How to Travel Like a Celebrity in 15 Different Cities
Amsterdam provided the backdrop for some of the most critical scenes in The Fault in Our Stars, and Philadelphia is forever entwined with Rocky—and this year's breakout follow-up, Creed. The city of Boston and its religious heritage is integral to the plot and scenes in Spotlight, and Brooklyn toggles between the burgeoning New York City borough in the 1950s and the lush green hills of Ireland.
Since movies take anywhere from weeks to months to shoot, these destinations become the home base for the film crew while they're there—they set up camp, renting apartments, doing extended stays at hotels, and making the location their new home base while they're there. This means a whole host of destinations are equipped to handle the most discerning of visitors, and offer them the ability to travel in style. While we most often associate the sweet life with Hollywood, these five star hotels, over-the-top amenities, and special experiences are available on a much broader scale.
We did a little digging into 15 of our favorite cities, learning what movies have shot there, and how the visiting stars explored their surroundings while they did (as well as what they do when they come back). We learned about presidential "suites" that are actual homes tucked behind major hotels, and private shopping experiences at luxury stores. There are $400 steak dinners, $13,000 gowns, and $10,000 luxury suites—all available to you, if you're so inclined.
The point? You don't need to make headlines to travel like a VIP. But there's nothing wrong with emulating their choices when you hit the road.
Miami
Miami is the movie star of American cities—pretty, glossy, and at certain moments, a tad too slick. It seems to always be in Academy Awards mode, but that's part of the fun. The Standard Spa remains one of the best places to spot famous faces, though many of them are likely also staying at 1 Hotel South Beach. Basement Bowl—at the Miami Beach Edition—is another a tucked-away nightclub also known for its see-and-be-seen scene. Don't miss the change to join the big spenders shopping at the Bal Harbour Shops, where you can buy your own red carpet-worthy gown at Oscar de la Renta for just under $13,000. —Tom Austin
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Washington, DC
When Hollywood's biggest names visit DC, they tend to travel incognito, but that doesn't mean they can't be spotted—or copied. If you're curious about any who keep a home in our nation's capital, you're best checking out the historic neighborhoods of Georgetown and Capitol Hill, known for their grand homes and charming cobblestone sidewalks. But for stars making a temporary visit, their rooms of choice tend to lean toward the Willard InterContinental, The W, and the Four Seasons in Georgetown, where the Royal Suite, a 4,000-square-foot space, is filled with Swarovski crystal light fixtures, a white marble bathroom, a private dining room and pantry, a fitness room, a study, an enormous terrace, and bulletproof glass. Chef Fabio Trabocchi's exquisite takes on Italian seafood make Fiola Mare the hottest table in town right now. And after a long evening at a White House Correspondents Dinner or a ceremony at the Kennedy Center, you might find them in a famous hotel bar, like the Round Robin at the Willard, enjoying a nightcap. —Amy McKeever
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Los Angeles
This is the place that taught the rest how to treat a VIP, so you can't go wrong here. First, book accommodations at one of the city's many celebrity hotels. Then, work on that body of yours by attending one of the many workout classes they frequent. Want to be pampered like one? Book a massage at their favorite spas. Hire a stylist to dress you in the luxury labels they wear. Awards season is here, and that means the City of Angels is rife with opportunities for celebrity spotting. If you spend a few days living like a celebrity next time you're in Los Angeles, you just might bump into one. —Ann Binlot
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Dallas
From an A-List spa to world-class shopping, this Texas city is full of star power. Joanna Czech opened her 2,000 square foot Victory Park spa in October. Celebrity clients like Kate Winslet, Christy Turlington, Anna Wintour, and Uma Thurman rave about services, including her signature LED facial (starting at $300). The Neiman Marcus flagship is an iconic shopping draw, while the hip Knox Henderson neighborhood is attracting the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Gwyneth Paltrow to its fashion house Forty Five Ten. But for the ultimate star treatment head to The Joule, where for $10,000 the Penthouse East can be yours. If it's booked, the Ritz-Carlton Dallas and Four Seasons are fetching alternatives. —Diana Oates
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Atlanta
Georgia is no stranger to the stars: It has the fastest-growing film industry in the world, with nearly 250 productions filmed in the Peach State in 2015. Much of the action is centered in Atlanta, earning it the moniker "Hollywood of the South." Most celebrities flock to the St. Regis or the Mandarin Oriental, which boasts a 15,000-square-foot-spa. Local institutions like Serpas True Food, Umi, and the Ponce City Market, regularly feed the glitterati. And when they need a chance to relax? It's not uncommon to spot a famous face enjoying the trails of Piedmont Park. —Allison Entrekin
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San Francisco
An increasing number of films and TV shows are being shot near San Francisco (in 2015, blockbusters like San Andreas and the Age of Adaline, as well as TV shows Silicon Valley, HBO's Looking, and The Mindy Project), luring in the actors who work for them. The St. Regis San Francisco remains a favorite among the A-list, and the Tenderloin's funky Phoenix Hotel has lured musicians and actors since the 1980s. They beeline for Francis Ford Coppola's own Café Zoetrope for the martinis before heading to dinner at perennial hot spot the Slanted Door, and most recently, at Mexico City chef Gabriela Cámara's new restaurant, Cala. —Jenna Scatena
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Philly
The city memorialized in the Rocky series and now the award-winning Creed has been home to a wide variety of movie plots and filming locations, including Philadelphia (which opens with a montage of famous sites), the Silver Linings Playbook, and the Sixth Sense. When visiting Philadelphia, the city's most luxurious standbys—the Rittenhouse Hotel, Ritz Carlton, and new Logan Hotel often accommodate Hollywood guests.Philadelphia-area native Bradley Cooper has been spotted not once, but twice at SliCE Rittenhouse—and he's brought friends Renée Zellweger and Jennifer Lawrence to try the popular pizzas. Rittenhouse Square's Parc and Rouge have elegant cocktails, haute cuisine, and wine served in glowing interiors. That's why Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx have dined at Parc, and Justin Timberlake and M. Night Shyamalan have eaten at Rouge, says the local Film Society. —Sarah Maiellano
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Toronto
In the entertainment industry, Toronto is often referred to as Hollywood North. With four seasons in which to film and annual host to the Toronto International Film Festival, it's full of haunts popular among A-Listers. The TIFF Bell Light Box is the festival's hub, and stars are commonly seen eating in the area's restaurants, like David Chang's Momofuku Toronto, Jonathan Waxman's Montecito, or the upscale dining room Luma. The nearby Ritz-Carlton is a regular home base for visiting talent. Downtown, you'll see faces you recognize the Soho House, and in Yorkville, they'll shop Holt Renfrew and the five-carat boutiques along Bloor Street, then relax with a cocktail at the Dbar at the Four Seasons. —Mary Luz Mejia
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London
This world-class city has everything: the hotels, the meals, the can't-match-it shopping opportunities. If it's celebrity treatment you're after, this city has it in spades. When in London, go celeb-spotting at The Ivy in Chelsea Garden, but make room for the caviar trolley at 45 Jermyn St. or the cocktails at Dandelyan, in The Mondrian. Pick up your souvenirs from Fortnum & Mason before a luxurious spa day at Cowshed, Primrose Hill. After your treatments, stock up on Cowshed products to take back with you, then kick back with a glass of bubbles and a homemade cake in the farmhouse kitchen. Finish it off by getting some shuteye at 45 Park Lane, a designer boutique hotel located on one of the city's wealthiest stretches in Mayfair. —Alice Tate
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Houston
If everything's bigger in Texas, then everything's flashier, too. Luxury awaits in cosmopolitan Houston, where an international vibe offers A-list opportunities to dine, shop, eat and explore in the energy capital of the world. Downtown's luxury Hotel ICON has accommodations fit for a celebrity—and plenty of them have stayed here, including Tilda Swinton. Their tri-level presidental suite has an entertainment area that accommodates up to 40 of your friends, and a rooftop terrace offering very-VIP panoramic views of the city skyline. Got some pocket change? Whisky bar Reserve 101 serves a $750 glass of Glenmorangie's Pride 1978, and beloved bespoke shirt maker Hamilton is the go-to for red carpet looks for dapper gents like Neil Patrick Harris. The Dior showroom at the exclusive River Oaks District has a private shopping salon for VIP customers only. And when you're ready to eat, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse is ready to serve you a cute of Kobe beef priced at $400 a pound. —Allison Bagley
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Buenos Aires
While Buenos Aires is relatively small time on the global map of big spenders, when it comes to visiting like a movie star, you can sip drinks like Will Smith, warble like Madonna, or marry like Michael Bublé did in Argentina's capital. Francis Ford Coppola's colonial-style villa is now a boutique hotel, Jardín Escondido. It houses the director's personal DVD collection, an outdoor swimming pool and, of course, the luscious, tucked-away garden after which it's named. Stars regularly check into the Four Seasons, the the luxurious Presidential Suite, La Mansión, is a stunning French belle époque home nestled behind the main hotel. If saying "I do" is in the cards, why not replicate Michael Bublé's wedding to Argentine model Luisana Lopilato at stunning estate Estancia Villa María? A stone's throw from Buenos Aires in the middle of the countryside, you too can marry in the lap of luxury at this 1917-era mansion. Set among 183 acres of private land, not even the most diligent of paparazzi could penetrate this wedding venue. —Sorrel Moseley-Williams
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Portland, Oregon
On the West Coast it seems the jet set sticks to Los Angeles, but the hipster paradise of Portland, Oregon, sees its fair share of red carpet names, too. Director Gus Van Sant filmed three movies in the city, and My Own Private Idaho was shot in the newly reopened Sentinel hotel—a National Historic Landmark. Singer Elliot Smith lived much of his life in Portland, and one of his favorite haunts was Dot's Café. Oba restaurant was the setting for one of the best sketches from Season 3 of Portlandia, while local boutique Wildfang has been attracting the likes of Ellen Page, Kate Mara, and Evan Rachel Wood. —Juno DeMelo
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Amsterdam
If the Oscars are inspiring you to pay homage to all things Hollywood, here are the places in Amsterdam to go. Featured in Ocean's Twelve, the Pulitzer Hotel welcomed Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and team. A collection of 25 different canal houses dating back 400 years, the hotel has been undergoing a stylish refurbishment. Meanwhile the American Hotel stood in as the Hotel de Filosoof in The Fault in Our Stars, with the Anne Frank House and Rijksmuseum not far away. You can even visit the famous bench in one of the film's most tear-jerking scenes. —Jane Szita
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New York City
New York may be a place where stars to go blend in, but that doesn't mean you can't follow their cue and enjoy another side of it. The Hotel Gansevoort is a famous Kardashian haunt, while uptown, the Mandarin Oriental has welcomed Eva Mendes, Katie Holmes, and more, and the historic Plaza has welcomed Truman Capote, The Beatles, and Liza Minnelli (upon whom the fictional character Eloise may be based). For shopping, there are the institutions of Henri Bendel, Barneys, and Bergdorf Goodman. If you want to dine like you're famous, the secretive La Esquina is a place to start, though The Spotted Pig's third floor won't disappoint, either. —Molly McArdle
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Sydney
In Sydney, the elite prefer to be a bit more understated. Quay, Australia's most lauded restaurant, has kept its clientele for its harbor side views and ever-changing menu, which combines European and Asian influences, that makes the lasting impression. Publicity-hungry celebrities usually see Sydney's iconic sights onboard large yachts that remain conveniently close to the shoreline, but the privacy conscious can charter a seaplane from centrally located Rose Bay and fly north toward impressive beaches like Palm Beach and Whale Beach. For sleep, those who demand the best book the top-floor Sydney Suite at the Park Hyatt, an enormous two-bedroom residence with a 270-degree vista of the harbor, a sauna, a fireplace for winter, and an expansive outdoor entertaining area. —Dan F. Stapleton
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