The fleet of black 4×4 vehicles on The Traitors UK are a staple of the show and add to the moody atmosphere. Those Land Rover Defenders are seen in every episode to whisk participants off to their accommodation.
But while it is thought the cars are just for show and the show’s contestants are staying in accommodation on or very close to the castle grounds, nothing could be further from the truth.
The show’s guests are ferried to rather more basic accommodation than a fancy Scottish castle – an airport hotel in fact.
It seems the Courtyard by Marriott at Inverness Airport is where all Traitors stars are placed, including the celebrity ones.
This new hotel, which opened March 2020, is set in Inverness, a mere 1,500 feet from the airport, 8.7 miles from Inverness Castle, and a 31-mile, 45-minute drive from Ardross Castle where the show is set.
BBC
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It classes itself as four-star, and rooms are available from £58 a night. The hotel boasts a restaurant, private parking, a fitness center and a bar. Facilities include a 24-hour front desk and luggage storage space, along with free WiFi throughout, although the contestants are thought to be largely blocked-off from the outside world.
The hotel rooms are equipped with a flat-screen TV, air conditioning and a wardrobe. The accommodations offers a continental or buffet breakfast.
Presenter Claudia – as well as Alan Cumming, the Scottish host of the American version – don’t stay there, but Alan revealed in a recent interview that contestants are kept far away from filming locations.
He told the Daily Beast: “Spoiler alert: None of us stayed in the castle. None of us. They all stayed in the airport hotel in the Inverness airport [laughs].
“How glamorous—you come to Scotland, and you stay in the Inverness airport hotel. And I stayed in a little house in Inverness. But I had a room in the castle where I would get made up and dressed. It had a huge bed in it. So I did actually sleep quite often, but not overnight.”
However, the choice of accommodation for The Traitors gets a big thumbs up from last year’s Celebrity Traitors star Jonathan Ross.
BBC
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“It’s a very nice hotel and the food is good. No complaints,” he tweeted. What better review do you need?
The BBC One show is into its final week, with the climax of the fourth civilian series set to air this Friday, January 23, at the slightly later time of 8:30pm. And it seems even Claudia’s husband, Kris Thykier, has no idea what the end result will be.
“She won’t tell me anything so we have to watch it live,” he told The Standard. “So, we’re all watching it with bated breath.”
The Traitors airs on BBC One and streams on BBC iPlayer.
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