They say that every person is capable of writing one good book. If you’ve been dreaming of seeing your name on the cover for a long time, but still haven’t found inspiration, perhaps you should look in another country. We decided to find out where the authors of famous best-selling books were inspired – perhaps by staying in the same hotels, you will be able to write a masterpiece. Here are six hotels where popular books were invented or created.
Stephen King “The Shining”
Photo: stanleyhotel.com
Where: The Stanley Hotel, USA, Colorado
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 12,301 rubles
This cute colonial-style hotel inspired one of Stephen King’s most popular and terrifying novels. In 1974, King and his wife stayed here for one night. Late in the evening they were driving through Estes Park, came across this hotel and decided to spend the night there. At the reception it turned out that they were the only guests – very soon the hotel would be closing for the winter. King was very impressed by the empty corridors and the huge dining room, where all the chairs were raised on tables, and only their table was ready to receive guests.
At night, King dreamed of his three-year-old son running in horror down a long corridor from a fire hose. The writer woke up from this nightmare, sat down by the window and, looking at the mountains, composed the plot of “The Shining” in a few minutes. The novel was published in 1977 and immediately became a bestseller. The 1980 film was filmed in a different location, but in the 1997 miniseries you see Stanley.
And of course, the Overlook Hotel in the book is completely inspired by the Stanley Hotel. And it is no coincidence that the number 217 was chosen for the room in which some of the most frightening events take place – it was where King and his wife stayed. In the Stanley Hotel itself, this room is booked more often than others.
They also say that after the publication of “The Shining”, strange and frightening events really began to happen in the hotel: sometimes ghostly children are seen running along the corridor of the fourth floor, and the late Mrs. Stanley, his wife, occasionally appears in the music room the founder of the hotel.
Agatha Christie “Murder on the Orient Express”
Photo: perapalace.com
Where: Pera Palace Hotel Jumeirah, Istanbul, Turkey
Cost of 1 night per 1 person: from 5,854 rubles
The great writer and author of a huge number of detective stories traveled a lot, and many trips inspired her to write new bestsellers. So, during a trip to the Middle East, Christie wrote one of her most famous detective stories, “Murder on the Orient Express.” She traveled on this express from Istanbul to London several times and knew first-hand what it was like to be on a blocked train far from people: in 1931, the Orient Express, with Christie on board, stood in a field for several hours due to a snowstorm . Note that the writer always took a typewriter on her trips, so perhaps the beginning of the novel began on that day.
Well, Christie finished writing “Murder on the Orient Express” in more comfortable conditions: in room 411 of the Pera Palace Hotel Jumeirah in Istanbul. Today the room is named after Agatha Christie, and it carefully recreates the atmosphere of that time.
Another famous writer also loved the hotel: Ernest Hemingway was rumored to be able to sip whiskey for hours in the Orient bar. Queen Elizabeth II and King Edward VIII, Sarah Bernhardt and Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock, Jacqueline Kennedy and Mustafa Ataturk also stayed at the Pera Palace Hotel Jumeirah.
Ian Fleming, books about James Bond
Photo: © Julian Parrott
Where: GoldenEye, Oracabessa, Jamaica
Cost of 1 night for 1 person: from 42,758 rubles
In truth, when Ian Fleming wrote the James Bond books in the GoldenEye mansion, there was no hotel here yet. The house was entirely owned by the writer: he bought a plot of land in Jamaica in 1946 and built his house on the edge of a cliff overlooking a private beach. But these days, any traveler can stay here – if, of course, he books one of the 22 rooms in advance.
The main house, where the stories about the great agent are written, was built according to Fleming’s sketches. The writer spent more than 20 winters here. Noel Coward, Katharine Hepburn, Errol Flynn, Cecil Beaton, Princess Margaret and British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden also stayed here. And after Fleming’s death in 1964, the mansion was bought by the famous music producer Chris Blackwell, and a whole series of famous musicians visited the villa: Sting, Bono, Michael Caine, as well as Johnny Depp and the Clintons. By the way, many celebrity guests planted trees on the site – this tradition was started in 1956 by Sir Anthony Eden.
The main house has only 3 bedrooms, the rest of the rooms are located in cottages built later. But if you want to catch inspiration, ask to be accommodated in Fleming’s own room, where he even still has the table where he wrote books about agent 007. By the way, he specifically stands with his back to the window overlooking the sea so as not to be distracted.
Joanne Rowling “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”
Photo: balmoralhotel.grandluxuryhotels.com
Where: The Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, UK
Cost of 1 night per 1 person: from 16,367 rubles
The final part of the famous story about the boy who lived was completed by J. K. Rowling in the ancient hotel The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. The building itself looks like it came straight out of the pages of a saga: a Victorian mansion like this could easily house a school for magicians.
Rowling wrote her book in room 552 on the fifth floor. On the door of the room there is a sign “The J.K. Rowling Suite” and a small figurine of an owl. Behind the door is a huge suite with a bedroom, dressing room, spacious bathroom and large living room. In the living room there is a table at which several chapters of Harry Potter were written.
As Rowling herself admits in one of her interviews, someone was constantly preventing her from finishing the book at home, and she remembered Balmoral, where she had already stayed a couple of times. So in August 2006, the writer moved into a hotel. Only a few people on the hotel staff knew who lived in the large corner suite. They did everything possible to ensure that no one disturbed the famous writer, so she lived in the room for six months and finished her famous story.
Today it is impossible to rent the same room in the hotel, but there are 167 more rooms available to guests – from classic to deluxe. There is also a spa, sauna, Turkish bath, fitness room and the chic Number One restaurant.
Rudyard Kipling “The Jungle Book”
Photo: roccofortehotels.com
Where: Rocco Forte Brown’s Hotel, London, UK
Cost of 1 night per 1 person: from 29,846 rubles
Brown’s is a respectable and at the same time luxurious five-star hotel located in the very center of London, between Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street. It was here that Rudyard Kipling wrote his most famous work, The Jungle Book. Of course, the inspiration for the stories included in the book was not foggy London, but India, where Kipling spent his childhood. But it is possible that the comfort and convenience of the room at Brown’s played a role and helped the writer create a work that is still loved by both children and adults today.
The hotel has a special suite named after Kipling. The room has a unique atmosphere of colonial India. On the walls there is unique wallpaper with a pattern of flowers and leaves. The suite also features a huge marble bathroom and a spacious living room with a comfortable desk.
It wasn’t just Kipling who loved Brown’s Hotel. Over the years, Agatha Christie, Theodore Roosevelt and Alexander Bell lived here (who, by the way, made the world’s first telephone call from here). And Sir Winston Churchill said, “I don’t stay in a hotel. I’m staying at Brown’s.”
Ernest Hemingway “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
Photo: hotelambosmundos-cuba.com
Where: Ambos Mundos, Havana, Cuba
Cost of 1 night per 1 person: from 18,641 rubles
Ernest Hemingway generally had great respect for good hotels, and dozens of hotels around the world have rooms where he stayed or even lived for a long time. But the honor of being called the hotel where Hemignway worked fell to few. And Ambos Mundos is one of them.
Ambos Mundos is one of the oldest hotels in Havana, built in the late 1920s. And already in the early 1930s, issue 511 was filmed by Hemingway. He lived here for seven years and wrote three books during this time: “Death in the Afternoon,” “The Green Hills of Africa,” and “To Have and Have Not.” It was also here that he wrote some chapters of one of his most famous novels, For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Today there is a small museum in room 511, which houses a typewriter and some of the writer’s personal belongings. The bed in the room has also been preserved from those times. In addition, one of the hotel’s restaurants is called Hemingway. And another restaurant, Plaza de Armas, serves Hemingway’s favorite dishes. If you’re staying at Ambos Mundos, be sure to also head up to the rooftop bar for stunning views of Havana’s historic center.
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* Accommodation prices are indicated at the time of writing. The cost indicated in the material and the final price may differ.
Preview photo: roccofortehotels.com
