• Chateau Marmont is a legend in the world of showbiz – past or present.
• An imitation of the royal Chateau Amboise in the Loire, the rooms originally designed as apartments have generous proportions.
• On Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, home to LA’s most innovative dining and nightlife.
The Whole Story
Chateau Marmont is a legend. Think of a name, any famous name, from the world of showbiz -past or present, film, music or television - and there's certain to be a Chateau Marmont anecdote, scandal or connection.
This, after all, is where Paul Newman met his wife Joanne Woodward; where Jean Harlow carried on a scandalous affair with Clark Gable while still on honeymoon with cameraman Harold Rosson; where director Billy Wilder offered to sleep in a bath rather than suffer the indignity of staying elsewhere; where Jim Morrison of the Doors, high as a kite, jumped off the roof of a poolside cabana; where tough guy Robert Mitchum was photographed doing the dishes in an apron; and where John Belushi tragically died of a heroin and cocaine overdose.
Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard has been an enduring feature of the Hollywood scene since the early thirties. On buying the legendary LA property in 1991, André Balazs, keeping in mind the advice of devoted regulars, made the decision to upgrade, albeit in a manner that it was hoped would be hardly noticeable. This was no easy task. André Balazs rejected three separate schemes before settling finally on the combined talents of interior designer Fernando Santangelo and production designer Shawn Hausman.
Their contribution, exactly as Balazs requested, was to make the Marmont look as you would imagine it has always looked. Design was used to create an illusion (appropriately enough for a Hollywood hotel): the illusion that it has always been so. And it has worked ... without skipping a beat. Regulars still wouldn't dream of staying anywhere else (enjoying, no doubt, the added extras of room service, not an option in the old Marmont, and an efficient telephone system, unlike the infamous 'pot luck' exchange of the past). And new clientele are attracted by the forties-style glamour of the rooms and the undimmed reputation.
The fact that Chateau Marmont was never intended to be a hotel is probably what makes it such an attractive one. Built in the twenties as an earthquake-proof imitation of the royal Chateau Amboise on the Loire in France (its foundations are on solid rock), the layout and size of the rooms at the Marmont owe their generous proportions to the simple fact that they were originally designed as apartments.
Perhaps this also explains why some guests check in for months at a time, Keanu Reeves doesn't even own a place in LA, preferring instead the comfort of the Marmont.
In the best Hollywood tradition, Chateau Marmont is the kind of place where you can avoid leaving your room for weeks on end and no one will think anything of it. Room service, as might therefore be expected, does a roaring trade in this hotel. In fact so few guests venture out that the lobby, the terrace and dining room are hardly ever too crowded – a very pleasant bonus for the odd guest not interested in locking him or herself away. Whatever it is that Chateau Marmont has going for it, one thing is certain: this is one Hollywood legend that doesn't disappoint in real life
The Rooms
Each of sixty-three rooms, cottages and bungalows are a home of their own.
Standard bedroom with queen size bed and garden view
Junior Suite with queen size bed, sitting area, full kitchen and dining area
Standard One Bedroom Suites and Premier One-Bedroom Suites with a king size bed, large living room, full kitchen and separate dining room. Most suites feature a private balcony or terrace.