And More On the Chateau Marmont
{Courtesy Chateau Marmont}
My story about the Chateau Marmont ran today on Bloomberg News. I make it to Los Angeles several times a year, and I’d always wanted to stay there, propelled mostly by curiosity. The place has an amazing history, much of it pretty illicit. (We’ve written about it a number of times on Concierge.com — including notorious Hollywood Hotel Hookups and the best hotels to have an affair in.)
Supposedly Jean Harlow hooked up with Clark Gable on her honeymoon night — the fact she had just married someone else non-withstanding. Of course John Belushi did his last dance in one of the bungalows, and the antics continue today, from 2003 photos of Colin Farrell romancing Britney Spears to Scarlett Johansson having to publicly deny that she’d had an elevator liaison with Benicio Del Toro after the Oscars in 2004.
The first room I stayed in was right next to the lobby, and close to the check-in area. Everyone can see you coming in and out. Not exactly the venue for dastardly deeds if you’re, say, a married star meeting up for another married star — and you’re the same sex.
After a problem I was moved upstairs to a much bigger space, which had its own kitchen, living area, and nooks and crannies. Perfect party pad, and I really did wish I could have a conversation with the walls. Or, at least, a bunch of beautiful people to invite back to cavort.
What I didn’t get a look at as they were all full — and I didn’t want to out myself as a travel writer — were the notorious bungalows. I was talking to a former movie producer on my trip, and mentioned I was staying at the Chateau. “Some of the parties I’ve been to in those bungalows over the years,” he said to me, shaking his head. “There’s got to be cocaine residue on every surface.”
That I don’t doubt. It’s not the cleanest hotel I’ve ever stayed in, I’ve got to say.
As for stars, I didn’t see any. There might have been some there — and they were certainly crawling all over the place on Oscar week, one imagines — but I don’t have much of an eye for it. Living in New York City, you often see celebs walking on the streets, if you either care or are good at picking them out. I’m neither.
In the end, I would readily stay at the Chateau again. It’s got a sense of itself: a bit of hidden Hollywood, yes, but also a personality that’s completely lacking at any number of “hip” new hotels. A little grunge is all right by me.
