10 Most Famous New York City Hotels Featured in Movies

Do you know what the 10 most famous New York City hotels featured in movies are? If you don’t, then you are at the right place.

When the directors and the actors are joining their forces to create a unique and great movie, there are a lot of things they need to consider, especially the directors. For one movie scene to be great, directors mustn’t save money. On the contrary, they are paying a lot of money for one scene to come out great, and they are always searching for new, unexplored and beautiful locations for filming. While they are looking for the perfect spot to film a movie scene, often, they cross paths with luxurious and historic hotels. Among the most hotels that are being used for movies are hotels located in the New York City because they abound with luxury, glamor and their unusual design. When I think of hotel’s used in movies, the first thing that comes to mind is The Plaza Hotel in Home Alone 2. When I was a child, I dreamed about visiting The Plaza because of this movie. 

In New York City, there are many great hotels with different styles which make them perfect for filming all different kinds of movie genres ranging from horror movies to romantic comedies. These hotels are pretty expensive, as some of their rates start from around $900 per night, but if you can afford to book one of their most luxurious suits, it could cost you up to $50,000. Now we don’t know how much the directors need to take from their budget to pay for filming in one of the most luxurious hotels not only in the Big Apple but the whole world as well, but, considering the prices per night, we can only imagine.

In addition to this, many old hotels in the world are still working successfully and because of their specific architecture and interior, are still one of the biggest tourist attractions. Most of the oldest hotels are renovated, but they kept their unique design. If you want to explore more on this topic, to find more about the historic hotels in the world, you can check our list of 20 Oldest Hotels in the World that Still Exist.

While creating our list of the most famous New York City hotels featured in movies, we used Class Curious, which covers all things New York City and a Google search as our main sources. In order to see what are the most famous hotels, we collected information from their database then used that to complete our list. We also researched how these hotels gained their popularity based on movies and how well they are known in the city. We used this information to roughly sort our list based on how popular each hotel is. 

If you plan to visit New York City soon, you will want to stop by and visit some of the hotels on our list of the most famous New York City hotels featured in movies.

10. InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel

In 1926, the InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel first opened their doors to many guests in Manhattan. Shortly after its opening, this hotel became among the favorite hotels not only for people who love luxury but for directors who want to shoot their movies in luxurious hotels. Among the popular movies that were filmed in this hotel is Spider-Man 2 (2004) and the popular TV-Show Person of Interest (2012).

9. Millenium Hilton

Located in Lower Manhattan, the Millenium Hilton hotel was built in 1990 and completed in 1992. Peter Kalikow developed this hotel at a cost of $200 million, but four years after he opened the hotel, he went into bankruptcy and he sold it for $75 million to CDL Hotel. One of the most popular movies that were shot at the Millenium Hilton hotel in New York City was Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993).

8. Chelsea Hotel

The Chelsea Hotel is a historic landmark of New York City, and it was built in 1883-1885. This hotel was home to many artists and musicians and once it was the tallest building in the New York City. Among the most famous movies that took place in this exact hotel are Sid and Nancy (1986), Nine ½ Weeks (1986), Léon, The Professional (1994), Chelsea Walls (2001), and House of D (2004).

7. The Pierre Hotel

Facing one of the most beautiful parks in the world, The Pierre Hotel, next one on the list of most famous New York City hotels featured in movies is located at the Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City across Central Park. This hotel abounds with luxury and style which doesn’t leave us questioning why directors are choosing it for their movies. One of the most popular movies that took place in this hotel was For Love or Money (1993).

6. The St.Regis Hotel

The St. Regis Hotel is a five-star, AAA five-diamond luxury hotel that first opened their doors for their guests back in 1904. It is located between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue and as of June 2017, the price for a room per night starts from $995 to $35,000 for the presidential suite. Among the most popular movies that took place at this luxurious hotel are Miss Congeniality (2000), The New Guy (2002), The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and The Layover (2016).

5. Lotte New York Palace

Just right at the corner of 50th Street and Madison Avenue is the Lotte New York Palace which today is one of the most famous New York City hotels featured in movies. There are many movies and TV Shows that were filmed in this hotel like Just My Luck (2006), Will & Grace (2007), 27 Dresses (2008), Dictator (2012), Limitless (2016), Mr.Robot (2016), Gossip Girl (2012), The Blacklist (2014) and White Collar (2009). These are just a few movies and TV shows that took place at this beautiful hotel.

4. The Roosevelt Hotel

The Roosevelt Hotel, that’s up next on our list of most famous New York City hotels featured in movies is a luxury and historic hotel in New York City located in Midtown Manhattan. This hotel was named in honor of the President Theodore Roosevelt, and it opened their doors for guests back on September 22, 1924. In 1995, this hotel was closed for two years due to $65 million worth renovations. The French Connection (1971), Hanky Panky (1982), Quiz Show (1994), Maid in Manhattan (2002) and The Switch (2010) are just a few movies that took place at this luxurious hotel.

3. Four Seasons New York

Back in 1993, New York City got another luxurious hotel where if you want to spend the night, you will have to pay minimum $950 per night. There is a Ty Warner Penthouse Suite where you can spend the night for $45,000, and it’s the most expensive hotel room in America.  It is no wonder why directors want to shoot their movies in this luxurious hotel. Among the movies that took place in this hotel is The Cowboy Way (1994).

2. The Plaza

The Plaza hotel that ranks second on our list of most famous New York City hotels featured in movies is located in Midtown Manhattan, and it is owned by Sahara India Pariwar, an Indian conglomerate. There are many movies that were filmed in this hotel, it’s too long to name them all. Some of them are Bride Wars (2008), Almost Famous (2000), It Could Happen To You (1994), The Associate (1996), Kind of New York (1990), Big Business (1988), Scent of A Woman (1991) and Home Alone 2 (1992). These are just a few movies that were filmed in this luxurious and historic hotel in New York City.

1. Waldorf Astoria New York

The Waldorf Astoria New York hotel is located in 301 Park Avenue Manhattan. First, it was opened in 1893 as Waldorf Hotel, then in 1897 as the Astoria Hotel and then finally in 1931 it was opened as Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. This year, in 2017 it is closed due to renovations. There are many movies that took place at this hotel, and some of them are Two Lovers (2008), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Serendipity (2001), Alfie (2004), Birth (2004), The Godfather: Part II (1990), Rich and Famous (1981) and The Great Gatsby (1974).

This was our list of 10 most famous New York City hotels featured in movies. We hope we managed to show you what are the most famous hotels in the Big Apple featured in movies.