The Dolder Grand

The Dolder Grand is a five-star luxury hotel at Kurhausstrasse 65 on the slopes of the Adlisberg above Zürich, Switzerland. The hotel opened on 10 May 1899 as the Dolder Grand Hotel & Curhaus, part of entrepreneur Heinrich Hürlimann’s development of the wooded Dolder area as a destination for recreation and relaxation above the city. Designed by Swiss architect Jacques Gros, the original hotel combined elements of the Swiss timber-building tradition with the scale and facilities of a Belle Époque grand hotel, offering 220 beds, restaurants, reading and billiard rooms, covered verandas, terraces, lifts and telephone service. Later extensions altered the building considerably, particularly during the 1920s and 1960s. The hotel closed in 2004 for a major reconstruction led by Foster + Partners, which removed the later additions, restored the historic main building and its three distinctive towers, and added two curved contemporary wings known as the Spa Wing and Golf Wing. The Dolder Grand reopened in April 2008 with 175 rooms and suites, a 4,000-square-metre spa and extensive views across Zürich, Lake Zürich and the Alps. Its combination of restored nineteenth-century architecture, modern design and a major art collection has made it one of the city’s most distinctive hotels.

The Dolder Grand appears in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). David Fincher uses the hotel as itself during the final stages of Lisbeth Salander’s scheme against corrupt businessman Hans-Erik Wennerström. Rather than limiting the appearance to an exterior establishing shot, the production filmed throughout the property, including the driveway, entrance, reception and lobby, guest corridors and the Masina Suite. The hotel is also identified by name on screen, making it one of the comparatively rare locations in the film that represents exactly what it is in reality.

In The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Lisbeth Salander travels to Zürich after obtaining access to the financial accounts of billionaire Hans-Erik Wennerström, whose corruption had previously resulted in Mikael Blomkvist’s conviction for libel. Adopting an elaborate new identity with a blonde wig, expensive clothing and the appearance of a wealthy traveller, Lisbeth arrives at The Dolder Grand and checks into the hotel under the name Irene Nesser. The real driveway and entrance are shown as she arrives, followed by scenes at the reception desk and through the hotel’s corridors before she settles into the luxurious Masina Suite. From this base she carries out the final stages of a sophisticated financial operation designed to empty Wennerström’s offshore accounts, visiting banks in central Zürich and transferring his money through a series of transactions while maintaining her disguise. Filming at The Dolder Grand took place over two days in December 2010 with around 60 crew members and 40 extras. For the suite scenes, furniture including a sofa and pool table was removed from the real Masina Suite so that a bed could be positioned in front of the fireplace. Lisbeth is also shown smoking in the room, but because the hotel was non-smoking, the cigarette smoke was added digitally in post-production. Even the receptionist who welcomes Lisbeth to The Dolder Grand was a real member of the hotel staff, further integrating the actual hotel into the sequence.

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