‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ & More TV Hotels You Can Visit in Real Life (PHOTOS)
Despite its Russian splendor, the Metropol Hotel seen in the Ewan McGregor-led A Gentleman in Moscow is just a set. But Count Alexander Rostov’s gilded cage in which he serves his lifelong house arrest is based on the real hotel of the same name, and it’s a place you can visit in real life.
A Gentleman in Moscow premieres Friday, March 29 for Paramount+ With Showtime app subscribers and Sunday, March 31 at 8/7c on the Showtime network (now also called Paramount+ With Showtime), with one episode coming out weekly.
The series joins shows like The White Lotus, Griselda, Succession, American Horror Story, Twin Peaks, and more that filmed in and/or are inspired by real-life hotels.
Here, scroll through 12 locations used for TV lodging that you can actually visit in real life.
A Gentleman in Moscow, Series Premiere, Sunday, March 31, 8/7c, Showtime, Available now, Paramount+ With Showtime
Metropol Hotel, A Gentleman in Moscow
The Showtime limited series is set inside Moscow’s Metropol Hotel, but it wasn’t filmed there. Situated in Moscow’s historic Theatre Square, the hotel opened in 1905 and quickly became a bustling hub for people looking for luxury.
The hotel became a battleground between Tsarist loyalists and the Bolsheviks during the Bolshevik Revolution. The victorious Bolsheviks then used it as temporary lodging for their officers and soldiers.
The Metropol remains a luxury hotel today. A Gentleman in Moscow author Amor Towles first stayed in the hotel in 1998, and it inspired his best-selling 2016 novel.
Four Seasons Maui, The White Lotus Season 1
The White Lotus Season 1 filmed at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. The cast also stayed in the resort during filming. Since they filmed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, staying in the hotel allowed the cast and crew to quarantine together.
San Domenico Palace, The White Lotus Season 2
Sicily’s San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel served as the setting for The White Lotus Season 2.
Juvet Landscape Hotel, Succession
The lavish Norwegian hotel where Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) hosts the Waystar-Royco crew in Succession‘s final season is the Juvet Landscape Hotel in Valldal, located on the west coast of Norway.
Cecil Hotel, American Horror Story: Hotel
American Horror Story‘s Hotel Cortez was inspired by Los Angeles’ Cecil Hotel, but it didn’t film there. That was probably for the best, considering the Cecil is considered one of the most haunted hotels in the world!
The interiors were a soundstage, with its lobby being directly inspired by L.A.’s Cicada Restaurant. The exteriors were filmed at The Oviatt Building, an art deco building that houses the Cicada.
The Hotel Cortez ballroom was filmed in the Los Angeles Theatre, which can be seen during the Los Angeles Conservancy’s Broadway Historic Theatre and Commercial District Tour.
The Mutiny Hotel, Griselda & Hotel Cocaine
The Mutiny Hotel was the epicenter of Miami’s cocaine scene in the 1970s and ’80s. Infamous drug lords like Pablo Escobar and Griselda Blanco walked its halls, as well as the notorious Mutiny club.
The Mutiny, which still operates today, is the Scarface hotel and is also depicted in Netflix‘s Griselda starring Sofía Vergara (above, left). The Mutiny Hotel’s history will next be depicted in MGM+‘s Hotel Cocaine, with Danny Pino (above, right) playing Roman Compte, the man behind the hotel. The series premieres this summer.
Kearsney Manor, 1923
The lush Kearsney Manor seen in Africa in 1923 Episode 2, where Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) first meets Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer), was used to depict Nairobi’s famous Stanley Hotel. The mansion is actually located in South Africa, not Kenya’s capital.
The Stanley Hotel is Kenya’s first and oldest luxury hotel. It looks different now than it did when it was first built in 1902 (it was torn down and rebuilt in the 1950s), so 1923 used the Kearsney Manor as a stand-in for what the Stanley used to be. The manor can be booked as a wedding venue and for other events.
Skipass Colfosco, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
The Italian ski resort seen in Prime Video‘s Mr. & Mrs. Smith Season 1 Episode 3 is the Skipass Colfosco, located near the small village of Calofosch, Italy. Here, Donald Glover and Maya Erskine‘s Smiths were on a case involving Sharon Horgan and Billy Campbell.
Lotte New York Palace Hotel, Gossip Girl
This hotel in Midtown Manhattan served as the exterior setting for Serena van der Woodsen’s (Blake Lively) apartment building in the early seasons of Gossip Girl.
The hotel has been used for a slew of TV shows. So much so, in fact, that the hotel has a page dedicated to the shows that filmed there on its website. Check out the additional shows here.
Salish Lodge & Spa, Twin Peaks
The Great Northern Hotel in Snoqualmie, Washington was Dale Cooper’s (Kyle MacLachlan) home base in Twin Peaks. The hotel used for its exteriors was Seattle’s Salish Lodge & Spa. The Salish is seen in the show’s opening theme and in many shots throughout the series.
Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Sex and the City
The iconic Parisian hotel Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) stays in during the Sex and the City series finale is the Hôtel Plaza Athénée. The five-star luxury hotel is still operating.
The Elms, The Gilded Age
While they’re not hotels, we’d be remiss not to mention that the stunning mansions of HBO‘s The Gilded Age are places you can tour in real life. The Russell’s Newport, Rhode Island mansion is the famed Elms estate. The Elms’ exterior, as well as its ballroom (seen above, with Carrie Coon and Nathan Lane), were both used as filming locations for Season 2.
Marian’s (Louisa Jacobson) engagement in the Season 2 Episode 6 garden party scene was filmed at the Old Westbury Estate in Long Island, New York. TV Insider was on set for that day of filming. Get the behind-the-scenes details here.
Newport’s The Ledges house was the setting for Mrs. Fish’s (Ashlie Atkinson) summer home in Season 1. There are also hotels in Newport, Rhode Island, like the Castle Hill Inn, that inspired the series’ locations, even if they didn’t film there. Get a full breakdown of the Newport mansions and other famous locales used in The Gilded Age here.
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