Five of the best car-themed hotels with rooftop race test tracks, F1-themed gyms and ‘petrol' cocktails

The Sun

4 days ago

WHETHER you are an F1 fan dreading the sport's annual August shutdown, or simply fancy the idea of dozing off surrounded by supercars, you can build a stay around motor racing.
Here are five hotels designed with petrol heads in mind.
NH TORINO LINGOTTO CONGRESS, Turin, Italy
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IN the 1920s, the opening of a Fiat factory put Turin's park-filled Lingotto neighbourhood firmly on the map. Part of it has now been transformed into the NH Torino Lingotto Congress hotel.
Photos of vintage cars line the walls, and other reminders of its history include the former rooftop test track, which appeared in the Italian Job, and has since been transformed into one of the world's coolest jogging tracks.
GO: Rooms cost from £100 per night. See nh-hotels.com.
V8 HOTEL, Stuttgart, Germany
THE V8 hotel is in Motorworld, a sprawling complex which is part museum, part car dealership. Motoring fans flock here to marvel (and occasionally buy) everything from Lamborghinis and Ferraris to vintage motorbikes and car parts.
The hotel's lobby is filled with supercars while in the rooms, beds are made from the chassis of a vintage Mercedes or BMW. We recommend the Le Mans room, which has coffee tables made from oil drums and an enormous wall mural depicting a pit crew at work.
GO: Rooms cost from £138 per night. See v8hotel.de.
BROOKLANDS HOTEL, Weybridge, Surrey
7
SITTING within the footprint of the former Brooklands circuit, which became the world's first motor racing circuit when it was built in 1907, is this slick hotel.
The track, famous for its banked curves, was the setting for various land speed records, although only a few moss-covered sections remain.
The hotel also overlooks Mercedes-Benz World's test track, and anyone can sign up for a lap of this circuit.
Lewis Hamilton has sped around it more than once.
GO: Rooms cosy from £113 per night. See brooklandshotelsurrey.com
ESCAPADE SILVERSTONE, Oxfordshire, UK
7
TRACKSIDE accommodation does not get better than this. Escapade Silverstone comprises 180 suites and 60 residences, many of which overlook the famous motor racing circuit.
Both the suites and residences are sleek and stylish; subtle nods to the location include monochrome cushions inspired by the chequered flag waved at the finishing line, and stacks of coffee table books chosen with speed demons in mind. Our favourite areas include the pool, with its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the track just 11metres away.
Wannabe F1 drivers will love the gym, which has the same torture devices – sorry, neck-training machines – used by drivers to help them cope with G Forces experienced during cornering and acceleration.
GO: Rooms cost from £92 per night. See escapade.silverstone.co.uk.
THE DAYTONA, Florida, US
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NEXT to the legendary Daytona Speedway circuit, there are motorbikes in the bar and racing cars in the lobby. Memorabilia on display includes trophies, bronze casts of Nascar drivers' gloves and art-like collections of speedometers (sounds weird but it works).
For a nightcap, head to the Blue Flame bar, where engine pistons have been transformed into sculptures. We recommend the Racing Fuel cocktail, made with blackberry moonshine, lime juice, blueberry syrup and lemon-lime soda.
Disney's Art of Animation Resort, Florida
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HEADING to Florida with a little Lando in tow? Consider Disney's Art of Animation Resort – more specifically the suites which pay tribute to the animated movie Cars.
Highlights include the traffic cone-shaped bedside lights and the carwash-inspired bathrooms, along with the coffee tables topped with colourful maps highlighting famous driving routes.
There are endless opportunities for some seriously fun selfies, too – guests can head outside to pose next to the movie's Sally Carrera and Lightning McQueen cars, or next to the Butte Gas station.
GO: Rooms cost from £231 per night, based on four sharing. See disneyworld.co.uk.
Hotel Tylösand, Halmstad, Sweden
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THIS Swedish car-themed hotel is co-owned by Roxette singer Per Gessle, and its public areas are stuffed with some of the world's most expensive speed machines (including a large number of Ferraris owned by Gessle himself).
You can learn more about the motors on hotel tours led by Dick Jönsson Wigroth, founder of Sweden's most successful racing team, although you don't have to be a piston head to enjoy a stay here, largely because it's located just metres from Tylösand Beach, famous for its golden sands and glass-clear water.