The best celebrity-owned hotel in the world in 2026 is Necker Island, Richard Branson’s private-island resort in the British Virgin Islands, which sleeps up to 56 guests plus children. This list covers 10 hotels and resorts you can book that celebrities own or co-own, from Madeira to Belize to Carmel, California. We rank them on how closely the owner’s name and taste shape the stay, and we checked who owns what today. Several famous names from the original list, including the Clarence in Dublin and Sundance in Utah, are no longer celebrity-owned.
The 10 best celebrity-owned hotels at a glance
| Rank | Hotel | Celebrity | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Necker Island | Richard Branson | British Virgin Islands |
| 2 | Pestana CR7 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Madeira, Lisbon, Madrid, New York, Marrakesh |
| 3 | Blancaneaux Lodge and Turtle Inn | Francis Ford Coppola | Belize |
| 4 | Costa d’Este Beach Resort & Spa | Gloria and Emilio Estefan | Vero Beach, Florida |
| 5 | Mission Ranch | Clint Eastwood | Carmel, California |
| 6 | Nobu Hotels | Robert De Niro | Worldwide |
| 7 | DreamMore Resort and Spa | Dolly Parton | Pigeon Forge, Tennessee |
| 8 | Armani Hotels | Giorgio Armani | Dubai and Milan |
| 9 | The Greenwich Hotel | Robert De Niro (reported) | New York |
| 10 | Cromlix | Andy Murray | Dunblane, Scotland |
1. Necker Island, British Virgin Islands (Richard Branson)
Necker Island is a 30-hectare island north of Virgin Gorda that Branson owns entirely. The whole island operates as a resort and sleeps up to 56 guests, with room for 14 children as well.
It belongs to Virgin Limited Edition, which as of 2026 holds nine properties including Kasbah Tamadot in Morocco and the safari camps Mahali Mzuri and Finch Hattons in Kenya.
2. Pestana CR7, multiple cities (Cristiano Ronaldo)
Ronaldo and the Pestana Hotel Group announced the Pestana CR7 brand on December 17, 2015 as a 50/50 partnership with an initial investment of around €75 million. The hotels are operated by Pestana.
The first, in Ronaldo’s home city of Funchal, opened on July 1, 2016. The brand has since expanded to Marrakesh, with a Paris property under development.
3. Blancaneaux Lodge and Turtle Inn, Belize (Francis Ford Coppola)
Blancaneaux Lodge began as a family retreat in the early 1980s and opened to the public in 1993 as a 20-room resort. Turtle Inn in Placencia is its sister property.
Both belong to Coppola’s Hideaway company and sit under his Francis Ford Coppola Presents lifestyle brand.
4. Costa d’Este Beach Resort & Spa, Florida (Gloria and Emilio Estefan)
The Estefans own this Vero Beach resort on Ocean Drive, which they opened in 2008.
The resort is one of several business ventures of the couple, who also own Cuban-themed restaurants in Miami.
5. Mission Ranch, Carmel (Clint Eastwood)
Clint Eastwood bought the historic ranch in 1986, saving it from conversion to condominiums, and restored the buildings in the style of the original 1850s structures. The hotel has 31 rooms in 10 buildings.
The property includes a restaurant and dance barn and a century-old farmhouse and bunkhouse.
6. Nobu Hotels, worldwide (Robert De Niro)
Robert De Niro is a co-founder of the Nobu restaurant group with chef Nobu Matsuhisa. The first Nobu Hotel opened inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2013, followed by one at City of Dreams Manila in 2015.
Crown Resorts bought a 20 percent stake in Nobu for $100 million in 2015, and by October 2020 the chain had 13 hotels.
7. DreamMore Resort and Spa, Tennessee (Dolly Parton)
DreamMore sits on 20 acres within the Dollywood destination, which is jointly owned by Herschend and Dolly Parton Productions. The resort was announced in 2013 as part of a $300 million expansion.
Dollywood draws nearly four million guests a year, so the resort benefits from steady demand.
8. Armani Hotels, Dubai and Milan (Giorgio Armani)
Giorgio Armani, who died on September 4, 2025, signed a 2005 agreement with Emaar Properties to build Armani-branded hotels. The first opened on April 27, 2010 in the Burj Khalifa and the second in Milan in 2011.
See our guide to fashion designer hotels for more on the Dubai flagship.
9. The Greenwich Hotel, New York City (Robert De Niro)
The original article described this Tribeca hotel as owned by De Niro, with 88 rooms, an indoor pool in a Japanese bamboo farmhouse and the Locanda Verde restaurant. Travel listings still connect it to him.
We could not verify the current ownership or room count, so treat those details as reported rather than confirmed.
10. Cromlix, Scotland (Andy Murray)
Andy Murray bought Cromlix House near Dunblane in February 2013 for £1.8 million. The hotel had been closed since 2012 and Murray reopened it in April 2014.
We could not confirm who owns it today, so check before you book.
No longer celebrity-owned, or unconfirmed
These entries from the original list no longer fit.
- The Clarence, Dublin (Bono and The Edge): they bought it in 1992 and reopened it in 1996. In 2019 they sold the leasehold to Press Up Entertainment, which acquired the property outright in 2023.
- Sundance Resort, Utah (Robert Redford): Redford announced the sale of the 2,600-acre resort to Broadreach Capital Partners and Cedar Capital Partners in December 2020.
- Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast: it lost the Versace name in 2023 and is now the Imperial Hotel Gold Coast.
- Terrace Beach Resort, British Columbia (Jason Priestley): the family listed the 21-suite resort for sale in 2020, and later listings describe it as formerly Priestley’s.
- Marley Resort & Spa, Nassau: the family listed it for about $9.5 million in 2020. We could not confirm whether it sold. Bob Marley is also one of the celebrities who still earn money after death.
- Mick Jagger’s Stargroves villa, Mustique, and Number 11 Cadogan Gardens: dropped because we could not verify current status or ownership.
- Leonardo DiCaprio’s Blackadore Caye: DiCaprio bought the 104-acre island in Belize for a reported $1.75 million in 2005 and plans an eco-resort. We found no sign that a hotel has opened.
FAQ
Which celebrity owns the best hotel?
On our ranking, Richard Branson with Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, which he owns entirely and operates as a private-island resort for up to 56 guests.
Does Cristiano Ronaldo own hotels?
Yes. He owns half of the Pestana CR7 brand in a 50/50 partnership with the Pestana Hotel Group, which operates the hotels. The first opened in Funchal on July 1, 2016.
Do Bono and The Edge still own the Clarence Hotel?
No. They sold the leasehold in 2019, and the new owners acquired the property outright in 2023.
Does Robert De Niro own a hotel?
He co-founded the Nobu brand, which now runs 13 or more hotels, and the Greenwich Hotel in New York is widely linked to him, though we could not verify its current ownership.
Can you stay at a celebrity-owned hotel on a normal budget?
Some, yes. Mission Ranch in Carmel has 31 rooms, and Nobu and Pestana CR7 hotels operate in major cities. Rates change by date, so check each hotel’s site.
How we put this list together
We checked ownership, opening dates and current status for each hotel using company records and public reporting, and we removed anything we could not confirm. The order is our judgment of how closely the owner shapes the stay.
Last updated: October 2026.
