A Stay At The Chateau Marmont

The Chateau Marmont has been a Hollywood institution since it was first constructed in 1929 when it was designed to look like a French chateau found in the Loire Valley. Its unique design, while pleasing to the eye is not what has made this the very special place that it is. The secret is within its history and the luxury that comes with the price tag has made it the spot to see and be seen.

The History
The hotel did not actually start out as a hotel. Instead, it was conceived as an exclusive apartment complex for the elite of Hollywood’s high society. It was in an ideal location to woo potential renters as it was right to the side of Sunset Boulevard. Unfortunately, when the Great Depression hit, people could simply not afford to rent the apartments and it was then converted into a hotel. Next came the infamous pool and cottages that were added on to the property, this was before it would switch hands a third time, in the 1990s, when it was bought by current owner Andre Balazs, who set to work on modernizing the whole structure so that it could appeal to a younger crowd but still maintain its old Hollywood charm.

The Scandals
Over the years a lot of different celebrities have decided to live there such as Roman Polanski, Hunter S. Thompson, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, just to name a few. There have also been a lot of scandals that have come out of the chateau and if the walls could talk, well what a story they would tell. Actor John Belushi tragically passed away there, Britney Spears had a mental breakdown, and Helmut Newton accidentally drove into the hotel itself and those are just some of the scandals. The list goes on and on and Hollywood’s elite continues to be constant patrons.

Staying There
You don’t have to be a celebrity to stay there. All you need to do is book one of their rooms or go to the restaurant for a meal and you can feel like you’ve stepped into another world. It will set you back about $500 a night for a basic room but if you want to splurge you can get one of the suites. What’s interesting about the hotel is that the furniture is not exactly up to date itself and this place has left itself firmly in another era, after all, you are paying for the experience.