Lights, Camera, Slumber: 5 Beautiful British Hotels In TV & Film
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12 hours ago
British boltholes shooting for stardom
From Regency romances to a festive spy thriller, Olivia Emily picks out five films starring beautiful British hotels.
5 British Hotels Seen On Screen
Royal Suite, The Lanesborough
The Lanesborough, London
Stars In: Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
You don’t need to book secret three-bedroom Royal Suite to stay at The Lanesborough – but that’s what Stanley Kubrick did when crafting his final film. With production stretching a whopping 400 days, Eyes Wide Shut may be set in New York, but it was mainly filmed in the UK. The Royal Suite consumed ten of those 400 days, totally transformed into the billiard room where Bill (Tom Cruise) and Ziegler (Sydney Pollack) circle a red pool table, discussing the previous night’s mysterious party.
The Headland Hotel, Newquay
Stars In: The Witches (1990)
In Roald Dahl’s The Witches, nine-year-old Luke heads to the Hotel Excelsior on the South Coast with his ailing Norwegian grandmother, in the hopes that the sea air will alleviate her diabetes symptoms. There they meet a gaggle of child-snatching witches. It was filmed at the iconic red-brick Victorian Grade II-listed Headland Hotel, Newquay, which stands proud beside Fistral Beach, replete with huge spa, surf school, and spacious seaview bedrooms.
Kiera Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Chatsworth, Derbyshire
Stars In: Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Rumour has it Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice while staying in Bakewell, the pretty Derbyshire market town. The area’s most distinguished destination though is Chatsworth House, which is thought to have inspired Pemberley. So when the 2005 movie adaptation decided to film on the estate, it was a full-circle moment. While we can’t stay within the hallowed walls, The Cavendish is the closest answer: an intimate 28-bedroom hotel on the estate, recently redesigned by Nicola Harding.
Andie MacDowell as Carrie & Hugh Grant as Charles in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Luton Hoo Hotel, Bedfordshire
Stars In: Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Luton Hoo Hotel has had quite the presence on screen, from the Bridgerton family garden in Netflix’s smash-hit series to a cameo in Reese Witherspoon’s 2004 Vanity Fair. But perhaps Luton Hoo is most recognisable for its turn in Four Weddings and a Funeral as the second wedding reception venue, where Charles (Hugh Grant) is disappointed to meet Hamish (Corin Redgrave), the wealthy Scottish fiancé of Carrie (Andie MacDowell).
The Royal Suite at the Royal Lancaster London
The Royal Lancaster Hotel, London
Stars In: Black Doves (Netflix)
This festive thriller had everyone talking – not least the Londoners spotting their local haunts on screen. More than 100 locations were reportedly used across the capital to create Black Doves, Keira Knightley’s spy thriller. There’s a murder on the South Bank, secret meet-ups in a bygone Tooting cinema, and illicit rendezvous in a hotel bar. The latter is The Royal Lancaster Hotel, where Sam and Reed meet before the former sips champagne and spies a lover at the hotel bar.
MORE:Â Discover the very best Great British & Irish Hotels 2025
