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Mapping the Glamorous Hotel Stays of James Bond, 007

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Every James Bond movie is an indulgence, the ultimate in gentleman fantasy: sharp suits, inconceivable gadgets, inexhaustible suave, willing women, and (particularly enticing for an audience that started watching in 1962) a peek into exotic locales of every corner of god's green earth. And the luxury of his adventures, here, is key: every hotel was either at the top of its class at the time or supremely iconic. Below, a look at 19 hotels featured in more than 50 years of 007.


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Couples Sans Souci

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Though it's been remodeled beyond recognition since Dr. No was filmed here, this Jamaican resort still has a fairly potent 007 connection. In the 1962 film (the first!), Miss Taro's bungalow, where Professor Dent tries to kill Bond, is actually a suite at Couples Sans Souci.

Pera Palace Hotel

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In 1963's From Russia With Love, Bond plays the super sleuth in Pera Palace's 1001-column cistern, doing his best to spy on the Russian consulate.

Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel

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It's here that Bond confronts the titular villain in 1964's Goldfinger. It's also the place where Goldfinger's manservant Oddjob beheads a statue with a bowler hat—yes, now you know the scene.

Fontainebleau Miami Beach

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The exterior of Miami Beach's Fontainebleau was featured heavily in Goldfinger's opening shots, but more importantly, it was the setting of what may be the most famous scene in 007 canon: Bond girl Jill Masterton's "death by gold."

British Colonial Hilton

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1965's Thunderball, as well as the 1983 unofficial remake Never Say Never Again, both featured the canary-yellow edifice of the British Colonial Hilton in the Bahamas.

Hotel New Otani

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In 1967's You Only Live Twice, Tokyo's flagship New Otani hotel—opened by a former sumo wrestler in '64—plays the HQ of Osato Chemicals, the Japan-based front for the organization owned by (much parodied) supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Have a watch.

Hotel Palácio Estoril

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The opening travel-porny scenes of 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service feature the Hotel Palácio in Cascais, Portugal. What's more, word is that the character of James Bond was created outright at the bar here. In 1941, novelist Ian Fleming served as a Royal Navy intelligence officer stationed in Portugal. Today the bar where he drank martinis with his Allied intelligence comrades is known as the Spies Bar.

Las Vegas Hotel & Casino

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Along with Miami's Fountainebleu, the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino is one of a few Bond hotels in America, though at the time Diamonds Are Forever (1971) was filmed, the building was the Las Vegas Hilton. The hotel doubled as the Whyte House, the hotel and casino owned by billionaire recluse Willard Whyte.

The Peninsula Hong Kong

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In 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun, 007 follows the skirts of Andrea Anders to Hong Kong, where she gets whisked away by one of the hotel's Rolls-Royces, of which The Peninsula has a veritable fleet.

Phulay Bay, a Ritz Carlton Resort

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Along with Hong Kong's Peninsula hotel, in The Man With the Golden Gun Roger Moore's 007 heads to a beach on the coast of Thailand, where stands the Ritz-Carlton outfit of Phulay Bay.

Hotel Cala Di Volpe

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In 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond follows tycoon/anarchist Karl Stromberg to Sardinia, Italy, where Hotel Cala De Volpe gets its close-up—its piano bar serves as Bond's hotel room. Here 007 and KGB agent Anya Amasova pose as a marine biologist and his wife, ultimately discovering Stromberg's Liparus supertanker and escaping via a car that can transform into a submarine (because duh).

Taj Lake Palace

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Though in 1983's Octopussy it plays the exotic personal palace of the titular villain, Taj Lake Palace, on India's Lake Pichola, is actually a luxury hotel, built in the 18th century on four acres of Jag Niwas island. Spotted in the film: the hotel's dining room, a slice of its terrace, and its lily pond.

Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico

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In 1989's License to Kill, Timothy Dalton's Bond stops at the El Presidente hotel, actually the Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico.

The Langham

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In 1995's Goldeneye, this famous London hotel, one of the city's first and grandest, masqueraded as the fictional Grand Hotel Europe in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Kempinski Hotel Atlantic

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In 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies, Pierce Brosnan's second appearance as Bond, 007 heads up Hamburg's Kempinski Hotel to seduce the wife of a media magnate Elliot Carver. It's during this trip that Bond kills Dr. Kaufman and scales the building, from the hotel suite up to the globe at the top.

Grandhotel Pupp

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The exterior of Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech Republic served as the exterior of Hotel Splendid in 2006's Casino Royale. Wes Anderson also scouted the Pupp when searching for inspiration for the design of the titular setting of The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Buena Vista Hotel

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Also in Casino Royale is the Buena Vista Hotel, a pale yellow estate in Nassau, the Bahamas, that served as the Liberian Embassy on Madagascar.

One&Only Ocean Club

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Daniel Craig's Bond in Casino Royale meanders all over the Bahamas' One&Only Ocean Club, including its tropics-meets-Versailles gardens.

Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf

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In the beginning of Skyfall, Daniel Craig takes a dip at the rooftop indoor pool of London's Four Seasons. The windows were covered for the filming because, for some strange reason, a spectacular view of London seemed incongruent with the fact that the agent was supposed to be in Shanghai.

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Couples Sans Souci

Though it's been remodeled beyond recognition since Dr. No was filmed here, this Jamaican resort still has a fairly potent 007 connection. In the 1962 film (the first!), Miss Taro's bungalow, where Professor Dent tries to kill Bond, is actually a suite at Couples Sans Souci.

Pera Palace Hotel

In 1963's From Russia With Love, Bond plays the super sleuth in Pera Palace's 1001-column cistern, doing his best to spy on the Russian consulate.

Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel

It's here that Bond confronts the titular villain in 1964's Goldfinger. It's also the place where Goldfinger's manservant Oddjob beheads a statue with a bowler hat—yes, now you know the scene.

Fontainebleau Miami Beach

The exterior of Miami Beach's Fontainebleau was featured heavily in Goldfinger's opening shots, but more importantly, it was the setting of what may be the most famous scene in 007 canon: Bond girl Jill Masterton's "death by gold."

British Colonial Hilton

1965's Thunderball, as well as the 1983 unofficial remake Never Say Never Again, both featured the canary-yellow edifice of the British Colonial Hilton in the Bahamas.

Hotel New Otani

In 1967's You Only Live Twice, Tokyo's flagship New Otani hotel—opened by a former sumo wrestler in '64—plays the HQ of Osato Chemicals, the Japan-based front for the organization owned by (much parodied) supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Have a watch.

Hotel Palácio Estoril

The opening travel-porny scenes of 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service feature the Hotel Palácio in Cascais, Portugal. What's more, word is that the character of James Bond was created outright at the bar here. In 1941, novelist Ian Fleming served as a Royal Navy intelligence officer stationed in Portugal. Today the bar where he drank martinis with his Allied intelligence comrades is known as the Spies Bar.

Las Vegas Hotel & Casino

Along with Miami's Fountainebleu, the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino is one of a few Bond hotels in America, though at the time Diamonds Are Forever (1971) was filmed, the building was the Las Vegas Hilton. The hotel doubled as the Whyte House, the hotel and casino owned by billionaire recluse Willard Whyte.

The Peninsula Hong Kong

In 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun, 007 follows the skirts of Andrea Anders to Hong Kong, where she gets whisked away by one of the hotel's Rolls-Royces, of which The Peninsula has a veritable fleet.

Phulay Bay, a Ritz Carlton Resort

Along with Hong Kong's Peninsula hotel, in The Man With the Golden Gun Roger Moore's 007 heads to a beach on the coast of Thailand, where stands the Ritz-Carlton outfit of Phulay Bay.

Hotel Cala Di Volpe

In 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond follows tycoon/anarchist Karl Stromberg to Sardinia, Italy, where Hotel Cala De Volpe gets its close-up—its piano bar serves as Bond's hotel room. Here 007 and KGB agent Anya Amasova pose as a marine biologist and his wife, ultimately discovering Stromberg's Liparus supertanker and escaping via a car that can transform into a submarine (because duh).

Taj Lake Palace

Though in 1983's Octopussy it plays the exotic personal palace of the titular villain, Taj Lake Palace, on India's Lake Pichola, is actually a luxury hotel, built in the 18th century on four acres of Jag Niwas island. Spotted in the film: the hotel's dining room, a slice of its terrace, and its lily pond.

Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico

In 1989's License to Kill, Timothy Dalton's Bond stops at the El Presidente hotel, actually the Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico.

The Langham

In 1995's Goldeneye, this famous London hotel, one of the city's first and grandest, masqueraded as the fictional Grand Hotel Europe in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Kempinski Hotel Atlantic

In 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies, Pierce Brosnan's second appearance as Bond, 007 heads up Hamburg's Kempinski Hotel to seduce the wife of a media magnate Elliot Carver. It's during this trip that Bond kills Dr. Kaufman and scales the building, from the hotel suite up to the globe at the top.

Grandhotel Pupp

The exterior of Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech Republic served as the exterior of Hotel Splendid in 2006's Casino Royale. Wes Anderson also scouted the Pupp when searching for inspiration for the design of the titular setting of The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Buena Vista Hotel

Also in Casino Royale is the Buena Vista Hotel, a pale yellow estate in Nassau, the Bahamas, that served as the Liberian Embassy on Madagascar.

One&Only Ocean Club

Daniel Craig's Bond in Casino Royale meanders all over the Bahamas' One&Only Ocean Club, including its tropics-meets-Versailles gardens.

Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf

In the beginning of Skyfall, Daniel Craig takes a dip at the rooftop indoor pool of London's Four Seasons. The windows were covered for the filming because, for some strange reason, a spectacular view of London seemed incongruent with the fact that the agent was supposed to be in Shanghai.