Q.
What is it supposed to be on the show?
A.
The Hotel Carmilla, an exclusive hotel for
vampires.
Q.
Where is it supposed to be on the show?
A.
In Dallas, Texas.
Q.
When did we see it on the show?
A.
In several episodes of Season 2, beginning
with Episode 4 ("Shake and Fingerpop") and running through Episode
9 ("I Will Rise Up").
 The
Hotel Carmilla (named after a fictional female vampire from an 1872 story)
is a unique hotel made especially for vampires. It is sealed from all outside
light, so that they can live a relatively normal life without worrying
about the rising sun (e.g., they can sleep in beds instead of coffins).
Sookie,
Bill & Jessica stay at the hotel when Eric summons Sookie to Dallas
(after his maker, Godric, goes missing).
Among
the events that take place at the Hotel Carmilla:
Sookie
meets Barry, a young bellhop who is a fellow mind-reader.
Sookie
volunteers to infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun camp.
She
meets Hugo (the human companion of a Dallas vampiress), who turns out to
be a traitor. They have a conversation about what it's like to be have
a vampire lover.
Lorena
(Bill's maker) holds Bill against his will in a hotel room, preventing
him from going to Sookie's rescue (when Sookie is in danger at the church
of the Fellowship of the Sun).
Jessica
& Hoyt lose their virginity together (temporarily, in her case...)
It
is on the rooftop of th Carmilla Hotel
that Godric exposes himself to the rays of the rising sun.
Q.
What is it actually, in real life?
A.
A real hotel - but not in Dallas.
Q.
Where can I find it in real life?
A.
The interior Hotel Carmilla scenes were filmed at the
Sofitel Hotel,
at 8555 Beverly Blvd.,
in West Hollywood.
You'll
find this boutique hotel right across the street from the Beverly
Center mall, on the north side of Beverly Blvd, just west of
La Cienega Blvd.
That's
about a mile and a half northeast of Rodeo
Drive (in Beverly Hills), and just a couple of blocks east of Robertson
Blvd.
Although
this hotel does have a heliport on its roof, they did not
film the Godric's rooftop scenes
here.
The
hotel has its own website, at www.sofitel.com.
But what about that exterior, establishing shot of the hotel (seen at the top of the page)?
That's definitely NOT the exterior of the Sofitel Hotel. It's not in L.A., and it's not even in Texas.
That exterior is actually a rather random shot of the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, located at 32 Exchange Terrace, in Providence, Rhode Island.
Q.
How the heck did you figure out where it was?
A.
Fortunately, the company which booked the
filming at the Sofitel Hotel, Filming
Direct, understandably bragged about it online - which made it very
easy to find out where those hotel scenes had been filmed.
Thank
you, Film Direct. They even took before & after photos of the
hotel lobby :
Here
is an aerial
photo of the hotel, with the rooftop heliport marked. And here
is a map
link.
As for the hotel exterior, I had no idea where that
was. It's difficult enough to track down locations in L.A. and
Louisiana, but when they just pick a random spot anywhere in the
country, it's next to impossible to track down.
Fortunately, that's where fans sometimes come to the rescue.
In 2016, Liam Gray, who happens to live in Providence, recognized the hotel, and dropped me an email to let me know where it was.
Here's a matching photo of the Marriott (without the red lights and CGI additions):
[Thanks, Liam!]
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