The True Meaning
of Fandom

Fifty Shades of Grey took the world by storm when it first appeared on bookstands and even more so when we finally got a live-action version.

But perhaps the most impressive phenomenon has been its loyal and dedicated fandom.

Each great franchise in pop culture has its core fandom: A group of dedicated super-fans who worship, celebrate and defend their favourite books and movies with impressive ferocity. Being a true Fifty Shades of Grey fan means knowing more about Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele than anyone else, it means defending their honour online, reciting entire scenes of dialogue, and owning piles of Fifty Shades of Grey merchandise.

It means attending fancy film premieres just to get a glimpse of Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson in the flesh. However, the truest sign of all that you are a hard-core Fifty Shades fan is visiting the locations where the films were shot. It is a pilgrimage of great personal significance to true fans of the franchise who want to experience a piece of the film’s emotional luxury themselves – And countless people have done it.

A Van City Tour

The story of Fifty Shades is set mainly in Portland and Seattle, but any fan worth their commemorative t-shirt knows that most of the action was actually filmed in Vancouver. If you wanted to design your own Fifty Shades tour, you could start with a pastry at Rainier Provisions on W Cordova in Gastown, the coffee shop Christian and Ana visit for tea. Maybe then you would drop by the Paperhound bookshop on West Pender Street, where Ana buys her first copy of Tess of d’Urbervilles. Next, you would go to the location for Grey Enterprise Holdings, where the couple first meet (to regular Vancouver people, the building is simply known as Bentall 5 Tower downtown). Then, it is extremely important to visit The Jameson House, which is where Christian lives in the movie. Ana’s slightly humbler apartment can be found at 120 Powell Street.

But perhaps the most exciting destination of all is the elevator where Christian and Ana first share a kiss. It is located inside the iconic and revered Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, at 900 West Georgia Street. A local institution and beloved piece of impressive architecture, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver has a deep historical connection to film, providing the backdrop to many of the world’s most beloved scenes. For Fifty Shades, it is where the two main characters stayed (on the 14th floor) and shared their most intimate, luxurious moments. And in Fifty Shades Darker, the rooftop bar was the setting for an intimate dinner, and still remains that for many guests experiencing the various luxuries of the hotel. It is no wonder fans of the trilogy have flocked to this very spot to experience a piece of the film, creating their own memories in tow.

The World’s Most Dedicated Fan

Online, there are countless blogs, forums and articles dedicated to Fifty Shades fandom. They are competitively adoring and get thousands of hits. Lisa Fish, who runs the fan site Fiftyshadesgirlportland.com, writes obsessively about the franchise and what it means to her. She has travelled the world to be present during filming and publishes interviews and videos from on set. “It was very amazing and emotional to actually see the filming,” she says. “It was like I was the only one around watching who really knew the significance of what they were filming. I was told by the crew that I knew more than they did and they would occasionally ask me questions about the storyline. I remember the day they brought out the vases of white roses to go into Ana’s apartment. It was so exciting to see that happening straight from the book.”

This is exactly what delights fans who visit film locations: the ability to see little moments from their beloved books in real life. To understand fandom like this is to know that for people like Lisa, these films are more than entertainment. They have immense sentimental value. Going on a Fifty Shades film location tour allows fans to bring the fantasy and escapism of the stories they love into their own lives, and that can be a powerfully emotional experience.

Indulging In Your Own
Emotional Luxury

In Fifty Shades, Christian Grey agrees to pose in a photo shoot in an elegant Art Deco hotel suite. In the book, it was the Heathman Hotel in Portland, Oregon, where Ana is from, but it was actually filmed at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. It is a sleek, expansive room called The Governor’s Suite and since the runaway success of the novels and trilogy of films, you can now actually stay there – in this very suite. Fans who get the “Mr Grey Package” get picked up at the airport in a BMW and are whisked back to their room, where they can snooze in the king size bed, gaze out over False Creek and try on a lace Chantilly eye mask. Other businesses in the Vancouver area, as well as in Seattle and Portland, have also started offering Fifty Shades of Grey themed specials, and they are hugely popular with fans who delight in recreating some of the glamour, mystery and allure of their beloved films.

It is compulsory, at some point during your stay, to say out loud: “Mr Grey will see you now.”

Whilst we will not all be in the mould of Fifty Shades super fan Lisa, the feeling of being part of a cultural moment, experiencing a slice of silver screen magic, carries a value far greater than the sum total of even the most impressive surroundings. This emotional luxury, created through a real-world connection with these cultural moments, produces a richness of experience that goes beyond our traditional experience of luxury. A scene in a film can pass in a matter of seconds but the power of them to shape our lives can stay with us forever.

Fairmont

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts celebrates its deep connection to cinematic history with it's event series Fairmont Loves Film. Comprised of pop-up events, a retrospective photo exhibit, as well as an exclusive collaboration with film director Gia Coppola, Fairmont Loves Film is an ode to the brand’s unrivalled Hollywood legacy.

Find out more

Fifty Shades of Grey took the world by storm when it first appeared on bookstands and even more so when we finally got a live-action version.

But perhaps the most impressive phenomenon has been its loyal and dedicated fandom.

It is compulsory, at some point during your stay, to say out loud: “Mr Grey will see you now.”

Fairmont

Anatomy of a Classic: Indulging in Emotional Luxury