Lost in Translation is probably the first title that comes to mind when thinking about films set in hotels. Even though some of its lazy cultural stereotypes haven’t aged particularly well, director Sofia Coppola brilliantly captures the isolation of finding yourself alone in a big city desperate for connection. Murray and Johansson play a jaded actor and a lonely young wife accompanying her husband on a work trip, who, after a serendipitous meeting at the hotel bar, find comfort in an unlikely kinship—one that unfolds via late-night chats in hotel rooms and spontaneous adventures around Tokyo. Following the film’s release, the Park Hyatt Tokyo became a bucket list destination for film fanatics, desperate to experience the same kind of romance and melancholy at the dimly-lit New York Bar on the 52nd floor. The towering Tokyo hotel, located opposite Shinjuku Central Park, recently underwent a major refurbishment but smartly left the iconic bar’s décor alone. No doubt the queues will be around the corner when punters are welcomed back in January 2026.
Hotel Ravla Khempur, Udaipur, India
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 2012
This feel-good production starring Judi Dench and a raft of top-class veteran actors centres around a group of retirees making the move from Blighty to live out their golden years at a luxury facility in India. To their dismay, things don’t quite live up to expectations – the property is much more ramshackle than marketed with pigeons providing unexpected company in their dusty rooms. The actual real life location, Hotel Ravla Khempur near Udaipur in Rajasthan, is of course far more comfortable. Director, John Madden, who returned to film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2 there in 2015, said the hotel had ‘a magical quality and unmistakable charm’, which came across on screen, leading international acclaim for the timeworn property. Eye-catching features include a sunny yellow exterior, sprawling sunbeaten plazas, and elaborate arches.
JACK HARDY
The Savoy, London
Notting Hill, 1999
Most Londoners have seen the queues of giddy tourists snapping selfies outside the famous blue door on Westbourne Road in West London—though, ironically, it isn’t the original famed blue door they think it is. The real door to William Thacker’s flat was sold years ago—its black replacement was painted blue to satisfy Notting Hill fans. Alas, anyone with a heart (or a penchant for romcoms) will remember another memorable moment in the film, when the bookish, floppy-haired William (Hugh Grant) interrupts a press conference to win back demure American actress Anna (Julia Roberts) in front of a room full of paps and hacks. Fittingly, it was shot at the opulent Lancaster Ballroom in one of London’s most prestigious hotels, The Savoy. The quintessentially British address has 263 rooms and suites with Edwardian features, crystal chandeliers, velvet-embossed carpets and Art Deco furnishings, making it fit for a royal. Fittingly, a few members of the monarchy have stayed here, and the odd scene of The Crown was also filmed there, too.
A version of this story originally appeared on Condé Nast Traveller UK.
