Room with a view: the 20 best hotels on screen

American popular culture has long been fascinated by the hotel and motel. These places, whether in a big city, a small town, or somewhere in between, are liminal spaces where people can often go to escape the restrictions and rules that govern daily life. Given their ambiguous nature, it’s no surprise that hotels have been the setting for everything from sitcoms to dramas, absurdist comedies to gripping horror. The best on-screen hotels make the viewer feel like they too are in that particular place, with all the pleasures and perils that entails.