James Bond and Palácio Estoril Hotel

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

The sixth film of the James Bond saga, was largely shot in Portugal.

The cast stayed at the Hotel Palácio Estoril, in the course of 1968, and the Hotel was an exceptional  scenario of that movie that had, as protagonists, the Australian actor, George Lazenby – the second agent of James Bond saga, after Sean Connery – and the English actress, Diana Rigg.

The exterior of the Hotel, the lobby, the pool and the rooms’ view, are an integral part of many of the scenes of the film that was released in 1969. At the time, the pool had been recently built.

Other locations in Portugal, as the Guincho Beach, Lisbon and the Arrábida Mountain, were selected for some of the scenarios of that feature film.

In the movie, one can see the entrance of the Hotel – both the exterior facade and the lobby – which remains without any major changes, and the pool, framed in the garden and very recently  upgraded, although with the same design.

José Diogo, still today one of the Heads of the Concierge Desk, did participate in the film when he was 18 years old. You can see him in a few scenes of the movie, handing the room key to James Bond agent.

The English writer, Ian Fleming, also a journalist and a British Naval Intelligence Officer, is the author of the James Bond character, created in his first book, “Casino Royale”(1953), inspired by the spies, also Estoril Palácio Hotel guests, where Fleming was staying at the time of the World War II. The James Bond film series debuted in 1962, with “Dr. No”.

Watch an online documentary by The BBC on how James Bond was born in Estoril. 

Learn more about our James Bond Theme Evenings

Welcome to The Estoril Palacio Spy Academy