10 great places to check into movie-hotel history
— -- They may not receive any awards at Oscar time, but real hotels are often used as "supporting players" in notable films. On the eve of this year's Academy Awards, Tony Reeves, author of The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations, nominates 10 of his favorite silver-screen hotels for Tim Smight for USA TODAY.
Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles
Opened in 1923, downtown L.A.'s grand hostelry has been associated with moviedom for decades. In the 1930s and '40s, its ornate ballroom played host to the Academy Awards ceremonies. "The Biltmore has also been a familiar screen presence over the years," Reeves says. "Among other roles, it served as the 'Beverly Palms' in Eddie Murphy's blockbuster Beverly Hills Cop and became New York's 'Sedgewick' in Ghostbusters. The Biltmore is also where Michelle Pfeiffer vamps it up in The Fabulous Baker Boys." 213-624-1011; millenniumhotels.com/millenniumlosangeles
San Domenico Palace Taormina, Sicily
Built on the site of a 15th-century monastery and incorporating some of its original structure, the luxurious San Domenico sits on a bluff overlooking the Mediterranean. "It's a gorgeous setting that's featured in Michelangelo Antonioni's classic 1960 film L'Avventura," Reeves says. "The film ends with a famous scene on the hotel's terrace, with the peak of Mount Etna visible on the horizon." www.sandomenico.thi.it
Hotel Alfonso XIII Seville, Spain
"This palatial hotel's courtyard stands in for the 'Cairo Officers Club' in David Lean's 1962 epic Lawrence ofArabia," Reeves says. "Star Wars fans will also recognize the Alfonso as the exterior of Princess Amidala's 'Naboo Palace' in Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones." hotel-alfonsoxiii.com
York Hotel San Francisco
Located in the heart of San Francisco a few blocks from Union Square, the York recently completed a major renovation. "The hotel is now much grander than it appeared in the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock suspense classic Vertigo," Reeves says. "As the 'Hotel Empire,' the York is where — in the eerie green glow of its illuminated sign — Kim Novak was transformed into the 'dead' Madeleine in the film." 800-553-1900; yorkhotel.com
