experiential travel company 62ºNord has crafted a six-day itinerary fit for a dynasty of media moguls: it features an epic drive along the Atlantic Ocean Road – which also appeared in the Bond film No Time to Die – passing the Sunnmore Alps, the Romsdalen Gondala and the country’s majestic fjords, including Geranger. Naturally, you’ll need a helicopter on standby to whisk you over to the mountainous Troll Wall, providing awe-inspiring views along the way.
A six-day itinerary with 62ºNord, from about £6,385 a person, including accommodation, meals, transfers and a helicopter flight.
San Domenico Palace, Sicily
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Sex, drugs, murders and trysts within the most glamorous of settings kept viewers hooked to the second series of The White Lotus. Filming took place at the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Sicily’s Taormina, a place already steeped in lore and history. Originally founded in 1203 by a religious order, it became a hotel in the late 1800s, welcoming European travellers during their Grand Tours; from the 1950s, it attracted a glittering array of stars including Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman and Audrey Hepburn. It’s even possible to stay in the suite beloved by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, a relationship to rival those in the explosive HBO series.
San Domenico Palace, Taormina, a Four Seasons Hotel, from about £1,315 a room a night.
Villa 20 at Amanzoe, Greece
This private, Acropolis-inspired haven on the Peloponnese coast made the perfect setting for Rian Johnson’s modern murder-mystery Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Indeed, Villa 20’s pristine interiors would impress even a discerning guest, like Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc; sleeping up to 18 people, it has nine bedrooms (including three vast master suites), a separate beach cabana, a private gym and spa, six pools and five kitchens – plus your very own taverna in which to gather come nightfall.
Villa 20 at Amanzoe, from about £35,000 a night.
Raffles and Fairmont, Doha
In a dramatic addition to the skyline, the Raffles Doha and Fairmont Doha stand proudly by the water. Occupying two halves of the Katara Towers, which look like a pair of crossed scimitars, the hotels were the backdrop to many a scene in 2022’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and housed VIP delegations during the tournament. Raffles is the place to go for culture and relaxation; guests can visit the Blue Cigar Lounge to read rare volumes of Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey in the secret library (which lies behind a wall of bookshelves), before experiencing the spoiling spa. Book one of its nine spa suites, where you can personalise everything from your aromatherapy oils to relaxation treatments.
Raffles Doha, from £800 a room a night. Fairmont Doha, from £330 a room a night.
Funken Lodge, Svalbard
You come to Longyearbyen – the most northern settlement in the world, with just a few hundred miles of ice between it and the North Pole – hoping to see polar bears. Instead, you find another big beast: Tom Cruise. This boutique hotel was base camp for the cast and crew of the eighth Mission: Impossible as they filmed in the Arctic – though it looks out over snow-covered mountains and glaciers, inside is a chic and surprisingly luxurious oasis that even includes a champagne cellar.
Funken Lodge, from £2,890 a person for four nights, including flights and transfers.
Domus Zamittello, Malta
Originally built in the 1580s, the picturesque palazzo that houses Domus Zamittello sits on the main street of Malta’s vibrant capital Valletta. The entire city is a Unesco World Heritage Site, filled with 320 monuments and, remarkably, Caravaggio’s largest painting, making it a suitably dramatic backdrop for films such as Brad Pitt’s World War Z and Munich, starring Daniel Craig. When the cameras are rolling, the hotel’s roof terrace provides a lavish vantage point for watching the action below.
Domus Zamittello, from about £225 a room a night.
Gwinganna, Australia
The largest health retreat on the Gold Coast, Gwinganna is part-owned by the X-Men star Hugh Jackman. Set high on a hill in Tallebudgera Valley, surrounded by bushland, it’s a serene 33-room sanctuary in which to reinvigorate mind and body; it’s also the area where Alexander Skarsgård and Millie Bobby Brown filmed Godzilla vs Kong. Days begin with long walks at sunrise, spotting resident koalas and kangaroos, before Pilates, soothing spa treatments and LED-light therapy in the wellness lounge.
A two-night ‘Wellness Weekend’ at Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat, from about £706 a person, all-inclusive.
This article first appeared on harpersbazaar.com/uk
Image credit: Instagram/@gleneaglestownhouse
