The Academy Awards are just days away, and while most of us won't be able to attend the star-packed ceremony, there is a way to relive some of the film industry's biggest moments. How? By staying at a hotel where iconic Hollywood scenes were shot. From Gstaad Palace in Switzerland to The Plaza Hotel in New York, these six properties have the right amount of a Hollywood past to celebrate Oscar season.
The Dolder Grand in Zurich, Switzerland
The Dolder Grand, an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property, and its Masina Suite were the shooting locations for David Fincher's Oscar-nominated The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in December 2010. Guests can book the suite—which is located on the top floor of the hotel's Spa Wing—that comes complete with two separate bedrooms, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a living room outfitted with a Fendi sofa.
The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel in London
You can't peg just one famous movie to The Savoy, an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property. It's been a favorite filming spot for films such as The Big Sleep, Notting Hill, Bright Young Things, Gambit, Mortdecai, Goodbye Christopher Robin, The French Lieutenant's Woman, and All the Money in the World. What's more is the hotel is where Elizabeth Taylor spent her honeymoon and where Sir Elton John flooded his suite.
Fairmont San Francisco
Alfred Hitchcock first used the Fairmont San Francisco, another American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property, for his film Vertigo starring Jimmy Stewart. Since then it has gone onto star in films such as The Towering Inferno and Sudden Impact. But one of its most memorable movie close-ups was when Sean Connery demanded a luxe suite at the property in The Rock. The hotel was more recently featured in The Intern with Roberto De Niro and Anne Hathaway.
The Plaza, a Fairmont Managed Hotel in New York
What movie hasn't been filmed at American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property The Plaza Hotel? Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock filmed key parts of the 1959 classic North by Northwest in the iconic hotel marking the first time a crew, director, and cast assembled on-site to make a movie. Before then, Hollywood soundstages were pretty much exclusively used for filming. Since then it has provided the location for other films as well, including Breakfast At Tiffany's, Funny Girl, The Great Gatsby, The Way We Were, Scent Of A Woman, Sleepless in Seattle, Almost Famous, and many more. In Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, the main character, Kevin McCallister, checks into the hotel and racks up a room service bill of $967, including an over-the-top ice cream sundae that the hotel recreates today.
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
With Vancouver, Canada known to those in the industry as "Hollywood North," the beautiful Fairmont hotels in the city are often buzzing with celebrities and film shoots. Fairmont Hotel Vancouver has appeared in such productions as V, The Age of Adaline, Twilight: Eclipse, and Fifty Shades of Grey. In Fifty Shades of Grey, Anastasia Steele shares her first kiss with Christian Grey in the elevator of the hotel, turning the site into a popular one for couples.
Gstaad Palace in Gstaad, Switzerland
Gstaad Palace, an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property located in the mountains of Switzerland, was the backdrop for the 1975 production of The Return of the Pink Panther. The hotel can be seen throughout the entire movie in the luxurious penthouse suite, spa, and lobby, and today the original elements of the iconic hotel remain. It's why royals and celebrities still book rooms today.
