GRAND HOTEL

 

The Grand is probably the best known hotel in Lodz. It has been in continuous operation since 1888, although it has undergone numerous reconstructions since its establishment. As Joanna Podolska and Jakub Wiewiórski state in Spacerownik. Łódź Filmowa guidebook, “after the War, the greatest stars of Polish cinema stayed here. Several suites were named after famous Polish actors: Jan Machulski, Beata Tyszkiewicz, Daniel Olbrychski, as well as Arthur Rubinstein”. Along Piotrkowska Street, in front of the hotel, there is the The Alley of Stars, which honours the most eminent figures of Polish cinematography.

 

Cold War

reż. Paweł Pawlikowski, 2018

 

Recognising the Grand Hotel in the Cold War is quite a challenge. Interior shooting took place in rooms normally inaccessible to the hotel guests. The former theatre room served as a set design for the Parisian club L’Eclipse where Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) played after escaping from behind the Iron Curtain. In turn, a room at the back of the hotel (the corner of Hotelowa and Traugutta Streets) stars as the interiors of Café Le Balto, where Wiktor meets Zula (Joanna Kulig) for the first time after he’s left.

 

Read more about the film here.

See what films have been shot in Łódź:

IDA

IN DARKNESS

PHARAOH

COLD WAR

See popular film locations:

OLD TOWN PARK

PASTOR’S MILL

PINKUS TENEMENT HOUSE

SCHEIBLER’S SPINNING MILL