Where was the Orange Grove Hotel in THE DEEP?

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The Cliffs of Marley as 'Orange Grove Hotel' above Bermuda's Marley Beach (Source Sony Pictures)

The fictitious Orange Grove Hotel was a combination of three real places and was named after a real Bermudian family estate. The locations are:

The Cliffs of Marley, Marley Beach

One of the film's stunning panoramic shots is the 'Orange Grove Hotel' exterior with its cliffside elevator which was filmed at a private dwelling now called The Cliffs of Marley above Marley Beach, 14 Marley Beach Drive, Warwick WK 08, Bermuda.

The Cliffs of Marley (left), Marley Beach as 'Orange Grove' looking east in 1976 with the Masters and Maxsted designed elevator (Source Sony Pictures)

The specific dwelling in shot (at left with the conical roof) is called Heavens Above. Heavens Above is a holiday rental unit where you can watch Bermuda Longtails in the breeze and see parrot fish in the nearby surf. Beneath the conical roof is Heavens Above's dining room and in 1976, during filming, Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte were interviewed sitting outside the dining room windows.

Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte at Heavens Above, The Cliffs of Marley - 1976
Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte at Heavens Above, The Cliffs of Marley - 1976 (Source Sony Pictures)


This is the view looking out the same windows today.

Heaven's Above dining room at The Cliffs of Marley
Heavens Above dining room at The Cliffs of Marley (Source The Cliffs of Marley)


Heavens Above seen from "Heaven's Cliff"
Heavens Above seen from "Heaven's Cliff" at Marley Beach, Bermuda (Source The Cliffs of Marley)


The elevator, which was a focal part of the film's action, was specially designed by Tony Masters and Jack Maxsted to be fully functional and look like it had been standing since 1920. Made of steel and moulded fibreglass the structure was 113 feet high and cost (1976) $80,000. The surrounding limestone was too soft to provide support so the lift was anchored at the bottom and secured at the top by a customised concrete block heaved to the cliff edge. 

The Deep elevator and Slake's chalet at Marley Beach 1976 (Source American Cinematographer)

The structure was removed after production and visitors to the beach now find no trace of the lift that once hurtled to the ground.



Some discrete product placement took place at Marley Beach. Dick Anthony Williams' (as Slake) chalet showcased classic beach brand Sea & Ski.

"Tourists aren't allowed to blow themselves up you know"  Dick Anthony Williams (as Slake) with Sea & Ski (Source Sony Pictures)

The product also appears by the wheel of Sunkiss although audience attention was probably focussed elsewhere.

Sea & Ski placement on board Sunkiss (Source Sony Pictures)

The name Orange Grove was inspired by a real 18th century Bermuda homestead owned by the Zuill family. The Zuill family invited Peter Benchley to visit Orange Grove in c1969/70 while Benchley was writing about Bermuda for National Geographic. He was treated to Mrs. Zuill's famous cassava pie and you'll find a great cassava pie recipe here.

"I'm going to take a shower" Jacqueline Bisset as Gail Berke at Marley Beach 1976
(Source possibly Keith Hamshere or David Doubilet via Royal Books) 

Royal Naval Dockyard


David and Gail's bungalow interior was a fully furnished set built inside a former sail warehouse at Royal Naval Dockyard. There were two temporary sound stages directly behind what is now the Clocktower Mall; "Sound Stage One" housed the interior of Treece's Lighthouse. "Sound Stage Two", as producer Peter Guber called it, housed the interior of David and Gail's bungalow at the Orange Grove Resort. The Deep's production offices and a small screening room were inside the Clocktower Mall also home to the "four-faced liar". 

"David?" Jacqueline Bisset inside the Orange Grove bungalow set at Royal Naval Dockyard (Source Sony Pictures)

There is a Sail Loft building at what is now North Basin Building #7 (Sail Loft) Sail Loft Lane, Royal Naval Dockyard Sandy’s Bermuda MA01, and another building opposite, also a former sail loft, which is Building #9.

The National Museum of Bermuda has a collection of Tony Masters' sketches and storyboards which include the floor plan of the bungalow.

Tony Masters' floor plan of the Orange Grove bungalow (Bernews and National Museum of Bermuda)

Coral Beach and Tennis Club


The Orange Grove Hotel restaurant, where David (Nick Nolte) and Gail (Jacqueline Bisset) first encounter Henri Cloche (Louis Gossett) was filmed at the Longtail Terrace at Coral Beach and Tennis Club, 34 South Road Paget PG, 04, Bermuda. 

Jacqueline Bisset at the Longtail Terrace in 1976 (Source Sony Pictures)

Staff performed as extras including Mr. Peter Tunnelly, the Coral Beach Club's General Manager, who played Gail and David's waiter. 

Former Coral Beach Club manager Peter Tunnelly plays himself at the Longtail Terrace 1976  (Source Sony Pictures).

The Longtail's iconic seascape furniture is still in use at the Club today.

Longtail Terrace's furniture today (left) and in 1976 during filming (right) (Sources Coral Beach Club and Sony Pictures).

The Pollockshields, one of many real shipwrecks that inspired The Deep's fictional Goliath, wrecked in 1915 on the reef in front of Coral Beach and Elbow Beach. 

Rescuing survivors from Pollockshields of Elbow Beach within sight of Coral Beach in 1915 (Source Bernews)

When Pollockshields wrecked the ship was carrying 350 tonnes of munitions that were still washing up at Coral Beach and Tennis Club in 2010. 


Were you there when The Deep was being filmed? Share your story of the The Deep filming locations in the comments below.

thedeepfilminglocations(at)gmail.com



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