The Headland hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, England. Photo: Getty Images
The Headland hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, England. Photo: Getty Images
From Tokyo to Rajasthan, these cinematic classics are spectacular in real life.
1. The Headland, Newquay, Cornwall
Many childhood sleeps have been interrupted by nightmares set within this grand, hulking Victorian pile — on a promontory near Fistral Beach — after it featured heavily in the 1990 film adaptation ofRoald Dahl's The Witches. The reality is quite different: with its large open spaces, subtle design notes to a bygone era and something of a traditional grandeur, it is hard not to sink into its warming surroundings. An ideal base to explore the north Cornish coast.
2. Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles
Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Photo Getty Images
It doesn't get more legendary in Tinseltown than this "castle on the hill" — also notoriously known as "Hollywood's playground". A whole coterie of stars have stayed under these roofs, from Greta Garbo to Lindsay Lohan, and the place is still loaded with Gothic charm (think vaulted ceilings, chunky hand-carved wooden furniture and old velvet sofas). The property gets a starring role in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, and makes a cameo appearance in La La Land.
3. Park Hyatt Tokyo, Japan
Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation.
The romance between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson's characters in Lost in Translation blossomed within the glass-walled interiors of the Park Hyatt Tokyo. The rooms — designed by John Morford and reached via elegant muted-green corridors — are havens of clean-lined luxury, with neutral furnishings, paper-style lanterns and Egyptian cotton bedding. Ask for a room facing Mount Fuji and hope for a clear day.
The Lake Palace hotel and Lake Pichola in Rajasthan. Photo: Getty Images
A hotel "floating" like a beautiful white ship on the waters of Lake Pichola does, as expected, exude a certain glamour and decadence. It was, in fact, elegant enough to play the role of a villain's palace in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. The sumptuously decorated space, all rich colours, original fountains, fretwork and quality Indian textiles, made a return to cinemas almost 30 years later in British comedy-drama The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
5. The Savoy, London
London's Savoy Hotel
The best of central London encircles one of the city's legendary grand hotels, which is Edwardian on the riverside and Art Deco in style towards the Strand; it may have a traditional character but it remains spruce and stylish. Comedy duo Laurel and Hardy stayed at The Savoy, and its exteriors feature in Stan and Ollie, the 2018 biopic (though interiors were actually shot nearby at the Sheraton Grand London on Park Lane).
