Ten James Bond filming locations you can check into
James Bond loves a good hotel and luckily for the rest of us, these opulent hotels are still around.
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James Bond loves a good hotel. Whether seducing the enemy’s wife at the Hotel Atlantic Kempinski or foiling Goldfinger’s villainous plans at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, 007 always seems to find some action in the lap of luxury. Lucky for the rest of us, these opulent hotels are still around, allowing regular Joes to sip dry martinis and outsmart villains — or just sit by the pool and hang out — themselves. Read on for 10 of the best Bond-approved haunts around the world.
## Peninsula Hong Kong
In 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun, Bond (played by Roger Moore) attempts to track Scaramanga’s mistress Andrea Anders as she wends through the streets of Hong Kong in a green Rolls-Royce. “A green Rolls-Royce,” he tells his assistant, Goodnight. “There can’t be that many in Hong Kong.” Of course, Goodnight informs Bond that, in fact, the Peninsula Hong Kong (pictured above) has an entire fleet of the emerald beauties.
Bond checks into the hotel and later breaks into Anders’s hotel room to discover that she is smuggling bullets for Scaramanga. She returns the favour by then breaking into his room when he is about to rendezvous with Goodnight. Pushing Goodnight into a wardrobe, he romances Anders, who later turns up dead at a Thai boxing match in Bangkok. While the interior scenes were not shot in the hotel, the cast stayed there during filming — and the Peninsula-green Rolls-Royces are still available to guests for jaunts around Hong Kong.
## The Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort
When Daniel Craig and his blue swim trunks emerge from the sea in 2006’s Casino Royale, it is at the Ocean Club on Paradise Island. The beachfront Bahamian resort appears throughout the film: Bond is seen walking through the reception area after setting off all the car alarms in the parking lot, playing poker in the library, where he wins an Aston Martin DB5; and exploring the Versailles-themed gardens.
Today, the hotel, which has been rebranded as the Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort, honors 007 by serving the Casino Royale cocktail (vodka and gin with a splash of Lillet) in the bar. Guests can stay in the same room as Bond did, too: Villa 108. One place you won’t want to follow the international agent, however, is to the door he passes through to get to the hotel’s “security room.” In real life, it’s actually a broom closet.
## Grande Hotel Pupp
Though Montenegro was the fictional setting for Casino Royale, none of the movie was actually shot there. The Hotel Splendide — the grand hotel where 007 plays a high-stakes poker game with Le Chiffre and Vesper Lynd — is, in real life, the Grand Hotel Pupp, located 800 miles away in the Czech spa resort of Karlovy Vary. In the scene, Bond and Vesper check in and kill two terrorists before enjoying a romantic meal in the hotel’s ornate dining room. Meanwhile, Mathis, a fellow MI6 agent, puts the dead terrorists in the trunk of the car of one of Le Chiffre’s henchman. The thug is later arrested for the crime in the hotel parking lot, with Mathis and Bond watching from a hotel balcony. Director Martin Campbell joked, “I have never been in Montenegro, but I hope that now their tourism will erupt.” And sure enough, it did.
## Langham Hotel, London
It’s somewhat surprising that such a quintessentially British hotel — London’s first grand hotel and the place where traditional afternoon tea was founded — would be cast as Russia’s Grand Hotel Europe. But 1995’s GoldenEye did just that, replacing the Union Jack with a Russian flag at the entrance of the Langham, London for full effect. In the scene filmed there, Bond — played by Pierce Brosnan — nearly falls victim to Xenia Onatopp, a member of the Janus crime syndicate who tries to seduce and kill him. Today, whether you have a gaggle of spies in tow or not, be sure head to the Langham’s glamorous Artesian Bar and order the Information (To Share), a cocktail made with vodka, amber vermouth, gentian, and citrus.
## Fontainebleau Miami Beach
Designed by architect Morris Lapidus, the founding father of “Miami Modern,” the legendary Fontainebleau is the stylish setting for the opening scene of 1964’s Goldfinger. As the credits fade, the camera pans across the hotel’s pearl-white curved façade, then zooms down on its glamorous pool, where Bond, played by the inimitable Sean Connery, is getting a massage from a pretty blonde.
Later we encounter the villain Goldfinger, lazing by the pool in his gilded robe and cheating at a game of poker with an unsuspecting hotel guest. But Bond foils the ruse by breaking into the villain’s suite and turning off the microphone that Jill Masterson is using (along with a pair of super-strong binoculars) to feed Goldfinger information about his opponent’s hand. Of course, Bond then seduces Masterson, who later turns up dead — asphyxiated after being covered in gold paint.
## Hotel Atlantic Kempinski
In 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies, Bond (played by Pierce Brosnan) is sent to Hamburg’s lavish Hotel Atlantic Kempinski to stop Elliot Carver, an insane media mogul, from initiating World War III. Bond checks into the hotel, where he first seduces Carver’s wife, who — surprise — is later killed by her husband’s personal assassin, Dr Kaufman. This leads to the movie’s most memorable scene where Bond climbs from the Atlantic Suite to the globe on the hotel’s rooftop. Interestingly, a stunt double filmed the scene because, unlike the real 007, Brosnan is afraid of heights.
## Hotel Cala di Volpe
In 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond (played by Roger Moore) and Anya Amasova hop into a white Lotus Esprit and drive to Sardinia’s lavish Hotel Cala di Volpe, built in the 1960s by the Aga Khan. The pair walks through the lobby and checks into “Suite A5, a sitting room with two bedrooms”. In actuality, the luxurious suite is actually one of the hotel’s bars, so it’s easy to visit it and enjoy a cocktail overlooking the stunning bay. The hotel can also be seen when the couple drive away in the Lotus enroute to the over-the-top car chase that ends with the Lotus morphing into a submarine before reappearing on a nearby beach.
## Hotel Danieli
Before her speech to the European Space Commission in 1979’s Moonraker, Dr Holly Goodhead stays in the lavish Suite del Doge at the Hotel Danieli. Bond, played by Roger Moore, seduces her in her room with the line, “Bollinger? If it is a ‘69, you were expecting me.” (Needless to say, it is.) Venice also figured prominently in 1963’s From Russia with Love. In that film, Sean Connery’s Bond also stays at the Danieli.
## Taj Lake Palace
Udaipur’s floating Taj Lake Palace serves as the superbly over-the-top lair of Octopussy in 1983’s Octopussy. Bond (played by Roger Moore) sneaks onto the manmade isle — which seems to be inhabited only by beautiful women — by swimming to it in an improbable crocodile-shaped boat for one. There he discovers Octopussy skinny dipping and later surprises the beautiful villain by sneaking into her bedroom. Honour the late Sir Roger Moore by enjoying a cocktail in the Taj Lake Palace’s ornate, marble-decorated Amrit Sagar bar — the same place where Bond enjoyed a martini or two.
## Palácio Estoril
Australian actor George Lazenby’s only stint as Bond — 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service — includes a scene in which 007 pulls up to Portugal’s Palácio Estoril in an olive-green Aston Martin DBS. “Everything seems up to the Palácio’s usual high standards,” Bond says as he checks in to Room 516. Interestingly, the film used actual hotel employees in this scene: The bellboy who gives Bond his room key, a shy 18-year-old with brown hair, is José Diogo Vieira, who nearly 50 years later is the Palácio’s concierge. The hotel, an Allied headquarters frequented by spies during World War II, is also where Bond creator Ian Fleming saw a card game between enemy agents that inspired the plot of his first novel, Casino Royale.
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Forget a Bow Tie. Here Are 3 Black-Tie Accessories to Rock Instead
Stylist Tom Stubbs on ditching the bow tie this festive season—and what to wear alternatively.
Black tie, that essential marker of an increasingly rarefied ceremonial style, is inspiring. Nothing coaxes men into upping the sartorial ante quite like reading those words on an invitation. I say amen to raising the bar, but I can’t bear wearing a traditional bow tie—and haven’t done so for over a decade.
Around the turn of the millennium, I was enthusiastically dress-code obedient, but two unstoppable forces put me off: Fashion moved on, and I got old. Where abiding by hallowed traditions once felt exalted, it suddenly began to seem restrictive and stuffy. And while it was extraordinary to be a bow-tied 30-something, in my 40s, the convention made me feel like a pompous, conservative square. Now, menswear has changed so much that bow ties register as pedestrian garb better suited to waiters than to revellers.
Fortunately, there are several black-tie alternatives that excite and inspire me now that I’m well into my 50s—many espoused by stylish guys on the red carpet and innovative designers in London, Paris, Florence, and Milan. And though I might take a bow on nonconformism as I step into my 60s, I still plan to steer clear of the bow tie, that ultimate symbol of gentlemanly customs, for as long as I can. Here’s what I’m replacing it with.
Form and Function
I got excited seeing Lemaire’s slim metallic modernised bolo ties in the house’s fall 2024 show. A favourite of men as varied as Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, and Snoop Dogg, the bolo is perhaps best remembered as the chosen neckwear of John Travolta’s surly hit man, Vincent, in Pulp Fiction. Originally, Native American tribes including the Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo used these accessories used to fasten bandannas with plaited-leather cords. High-end versions double as a bit of jewellery, with silver slides set with turquoise and often engraved with animal motifs, including buffalo skulls and eagles. Contemporary takes abound, but vintage sleuthing can turn up some particularly beguiling options.
Gambling Man
Varying in size, flounce, and attitude, ribbon ties—also called gambler or Kentucky neckties—have long been a legitimate black-tie alternative. Actor Cillian Murphy has worn Saint Laurent’s take to various award shows, looking stand-alone chic and authentically cool. They have a distinct Western energy—Kirk Douglas donned one as Doc Holliday in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, as did Robert Vaughan in The Magnificent Seven. But they’re as much rock star as they are gunslinger: The late Johnny Thunders of the New York Dolls and Bauhaus front man Peter Murphy (style role models of mine) also wore them with panache. Take a note from the runway and wear them with a pair of boots—cowboy, Chelsea, or with a Cuban heel—to really step away from the standard.
Fit to Be Tied
Getty Images/Courtesy of Lemaire
If you want to give yourself some breathing room, consider scarves and neckerchiefs. This fall, Tom Ford proposed a louche take on evening style, using black, slim-plaited, or delicately sequined scarves whose long tassels provocatively dangle at the hips. For maximum effect, the brand styled them with open satin shirts, recalling rockers Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart. London’s La Bowtique also does beautiful outsize bows. On a smaller scale, the Twilly—a short silk scarf pioneered by Hermès—works in much the same manner. The French maison makes gorgeous options with angled ends for extra verve, whether hanging loose or more discreetly knotted.
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Show Stoppers
The Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance—a beauty pageant for priceless classic cars—returns for another instalment at the city’s most intriguing, and unlikeliest, venue.
The logic behind staging a prestige automobile show on an island may, at face value, seem warped—history tells us that cars and water do not play nicely. The rationale twists further when said piece of land is a former shipyard that is, aesthetically, more workhorse ute than classic Ferrari.
Scratch beneath the surface, however, and the decision to plant the Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance on Cockatoo Island for the second year running begins to make locational sense: the steel arch of the emblematic bridge acting as photogenic backcloth; the UNESCO World Heritage site’s previous guises as 19th-century penal colony and eminent boat-building facility fleshing the show’s historical bones; the theatre of watching collectors delicately coaxing their four-wheeled artworks off a rusty roll-on/roll-off barge in the islet’s wharf before showtime. (After all, if owning a car in this stratosphere isn’t about projecting drama, then what’s the point?)
Throw in an endless endowment of free Champagne for guests and VIP transport from the mainland via superyacht, and it barely matters that the three-day jamboree is, in the words of founder and curator James Nicholls, “a logistical nightmare”.
“People love the energy, the adventure” says the Anglo-Italian, a broadcaster, writer and photographer whose extensive resume includes various stints as a concours judge across the world. “There’s a great contrast between the luxurious motor cars and the industrial environment. The Turbine Shop [a timeworn, hanger-like space used to display the vehicles] is where ocean-going liners and propellers were built. People interested in cars are also interested in that kind of thing but it’s just a backdrop. Cars are the main focal point.”
The concours d’elegance concept (“concours” means “competition” in French) can be traced back to 17th-century Paris, when aristocrats would flaunt horse-drawn carriages in local parks during summer months. Animals eventually gave way to automobiles, and the gatherings mutated into more organised contests in which these new-fangled contraptions were, in somewhat prescient fashion, judged solely on the appearance. The trend spread throughout European high society, before reaching America in 1950 with an inaugural pageant at Pebble Beach, California—a concours which has since evolved into a behemoth of the species, now billing itself as “the world’s most prestigious car show” and drawing 214 vehicles and spectators in the low five figures at the last annual meeting. Other concours are thriving globally, from spectacles in Lake Como in Italy (the longest running event, launched in 1929) to Udaipur in India. Vanity, it seems, remains in vogue.
Among this storied company, Sydney’s interpretation is playing catch-up. But Nicholls insists the local variant—launched in 2019, having occupied three other citywide locations—has no intention of locking horns with competitors. Not numerically, at least.
“In 2024, we had 500 people over the three days; this year we’ll aim for 750. But we’re never going to become a 20,000-people show,” he says. “We want it to be bespoke and beautiful, so people don’t have to queue for a glass of Champagne. You can talk to the car owners, and everyone feels like a VIP.” The overarching aim is to become a “destination event” on the socialite calendar, on par with the Melbourne Cup or the Australian Grand Prix.
While keen to keep paying visitors guessing, Nicholls offers Robb Report a sneak peek into some of the 44 objets booked to occupy the coarse, exposed-brick viewing hall, ranging from turn-of-the-century rarities to modern-day exotics: a 1905 Eugène Brillié 20/24 HP Coupé Chauffeur, believed to be the only one of its ilk left; a 1955 Porsche Speedster 356 “Pre A”, examples of which are valued in excess of $750,000; a Lamborghini Miura 3400, a model famed for its starring role in the opening sequence to 1969’s The Italian Job movie; a 2021 Audi R8 Spyder, an iteration that is no longer being produced and thus quietly accruing kudos.
Up to seven “classes” will be open, including categories solely for Porsche Speedsters and pre-war Australian coachbuilt cars. Two 1930s Bugattis are slated for appearance, one of which is, as this article is being written, on a boat somewhere, on its way to Australia. A panel of seven judges, led by the first ever female concours head assessor, who also adjudicated in 2024, will select the overall “Best in Show” winner—scored last time out by a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM, a model line with a $24 million price tag attached. And in a progressive play designed to lure the oil-shunning generation, an “electric elegance” section will debut. Nicholls estimates the combined value of all this precious metal at around $80 million.
While it would provoke an illicit thrill to discover that frenzied super-collectors were slyly puncturing rivals’ tyres or keying priceless bodywork—skulduggery has plagued other pageants, from dog show Crufts (canine poisoning) to Miss World (rigging allegations)—the entrants are, in keeping with the show’s refined, English-garden-party profile—a gentlemanly bunch. To a point. “They like meeting up, the community that’s here, but they do get competitive,” says Mark Ussher, the Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance managing director, and on-the-ground organiser. “They care about their cars but they’re investors as well as collectors. If they win a concours anywhere around the world it adds value to the car.”
Which makes it doubly important that, surrounded by all that deep Harbour water, everyone remembers to put their handbrake on.
The Sydney Harbour Concours D’Elegance runs from February 28th-March 2nd 2025; sydneyharbourconcours.com.au
Book tickets now and take benefit from the RR 15% discount code: ROBB15
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Jannik Sinner Is the First Tennis Player to Take a Luxury Bag Onto Wimbledon’s Centre Court
The 23-year-old Italian flaunted a custom Gucci duffle bag on center court.
Jannik Sinner aced the style game at last year’s Wimbledon Championships.
The Italian tennis star turned up to his match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo with a custom Gucci duffel bag on his shoulder. It marks the first time a designer bag has been carried onto centre court in the history of the prestigious, centuries-old tennis tournament, as reported by Women’s Wear Daily.
The duffel, which Sinner describes as a “timeless classic,” showcases the house’s signature beige and ebony colorway, the iconic GG monogram, and a contrasting green and red web stripe. It also features the athlete’s initials near the straps. Ironically, the rather traditional design has called into question a 150-year tradition.
“For sure this will create a conversation,” Sinner told WWD before defeating Cerundolo in straight sets. “Bringing sport and luxury fashion together in this way is something that’s never been done before and I feel extremely proud to be a part of it. I hope people will love it as much as I do.”
Wimbledon’s dress code is extremely strict: Players have been required to wear white at the event since 1877, with not even off-white or cream permitted on the court. Tennis whites were originally instated as it was believed the ensemble showed less sweat, as reported by Time. The tradition has continued out of respect for the sport’s history and a desire to maintain formality.
The rules are enforced, too: Our own player Nick Kyrgios was allegedly fined $25,000 for rocking red Air Jordan trainers at 2023’s tournament. Interestingly, the decidedly non-white Gucci accessory was reportedly given the all-clear by the powers that be. A spokesperson for Gucci told WWD the house worked with Sinner’s team “for the approvals from the ITF (International Tennis Federation), ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals), and Grand Slams, including Wimbledon, to ensure the bag met the necessary requirements.”
The 23-year-old, who turned pro at age 18, became a Gucci ambassador in 2023 in his first luxury fashion endorsement. “Gucci for me represents Italian excellence around the world, excellence which is rooted in tradition as much as in innovation,” Sinner said. “This is the kind of message I am proud to convey when I represent my country wherever I am in the world.”
The Italian player was capture in action last week during his 1st round men’s singles match against Nicolas Jarry (from Chile) on day two of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park with more Gucci gear. Sinner carried a custom duffle bag crafted by HEAD and designed by Gucci to the men’s singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.
Sinner will play Australian Alex de Minaur tomorrow 22 January at the Australian Open.
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We Cherrypicked the Best Elements of Luxury Resorts to Create the Ultimate Fantasy Hotel
Everyone has a favourite hotel—but what if you could create your own? We envision the ultimate place to stay, combining elements of the world’s most noteworthy openings.
Forget fantasy football—what about a heavenly hotel? Imagine you could create one from scratch, cherrypicking the best aspects of the world’s most noteworthy recent openings and reopenings, combined into the perfect, impossible property. That’s what we’ve done, from the best rooftop restaurant for supper to the only beach club where’s it’s truly worth basking in the sun, this is the world’s ultimate hotel. The only thing we can’t arrange: the chance to check in.
FACADE Capella Sydney
Australia
It took seven years to turn this local landmark—the building once housed the departments of education and agriculture—into a luxury hotel. A honey-coloured jewel in a precinct awash with appealing sandstone facades, its crowning glory, literally, is the gleaming, four-storey glass addition that perches atop the structure like an architectural tiara.
SUITES
The Surrey, a Corinthia Hotel
New York City
After a full reimagining by Martin Brudnizki and its new operators, Malta-based Corinthia Hotels, this Upper East Side stalwart’s signature suites now include a quartet inspired by Central Park bridges. Mouldings nod to the structures’ architectural details, while hand-painted sketches inside the grandes armoires evoke the Ramble-adjacent Bow Bridge.
RESTAURANT
Le Rooftop at Royal Mansour Casablanca
Morocco
Relax on the 23rd floor of this Art Deco-inflected skyscraper hotel and you’ll not only enjoy astonishing views over the water and toward the towering Hassan II Mosque, but you’ll also find yourself rubbing elbows with the coolest crowd in the city. Snag a sofa on the terrace before sundown and linger all evening.
LOBBY
Peninsula London
England
Hong Kong’s Peninsula hotels are renowned for their fleet of high-end classic cars—a personal passion of billionaire owner Sir Michael Kadoorie. No wonder he struck a deal with Surrey’s Brooklands Museum for his latest opening in London: not only is the Claude Bosi-operated restaurant named in its honour, but the institution also makes available a rotating selection of outstanding vintage vehicles—most recently, a Bentley Blower and a Napier-Railton—for display in the eatery’s dedicated lobby, close to the Concorde nose installed overhead, sourced from Kadoorie’s personal collection.
BEACH CLUB
Borgo Santandrea
Italy
The dearth of standout beaches is the Amalfi Coast’s dirty secret, so this is a remarkable asset: walk down through the terraced, lemon-tree-filled gardens of this Gio Ponti-inspired hotel bolted to the steep cliffs by Conca dei Marini, and you’ll stumble upon its own beach club attached to the property. The restaurant sits in a renovated boathouse; feel free to snip some herbs from the mismatched pots filled with sage and basil.
SPA
Meritage Resort and Spa
Napa Valley
The naturally formed 2,044 m² Estate Cave, located 12 m underground, was already spectacular—its extensive menu of treatments includes both cave-stone massage and guided breathing and meditation sessions—but the $37 million rehab of this establishment thankfully doubled the size of the adults- only pool in front of Spa Terra.
POOL
One&Only Za’abeel Dubai
UAE
This gravity-defying infinity pool, sitting atop the cantilevered link between the hotel’s two towers, has a clubby vibe, swim-up bars and sunken seating pods—and the fact that it’s Instagram catnip doesn’t hurt either.
Photos by ADRIAN GAUT; BORGO SANTANDREA; PENINSULA LONDON; WILL PRYCE.
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Hole In One
The Citizen Kanebridge VHG Golf Open Returns to The Southern Highlands This February.
The third annual Citizen Kanebridge VHG Golf Open Day is happening again this year at Citizen Kanebridge Lodge in the Southern Highlands on Friday, February 21. Players will tee off from 8 am for a day of unrivalled bucolic hospitality in the spirit of friendly competition.
The Open unites forces with the operators of Mount Broughton in Sutton Forrest to stage the popular day, in which teams of four enter to enjoy 18 holes of unadulterated fun.
Players will meet at the clubhouse, where—golf aside—they will be served breakfast, lunch and liquid refreshments throughout the day before heading back to Citizen Kanebridge Lodge for a special dinner, fun awards ceremony and more drinks.
Located just 10 minutes from the Citizen Kanebridge Lodge in Berrima, the stunning Mount Broughton course gives players—male and female, and ranging from amateur to semi professional—the chance to compete in a golf day with plenty of high-jinks and food along with way.
The event is part of the new offering from Citizen Kanebridge, a private membership club based in Sydney. Citizen Kanebridge allows members to have access to the Robb Report Club(RR1) based in the United States of America, Citizen Kanebridge Lodge in the Southern Highlands of NSW, and The Royal Automobile Club of Australia (RACA) in Circular Quay, Sydney.
Members interested in Golf Open Day, may enquire by reaching out to leanne@citizenkanebridge.com.au. For more information on Golf Open day, you can download the information brochure here.
Love golf? jump to our golf connoisseurship package from the Spring 2024 issue of Robb Report ANZ.
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