As we’ve all come to learn, quarantine is a total drag, but for the cast and crew of Cliff Beasts 6, their luxurious accommodations seemingly eased the prospect of spending weeks isolated on location — at first, anyway. Then, of course, outbreaks of influenza, story rewrites and on-set drama plunged the never-ending production into absolute chaos.

In the ultra-meta Judd Apatow comedy The Bubble, a film crew sets up shop at the posh (and totally made-up) Clifton Hotel to complete the dinosaur-packed action thriller Cliff Beasts 6 while in quarantine. With its sprawling grounds, stunning Palladian architecture, cozy sleeping quarters and attentive staff, the hotel isn’t too shabby a spot to be locked down — unless you’re being held there against your will by a production company. In which case, even the most gorgeous estate can feel like a prison. 

The Bubble’s actual filming locations served as the perfect backdrop for a beautiful gilded cage. Exterior shots of the Clifton Hotel were taken at Cliveden House, a 17th-century country home turned hotel in Buckinghamshire owned by Britain’s National Trust.  

According to Apatow, finding fitting locations for The Bubble was complicated by the layered nature of the film. After all, it is a film within a film, in which both films — the real one and the fake — are being shot under COVID protocols. But with its 376 acres of gardens and grounds, Cliveden House lent itself well to all the outdoor scenes for The Bubble. “The forest around the hotel serves as a moat because ultimately these people are trapped there,” producer Barry Mendel told Netflix. “It really heightens the idea of the luxurious prison.”

Cliveden House general manager Francisco Macedo tells Tudum that it was Adam Richards, the supervising location manager for The Bubble, who suggested using the estate in the film because he had shot previous projects there. Macedo says filming took place in front of Cliveden as well as inside a bedroom, on the roof and on the South Terrace over the course of just one week.

The estate was originally built in 1666 by George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, as a gift to his mistress. But not every salacious romance that happened within its walls is quite so scandalous. Cliveden House can be seen in movies like Hampstead and A Little Chaos, and it even stood in for Buckingham Palace in the iconic 1965 Beatles film Help! In addition to taking starring roles in cinematic history, the space serves as a fully functional hotel, with at least one royal guest having checked in. “Cliveden is where Meghan Markle slept the night before she got married,” Apatow pointed out. “So we’re in the middle of history here.” Those grounds that served as the Cliff Beasts 6 cast’s cage are open to the public to explore. And visitors can rest assured they won’t get their hands shot off like Lauren Van Chance (Leslie Mann).

Because so many scenes in The Bubble take place inside the Clifton Hotel, production designer Mark Tildesley needed an additional location. “We had to find another house where we could shoot the interior and have total control,” he tells Netflix. “By a stroke of luck, just next door to Cliveden in the neighboring property is Hedsor House, which is a nice smaller house that’s used as a venue, so it’s very used to having people, weddings, parties, conferences and film crews.”

The estates of Hedsor House date all the way back to the 12th century. Nick Shephard, a partner there, tells Tudum thatThe Bubble’s production took over the manor for four months. “Virtually the whole of the house was used for the film, including our ballroom and bridal suite,” he says. “Of course, lots of the rooms were extensively redecorated, so they are almost unrecognizable in the film. For example, our Willingdon Bar was completely re-clad and given a new fireplace.” 

Just like Cliveden, Hedsor House also has plenty of history. It was once the home of Princess Augusta, dowager princess of Wales and mother of King George III. He and his wife, Queen Charlotte, chose the location because of its beautiful view of the River Thames as well as its proximity to London. They were also heavily involved in designing the house. (Perhaps that’s a storyline that will be featured in the forthcoming Bridgerton spin-off about Queen Charlotte.) 

Hedsor House can be spotted in films such as Quartet and Legend, as well as in episodes of Downton Abbey and The Crown. Thanks to The Bubble, though, its hallowed halls may come to be best known as the backdrop of TikTok dances featuring the stars of Cliff Beasts 6.