10 books set in hotels Archives

Beautiful Ruins: A Novel

by Jess Walter

In April 1962, an American actress mysteriously arrives by boat to fictional Porto Vorgogna, a tiny pin prick of a town. Dee is gorgeous, alone, and dying. She's been exiled here from the set of Cleopatra, the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton film that remains one of the most expensive and scandal-ridden movies ever made. As the story bounces back and forth between present-day Hollywood and the golden era of film, we discover why a Hollywood power player sent her away—and what happens next. Containing scenes from plays both real and not, the first chapter of a novel, a movie pitch, and someone else’s memoir. It's going to be breathtaking on the big screen.

A Gentleman in Moscow

by Amor Towles

In this well-loved historical novel, Towles tells the story of Count Alexander Roskov, an aristocrat who the Bolsheviks sentence convict in 1922 for crimes of state (involving poetry). His punishment is house arrest, confining him to a small room inside the elegant Metropol Hotel. Towles show us how, over many decades, the Count makes a life for himself after his walls literally close in. With a rich, transportive (if claustrophobic) setting and endearing characters, this novel lingers in readers' minds long after the final page.

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

by Helene Hanff

The success of 84, Charing Cross Road enabled New Yorker Helene Hanff to finally travel to London; this is her memoir about that visit. Upon arrival Hanff encamps at the Hotel Kenilworth on Bloomsbury Street and is treated so graciously by her London hosts she dubs herself "Duchess." While in London she meets the family of the bookseller with whom she shared a lengthy correspondence (as captured in 84), visits historical sites, makes loads of friends, dines and lunches and walks in the gardens, and generally has a ball. This was exactly the right book at the right time.

Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy Book 1)

by Kevin Kwan

When Economics professor Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend Nicholas Young, she has no idea his family is worth billions. Instead of the lovely vacation she imagined, she spends her days navigating the complicated and perilous world of three mega rich Chinese families, as Nick's mom schemes to drive the couple apart. This is an insider look at wealthy Singapore society that toes the line between fun romp and over the top parody. It'll have you laughing out loud and gasping at the characters' antics!

Lovely War

by Julie Berry

This fun novel—and book club favorite—combines three unexpected elements to great effect: World War I, a love story, and Greek mythology. It begins with Aphrodite and Ares walking into a swanky Manhattan hotel during WWII, and soon enough Aphrodite's husband Hephaestus challenges her to show him what love really looks like. She obliges, and takes the reader back in time to meet four young lovers in 1917 Britain, showing her fellow gods how each couple fell in love, and what they mean to each other. It sounds unlikely but the interesting narrative structure totally works.

Front Desk

by Kelly Yang

I recommended this effervescent middle grade novel to Gina House in WSIRN Episode 261: Huggable comfort reads for a cozy reading season. Ten-year-old Mia Tang spends most of her after school hours managing the front desk of a motel, where her family lives and works. The Tang family isn’t just cleaning the rooms… they’re also sneaking in other immigrant families and allowing them to stay in empty rooms for free. If Mr. Yao, the owner, finds out about this secret, it spells trouble for everyone. If Mia’s mom finds out about her secret, will it also mean trouble for Mia? While the characters deal with hard things, Yang grounds her story in love, friendship, and hope. In the last few years, parents challenged Front Desk, objecting to its depictions of race. This resulted in multiple school curriculum and read-aloud bans.

The Hotel Nantucket

by Elin Hilderbrand

Hilderbrand’s beach reads are always enjoyable but this one is notable for introducing me to a new favorite pen. The titular hotel’s Gilded Age glory days are long gone: it’s a real dump (and in a fun plot twist—haunted!) when London billionaire Xavier Darling buys it sight unseen. The new owner hires local restaurateur Lizbet Keaton to make his hotel the best property on the island, if not the whole Eastern seaboard. And that means The Hotel Nantucket has to wow Shelly Carpenter, the influencer who’s become a national obsession for her blog Hotel Confidential. The influential critic regularly reviews hotels for her eighteen million followers and awards each property anywhere from one to five keys. The staff is energized by this audacious goal, because no hotel has ever earned five keys from Shelly Carpenter. To earn the coveted fifth key, they’ll have to do everything right. Super fun, and I especially enjoyed the ghost story element!

Last Summer at the Golden Hotel

by Elyssa Friedland

Ginger says: This was my first Elyssa Friedland novel, but it won’t be my last. She writes these great ensemble casts that you fall in love with. This family drama combines two families, with all their interpersonal mess and secrets at a hotel in the Borscht Belt. The resort is past its heyday, and the family needs to decide what to do next—and of course everyone has a different opinion about what that should be. Friedland includes food, fashion, games, and fireworks so you feel like you’re summering along with the Goldmans and Weingolds.

The Wedding People

by Alison Espach

I almost put this down in the early chapters when the dark premise was revealed, but this tragicomedy turned out to be profound, compassionate, and deeply life-affirming. When Phoebe checks into her swanky Newport, Rhode Island inn, she finds out that she’s the only guest who’s not there for the weeklong wedding. Phoebe is hitting bottom; she doesn’t care about a wedding. But to her surprise, she finds herself absorbed by the drama unfolding around her and pulled into the action. And—because she has nothing left to lose—she finds herself telling the truth for the first time in ages, to herself and to others. Though grim in parts, this story is bursting with insight, sharp humor, and a pervasive humanity. I can’t wait to read what Espach writes next.

A Room with a View

by E.M. Forster

You just can’t beat a book that turns on a stolen kiss in the Italian countryside. It’s widely believed that the movie is better than the book, but that’s no excuse not to read this slim novel about the awakening of sheltered Englishwoman Lucy Honeychurch (who is definitely in the running for Most Adorable Name in Literature) at the hands of an Englishman with little regard for convention. (It's worth saying: the movie version is fabulous.)

10 books set in hotels

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