Cover Hotel Cipriani Venice is located on Giudecca Island, establishing itself as one of the world’s most exclusive film hotels with private boat access to St Mark’s Square, making it the preferred refuge for film stars attending the Venice Film Festival
Hotel Cipriani Venice is located on Giudecca Island, establishing itself as one of the world’s most exclusive film hotels with private boat access to St Mark’s Square, making it the preferred refuge for film stars attending the Venice Film Festival
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From Park Hyatt Tokyo to the Waldorf Astoria, these film hotels shaped cinema’s most memorable scenes—or hosted its biggest stars. Now, after multi-million dollar renovations, they’re welcoming guests again. Here are five properties where you can sleep in the same suites that made Hollywood history
Bill Murray nursed whisky on the 52nd floor of a Tokyo skyscraper in Lost in Translation. The bar was real: the New York Bar at Park Hyatt Tokyo. Hotel Cipriani in Venice has hosted film stars during every Venice Film Festival since 1958, from Sophia Loren to George Clooney. The Waldorf Astoria in New York housed Marilyn Monroe as a resident in 1955 and later served as the backdrop for Al Pacino’s tango scene in Scent of a Woman.
All three iconic hotels closed for major renovations. Now they’re back. Jouin Manku worked on Park Hyatt Tokyo, Pierre-Yves Rochon handled the Waldorf, and Peter Marino redesigned Cipriani. The challenge for all three was identical: preserve what made directors and celebrities choose these film hotels without turning them into museums. Here’s how each property approached the balance.
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Park Hyatt Tokyo
Above Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray in a scene from Lost in Translation, filmed at the New York Bar on the 52nd floor of Park Hyatt Tokyo. The property remains one of cinema's most celebrated film hotels.
Above The New York Bar features a vintage baseball mural and live jazz performances nightly, maintaining the atmospheric qualities that attracted Sofia Coppola to film here
Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray in a scene from Lost in Translation, filmed at the New York Bar on the 52nd floor of Park Hyatt Tokyo. The property remains one of cinema's most celebrated film hotels.
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Sofia Coppola filmed half of Lost in Translation at Park Hyatt Tokyo in 2002, using the hotel’s position on floors 39 through 52 of Shinjuku Park Tower to create that sense of floating above the city. Pritzker Prize winner Kenzo Tange designed the building. From the New York Bar on the top floor, Tokyo spreads in every direction.
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The main entrance features a geometric coffered ceiling and Hokkaido water elm panelling preserved during Jouin Manku’s renovation
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Paris studio Jouin Manku spent 18 months on the renovation, understanding that film hotels require a delicate balance between preservation and progress. The property shrank from 177 rooms to 171, but what mattered stayed: the Hokkaido water elm panelling, the washi paper lanterns, those enormous windows.
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Curved banquette seating in The Peak Lounge frames views across the city, with custom furniture designed to complement the architecture (Photo: Park Hyatt Tokyo by Jouin Manku © Yongjoon Choi)
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They added Italian marble and warmed the colour palette, while expanding sightlines to Mount Fuji. The Diplomat Suite, where key scenes were filmed, looks nearly identical to its on-screen appearance.
Reopened December 2025, rooms start at $1,032 per night, positioning it among Tokyo’s most sought-after film hotels. The New York Bar still serves whisky. Jazz musicians still play nightly. The view remains the same.
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Hotel Cipriani Venice
Above VENICE, ITALY - AUGUST 26: (L-R) George Clooney and Amal Clooney are seen arriving into Venice ahead of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival 2025 on August 26, 2025 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule/GC Images)
Above Hotel Cipriani Venice is located on Giudecca Island, with private boat access to St Mark’s Square, making it the preferred refuge for film stars attending the Venice Film Festival
VENICE, ITALY - AUGUST 26: (L-R) George Clooney and Amal Clooney are seen arriving into Venice ahead of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival 2025 on August 26, 2025 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule/GC Images)
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Hotel Cipriani sits on Giudecca Island with 270-degree views of the Venetian lagoon. Since opening in 1958, it’s been the refuge for film stars attending the Venice Film Festival, which runs every September. Yves Saint Laurent stayed here, as did Sophia Loren, Catherine Deneuve, Cary Grant, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney. During the 2025 festival, Julia Roberts and Cate Blanchett both checked in.
Peter Marino’s renovation of this celebrated film hotel combines terrazzo floors, contemporary art, and 18th-century Venetian furniture in the master suite areception areas
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Peter Marino is handling a multi-phase renovation that started with 13 redesigned rooms unveiled in May 2025. Two master suites were conceived as full Venetian apartments, each with a dining room, library, and salon. The original lobby stayed untouched because guests love it. In spring 2026, the hotel unveils the first Dior Spa in Venice alongside a reimagined Michelin-starred Oro restaurant.
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An 18th-century Chinese coromandel screen anchors a suite library, representing Peter Marino's layered approach to Old Venice merchant aesthetics at this historic film hotel
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What makes Cipriani special is its position. It’s technically in Venice, but far enough from the crowds that celebrities can breathe. Private boats shuttle guests to St Mark’s Square. The property has the only Olympic-sized saltwater pool in central Venice, set in lush gardens. Film crews arrive late after evening premieres on the Lido, often continuing with small parties into the night.
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Garden-facing bedrooms feature antique Venetian commodes and contemporary art, with private terraces overlooking the Giudecca Island gardens where film stars retreat during the Venice Film Festival
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Marino, who chairs the Venetian Heritage Foundation, designed three artistic eras into the interiors. The approach is rarely seen in film hotels: Old Venice merchants and aristocrats meet mid-century modern Dolce Vita glamour, meet contemporary Venetian art. Each room tells a different story, but all of them feel distinctly, unmistakably Venetian.
Waldorf Astoria New York
Above The restored Park Avenue entrance of Waldorf Astoria New York, one of the most celebrated film hotels in cinema history
Above Marilyn Monroe reads the paper in her apartment at the Waldorf-Astoria Towers in 1955 (Photo:Instagram/@marilynmonrocollection)
The restored Park Avenue entrance of Waldorf Astoria New York, one of the most celebrated film hotels in cinema history
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The Waldorf Astoria New York closed in 2017 for what became an eight-year, $2 billion renovation. The 1931 Art Deco building was reduced from 1,400 rooms to 375 hotel rooms, with another 372 sold as private residences. Over its decades of operation, it has earned a strong reputation as a film hotel, cementing its place among New York’s most celebrated. Al Pacino’s tango scene in Scent of a Woman was filmed in the Grand Ballroom, whilst Serendipity sent John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale through Peacock Alley for their chance encounter.
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The 1893 World’s Fair Clock anchors Peacock Alley, restored during the eight-year renovation that transformed this historic film hotel
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Global architecture firm Skimore Owings and Merrill undertook the painstaking restoration. Workers disassembled the two-tonne 1893 World’s Fair Clock, restored it off-site, and reinstalled it in Peacock Alley. Craftspeople applied gold leaf to ceiling details using techniques from the original 1930s construction. Most rooms now exceed 570 square feet, which is large by Manhattan standards. The property added a 30,000-square-foot spa.
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One-bedroom suites exceed 570 square feet and feature Park Avenue views, custom furnishings, and celadon-and-taupe colour palettes designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon
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Pierre-Yves Rochon designed interiors that preserve the Art Deco bones whilst adding contemporary comfort. Custom crystal chandeliers hang throughout. The colour palette favours celadon and taupe. Rooms have separate living and sleeping areas, a rarity in film hotels built nearly a century ago.
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Jennifer Choo is Regional Managing Editor of Tatler Homes, covering architecture, interior design, and art across Asia. Based in Malaysia, she oversees regional content on luxury residential design and contemporary art collections. Legally trained but choosing to pursue her passion for design, she previously led notable design publications and worked as an interior stylist and art consultant for property developers, design firms, and private clients.
