The Traitors is back for its second season, and while the competitors spend the day frolicking in a gorgeous Scottish castle, they supposedly spend the night at the significantly less luxurious Inverness Airport Hotel.
The 22 Traitors compete for a portion of £120,000 in Ardoss Castle in Alness, Scotland, just north of Inverness.
The show’s rules are quite basic, yet they lead to a complex game of deception.
There are two teams: traitors and faithfuls. To win, the Traitors must remain unknown, while the Faithfuls must strive to figure out who they are.
Every day, every remaining person votes on who should be expelled at a round table, and the surviving Traitors get to discreetly murder other players.
Each night, when the gong strikes, the candidates are led to their sleeping quarters. However, according to Alan Cumming, who hosts the US version of the series (which is also recorded at Ardoss Castle), they are transferred to a new location rather than just walking upstairs.
‘Spoiler alert: None of us stayed in the castle. None of us,’ he told Daily Beast.
‘They [the contestants] all stayed in the airport hotel in the Inverness airport. How glamorous—you come to Scotland, and you stay in the Inverness airport hotel.’
He continued: ‘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.’
Our host, Claudia Winkleman, is not staying at the airport hotel. Ross is. It’s not just him; the other finalists will also participate, but we can’t pass up the opportunity to quote Diane.
While Ardoss Castle, built in the nineteenth century in the Scottish baronial style, has formal gardens and 100 acres of parkland on the banks of the River Alness, the Inverness Airport hotel is a member of the Courtyard by Marriott network.
There’s nothing wrong with the accommodations, which has four stars on Booking.com, but with pricing starting at £59 per night, it lacks Ardoss’ regal attributes.
One viewer described how the revelation changed their perspective.
‘The Traitors location is less exciting when you know they sleep overnight at the hotel right next to the runway at Inverness Airport. #TheTraitorsUK,’ wrote Caspar Remi.
The message has received over 3.5k likes, and one social media user says they witnessed the filming.
‘I was staying here back in May 2022, no idea if it was for traitors s1, but they had guards on each corridor by all the lifts checking on people leaving their rooms. They said it was for the filming of a reality show, but refused to tell me which one. Lovely hotel to be fair!’ wrote Charles Shires.
The Traitors location is less exciting when you know they sleep overnight at the hotel right next to the runway at Inverness Airport. #TheTraitorsUK pic.twitter.com/RNNwfwiy0I
— C A S P A R (@caspararemi) January 5, 2024
Kevin H remarked: ‘Imagine being woken up in that hotel in the middle of the night and being driven back out the countryside castle just to read a note to say you’re out of the game.’
User James Devonport called the hotel ‘hilarious’ and Joley Gordon was slightly disappointed as it was way less romantic than I thought’.
Claudia, 51, had previously marvelled at the magnificence of the castle:If it sounds clichéd, it seemed like we were in a painting at moments.
‘On day two, we saw a double rainbow and everyone was like oh my gosh, and the crew were crying, there were baby deer, there was beautiful heather, there were ancient trees, and an ancient loch.’
The Traitors airs on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays on BBC One at 9pm.