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Movies can help transport us to different places, times, even galaxies. And not all of these places are fabricated on a set. You can visit many of these amazing locations shown on the big screen. Even better, some of the incredible hotels made famous in movies can be booked using hotel or credit card points.
In this post, let’s check out six of the hotels made famous in movies and TV shows that you can book using points.
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Park Hyatt Tokyo
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
- Film Appearance: Lost in Translation (2003)
- Loyalty Program: World of Hyatt
In the 2003 comedy-drama-romance Lost in Translation, two Americans find themselves in a situation many travelers can relate to: overwhelmed by the local culture and longing for the familiar. They run into each other during extended stays at the stunning Park Hyatt Tokyo.
In addition to being an excellent film—scoring an incredible 95% Rotten Tomatoes rating—Lost in Translation doubles as a travel movie, both showing off Tokyo and featuring plenty of shots of the incredible Park Hyatt Tokyo, from the hotel’s sleek bar and pool to even the exercise room.
You too can stay in this luxurious property between venturing out into the amazing culture of Tokyo. For such a beautiful property, award nights at the Park Hyatt Tokyo are quite reasonable. Standard rooms are available for just 30,000 World of Hyatt points per night, and suites start at 48,000 points per night.
St. Regis Bora Bora
- Location: Bora Bora, French Polynesia
- Film Appearance: Couples Retreat (2009)
- Loyalty Program: Marriott
When Couples Retreat writer and star Vince Vaughn searched for a place to film, I bet he didn’t think he could actually convince the studio to let them film at the St. Regis in Bora Bora. But that would end up being the filming location for the fictional Eden Resort in the woefully panned comedy.
While the movie received an awful 10% on the Rotten Tomato “Tomatometer,” the resort itself scores an incredible 97% recommendation from guests. And thankfully you don’t have to shell out $1,000+ per night to experience it for yourself.
You can redeem as few as 70,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night during off-peak dates or as many as 100,000 Bonvoy points for peak nights. If you have enough points and can find the availability, you can utilize Marriott’s fifth-night-free perk to book an unforgettable retreat for as few as 280,000 points total for five nights. Airport transfer and marriage counseling not included.
The Plaza Hotel
- Location: New York City
- Film Appearances: Home Alone 2 (1992), North by Northwest (1959), The Way We Were (1973), The Front (1976), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), The Great Gatsby (2013) and more
- Loyalty Program: Accor Live Limitless
When Kevin McCallister needed a place to stay in New York City, he used his dad’s credit card to book one of the most luxurious and historic hotels in town: The Plaza Hotel. It was in the lobby where Kevin asked Donald Trump for directions in the now-even-more-famous cameo.
Of course, that’s far from the only appearance on screen for this fabled hotel. Back in 1959, Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller North By Northwest featured the Plaza Hotel. In the 1970s romantic comedy The Way We Were, Barbra Streisand’s character meets Robert Redford’s character in front of The Plaza Hotel’s entrance. And in 2013, The Great Gatsby’s climactic scene was set at the historic hotel.
The Plaza’s claims to glory extend past the cinematic and into the literary. Eloise, heroine of the iconic 1955 book, took up residence in The Plaza. In her honor, there’s even a tea service you can visit with your own kids.
You don’t need to steal your dad’s credit card to afford The Plaza Hotel. Instead, you can redeem Accor Live Limitless points to save on your stay.
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InterContinental Carlton Cannes
- Location: Cannes, France
- Film Appearance: To Catch a Thief (1955), A Star for Two (1991), French Kiss (1995) and plenty of French films
- Loyalty Program: InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG)
For film buffs, Cannes needs no introduction. The iconic Cannes Film Festival is one of the world’s most famous film festivals. The InterContinental Carlton Cannes on the French Riviera has played a starring role since the festival began in 1946. In addition to movie stars gracing the hotel during the film festival, legend has it that the InterContinental is where a broke George Lucas got his big break.
The InterContinental Carlton Cannes itself has been a star on both the big and the small screen. Several famous movies have been filmed at the InterContinental Carlton Cannes—from Alfred Hitchcock’s classic To Catch a Thief (1955) to the Meg Ryan at her most Meg Ryan-est romantic comedy French Kiss (1995). You’ll also find the iconic hotel featured in Elton John’s I’m Still Standing music video. That is if you aren’t distracted by the video’s many colorful and scantily clad dancers.
Unfortunately, it’s unclear when guests—famous and otherwise—will grace the Carlton again. The hotel isn’t currently accepting reservations as it undergoes a remodeling and expansion project to both restore its Belle Epoque glory and to modernize the accommodations. Once it completes its renovations and begins accepting guests, you can use IHG Rewards points to book the hotel. IHG Rewards now utilizes dynamic award pricing, so the points cost will vary based on demand.
When visiting, make sure to lock up your valuables. In a case of life imitating art, the hotel has been a target of multiple high-profile jewelry robberies—from a $43 million caper in 1994 to a brazen $136 million heist in 2013. Ironically, police were unable To Catch a Thief after either of these heists.
Caesars Palace Las Vegas
- Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
- Film Appearance: The Electric Horseman (1979), Rain Man (1988), Iron Man (2008), The Hangover (2009) and The Hangover Part III (2013), Southpaw (2015), The Big Short (2015) and so many more
- Loyalty Program: Wyndham Rewards
Not surprisingly for such an incredible property, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas has been a staple of the big screen. Famous scenes range from Robert Redford riding a horse through the casino in 1979 in The Electric Horseman to Tom Cruise’s character teaching Dustin Hoffman’s character how to dance in the 1988 classic Rain Man.
More recently, the behemoth casino played a starring role in 2009’s The Hangover—and then again in 2013 for The Hangover Part III. While the suite that was wrecked in the movie doesn’t actually exist, Caesars Palace has plenty of other suites for hopefully less-damaging ragers. At check-in, hold the “did Caesar live here?” joke. The front desk agents are surely sick of hearing it.
Through Caesars Rewards’ partnership with Wyndham Rewards, you can book reward nights at Caesars Place for 30,000 points per night. If you don’t have enough points, you can book a Go Fast award and use a combination of points and cash. Wyndham Rewards credit cardholders save 10% on rewards bookings, leaving you with more cash to place on red.
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Graystone Inn
- Location: Wilmington, NC
- Film Appearances: Cat’s Eye (1985), A Cinderella Story (2011), The Longest Ride (2015)
- TV Appearances: Matlock (1993-1994), Dawson’s Creek (1997-2003), One Tree Hill (2003-2011), Reprisal (2018-2019)
- Loyalty Program: None—use a credit card that lets you redeem points for travel through its travel portal.
Wilmington, North Carolina, has been the setting for an impressive number of TV shows—from Matlock in the 1990s to Dawson’s Creek and One Tree Hill in the 2000s to the Hulu drama Reprisal more recently—as well as several movies.
And the Graystone Inn has played a role in many of these series and films. The guesthouse hosted Tom Cruise, Goldie Hawn and Sir Anthony Hopkins as they filmed various projects in and around the property. It was also the setting for A Cinderella Story in 2011. In One Tree Hill, the 1906 inn was both a New York City apartment and a funeral home at different times during the fifth season.
The Graystone Inn isn’t part of a hotel loyalty program. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use bank points to book a stay by using your card’s travel booking site.
Bottom Line
Although they may seem like mythic places on the screen, many places found in movies and TV shows are real places that you can visit. Not all of the hotels made famous on the screen are part of hotel loyalty programs. However, as we showed you above, there are some incredible properties that you can stay at using hotel and bank points.
