Pulaski Tickets & Tours

DiCaprio Just the Latest Celebrity to Join the Hotel Business

The actor Leonardo DiCaprio recently announced his plans to build an eco-resort on private Blackadore Caye in Belize, a property expected to open in 2018.

April 09, 2015

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​He’s far from the first celebrity to enter the hospitality game. He joins a cadre of fellow actors, musicians and athletes, including the 11 below, who have broadened their portfolios (and their brands) with properties around the world.

Francis Ford Coppola

Belize, it seems, is a relative hot spot for celebrity hoteliers. The film director Francis Ford Coppola has two properties in the Central American nation, including Turtle Inn on the beach in the sleepy south coast town of Placencia. The 25-room resort is the luxury leader in the district, with thatch-roofed bungalows filled with Balinese furniture and deep Japanese baths, some with outdoor showers and private gardens. But the resort’s Mare Restaurant draws diners from beyond the hotel for fresh fish and organic vegetables grown on the property, and the beachfront bar offers bocce in the sand. Rates from $309.

Andy Murray

The Scottish tennis star Andy Murray branched into the hotel business last year with Cromlix, a 19th-century estate near Dunblane, just over 40 miles northeast of Edinburgh, which he renovated and turned into a 34-acre luxury resort. The 1880-vintage house offers 15 rooms, most with individualized floor plans and generous bathrooms with free-standing tubs. It is also home to Chez Roux, a restaurant by the French chef Albert Roux. While Cromlix offers classic estate activities such as fishing, falconry and archery, it has just one tennis court. But it has a mission: Mr. Murray opened it with the goal of spurring tourism in his hometown. Rooms from 250 pounds, or about $360, at $1.44 to the pound.

Richard Gere

Richard Gere, the actor, is behind the Bedford Post Inn in Westchester County, N.Y. The dormered property dates back to the 1780s and now hosts eight guest rooms, most with fireplaces and marble bathrooms, some with terraces. The 15-acre Relais & Châteaux member also features a yoga studio with daily classes and periodic workshops. Recently the New York-based chef Michael White took over the inn’s two restaurants, opening Campagna,  which serves Italian food, and the Barn, a more casual, all-day option. Rooms from $395.

Robert Redford

If you didn’t know that the 5,000-acre Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah was owned by the actor Robert Redford, you might get a clue from a clutch of photos hanging outside the Tree Room, the rustic-chic restaurant built around a spruce tree. The restaurant exemplifies the close-to-nature experience the resort aims to impart through both activities (skiing in winter, hiking in summer) as well as design. One hundred accommodations range from basic rooms to those with kitchens, many paneled in knotty pine. Mr. Redford’s cultural interests shape the event schedule, featuring theater, concerts and author lectures on site. Rooms from $199.

Clint Eastwood

The former mayor of Carmel, Calif., the actor and director Clint Eastwood preserved a nearby 19th-century dairy farm to stave off condo developers, turning it into the Mission Ranch Hotel and Restaurant.  Sheep still graze in a meadow at the 22-acre ranch, now host to 31 rooms, distributed among a farmhouse, barn and cottages. The original creamery serves as the restaurant, with live piano music nightly and a jazz brunch on Sunday. (Mr. Eastwood is himself a musician and composer.) Guests also have access to the Mission Ranch Tennis and Fitness Club, which includes six courts. Rooms from $125.

Gloria Estefan

The singer Gloria Estefan and her husband, the producer Emilio Estefan, own Costa d'Este Beach Resort and Spa in Vero Beach, about 140 miles north of Miami on the Atlantic Ocean. The couple renovated a 1970s-vintage hotel, reopening it in 2008 with 94 rooms in two five-story towers spaced by an oceanfront infinity pool. The hotel includes a contemporary restaurant that serves a selection of Cuban dishes created by the Estefans (who have also published a cookbook), a full-service spa and a bar where, fittingly, acoustic musicians play on most Wednesday through Saturday nights. Rooms from $229.

Robert DeNiro

Robert DeNiro has been active in the hotel world, partnering on Nobu Hotels in Las Vegas and elsewhere. In New York, he has opened the Greenwich Hotel,  which houses 88 rooms, each uniquely designed with deluxe appointments that might include Tibetan rugs and Moroccan tile. Amenities include a Japanese spa, indoor swimming pool, courtyard and the Italian restaurant, Locanda Verde, from the chef Andrew Carmellini. Rooms from $575. You will need a “Godfather” worthy bankroll to check into the hotel’s 6,800-square-foot TriBeCa Penthouse, with a three-bedroom suite and a bi-level terrace including a Jacuzzi and wood-burning fireplace ($15,000 a night).

Bono and The Edge

In the heart of the entertainment-centric Temple Bar district of Dublin, U2’s Bono and The Edge own The Clarence, which is, according to its website, “the kind of place that they would choose to stay themselves.” Its theme, fittingly, is rock ’n’ roll, best represented by a strong emphasis on food and drink, especially the subterranean Prohibition-evoking cocktail bar, the Liquor Rooms. Its 50 rooms above are more serene, filled with blond-wood Shaker-style furniture. The best overlook the River Liffey, including a penthouse with a rooftop terrace. Rooms from £92.

Olivia Newton-John

In Brooklet, Australia, about 100 miles south of Brisbane, the singer and actress Olivia Newton-John co-owns Gaia Resort and Spa. The lush 25-acre property acts like a destination spa with packages that address weight loss, fitness and meditation, and daily activities such as cooking or sculpture classes. Facilities include a gym, yoga room, pool and tennis court. The restaurant serves chicken, fish and vegetarian dishes, using produce from its own organic garden. Nineteen rooms are in bungalows spread across the property for privacy. Two-night packages from 1,145 Australian dollars, all-inclusive, or about $900, at 1.27 Australian dollars to the U.S. dollar.

John Malkovich

Not every celebrity goes the luxury route. The actor John Malkovich co-owns the budget-friendly The Big Sleep Hotel, with branches in Cardiff, Wales, as well as Cheltenham and Eastbourne in England. The design-centric hotels are boutique in size, ranging from 50 to 81 rooms. They are amply furnished and have private baths and come in a variety of configurations, including standard twins and family studios. The public areas tend to be brightly decorated, and a free breakfast is included. Rooms from £29.