· Open -

1929 - the same year as the Academy Awards

· 1st Owner -

Fred Horowitz - attorney lasted 2 years until the depression hit his finances

· AKA -

Named after a small road on the edge of the property

· Stars - *****

· Guests -

John Belushi / Robert de Niro / Raquel Welch / Jean Harlow / Duke Ellington / Tab Hunter / Helen Hays / Lindsay Lohan / Led Zeppelin / Paul Newman / Billy Wilder / Glenn Ford / William Holden / David Niven / Howard Hughes / Greta Garbo / Barbara Streisand / Warren Beatty / Buddy Hackett / Errol Flynn / Natalie Wood / Montgomery Clift / Myrna Loy / Bette Davis / Dorothy Parker / Sidney Poitier / Francis Ford Coppola / Sofia Coppola / David Crosby / Sharon Tate (Pregnant) and Roman Polanski / Graham Nash / Carly Simon / Maximilian Schell / Tony Randall / Bono / Colin Farrell / Britney Spears / Paris Hilton / Joan Baez / Hunter S Thompson / Stellan Skarsgard / Diahann Carroll / Desi Arnaz / Gore Vidal / Sal Mineo / Johnny Depp and Kate Moss / Anthony Bourdain / Richard Harris / Marilyn Monroe / Joan Crawford / Zsa Zsa Gabor / Maud Bogart (Humphrey's mother) / Lawrence Olivier / Quincy Jones / Dizzy Gillespie / Christopher Isherwood / Heath Ledger / James Franco / Taylor Swift / the Kardashians / John Wayne / Jeff Goldblum / Lucille Ball / Jarvis Cocker / Sean Connery /  Whoopi Goldberg / Dustin Hoffman / John Hurt / Bianca Jagger / Diane Keaton / Grace Kelly / Arthur Miller / Peter O’Toole /  Phil Spector / Billy Idol / Elizabeth Taylor / Montgomery Clift

· History -

It started off as an apartment block in an onion field on the road that connected the two cities of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills.

It was modelled on a castle in the Loire Valley in France where Mary, Queen of Scots resided and is thought to be the last resting place of Leonardo da Vinci

The third owner was an anti fascist banker who fled Germany with his fortune and used it against the Nazis. He made additions to the hotel and put a pool in.

Everyone was welcome and he broke convention by allowing black and gay entertainers to stay at the hotel

After a series of corporate owners let the place run down Raymond Sarlot bought it in 1975. He was going to tear it down but then got divorced and had to move in. He fell in love with the place and ended up repairing it.

These days the hotel is such a hot spot that everything is booked out most nights and the paparazzi are almost permanently located at the foot of a the driveway

· Signature -

Privacy - Underground car park and elevator straight up to your room

Originally it was if you want to be seen stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel. If you don't want to be seen go to the Chateau Marmont. Nowadays it's one of the hottest venues in town

European Style

· Rooms -

63 rooms, bungalows and cottages @ $1,228 - $6,464

· Tales -

Jean Harlow and Clark Gable set the trend here carrying on their affair while her third husband lived next door. She was 22 and they were on their honeymoon.

A pop songwriter committed suicide in his suite in the 1950's

The director of Rebel Without a Cause was staying here after he caught his wife in bed with his 13 year old son from another marriage. No angel himself he was sleeping with two of his underage stars Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo.

Bette Davis fell asleep with a lit cigarette watching one of her movies and nearly burned the place down. She was involved with a second fire that nearly burnt the place down again when some electrics shorted. She moved out after this

In 1956 Elizabeth Taylor nursed Montgomery Clift back to health after a bad car crash where he nearly died and she saved him from choking on his own tooth

Richard Harris was banned forever after knocking on all the guests doors telling them a nuclear bomb had been dropped

In 1968 Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham took over the kitchens and cooked Christmas Lunch for the rest of the band - who used to steal food trolleys to shuttle nude girls from room to room

Jim Morrison fell off a roof or a balcony

Tony Randall like to sunbathe nude in the garden (He was Belushi's neighbour)

Fashion photographer Helmut Newton crashed his car into the wall and died (He had had a heart attack)

Francis Ford Coppola looked at buying the hotel in the 70's but changed his mind when he saw the termite report

A young carpenter named Harrison Ford was hired to do some work here

Robert de Niro and Robin Williams visited John Belushi here in March 1982 and the next day he was found dead

Robert de Niro was robbed twice while staying here

Johnny Depp claims he and Kate Moss have made love in every room including the suites and bungalows

Lindsay Lohan ran up a US$46,350.04 bill that she couldn't pay and was evicted

Britney Spears smeared food all over her face in the restaurant and was banned

In 2011 Jenn Hoffman was banned for a year after tweeting about Rachael Hunter's behaviour in the restaurant

· Claim to Fame -

John Belushi died here of a drug overdose

Beyonce and Jay Z threw a secret Oscars after party in the garage

The hotel has appeared in at least a half a dozen films

It is assumed the Eagles song Hotel California is about the Marmont

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was written here

It was Anthony Bourdain's favourite hotel

It has Historical Landmark Status

· Innovations -

Allowed negroes and gays to stay

Los Angeles first Earthquake proof apartment building - has survived every earthquake since being built including  big quakes in 1933, 1953, 1971, 1987 and 1994

Soundproof

Drive your car back to the hotel if you had had too much to drink - 2 writers having a drink together called up to make use of this service only to find out they were already in the hotel

Pets are welcome for US$150 a night

· Feature -

As it started off as self contained apartments with no lobby, bar or restaurant and the car park and elevator and hidden from the road it was able to protect people's privacy like a normal hotel couldn't

· View -

Garden / Pool / Sunset Strip

· Facilities -

Swimming Pool / Tight lipped staff / Personal trainer / Gardens / Courtyard / Gym / Music and Movie Library

· Unique -

Good chance to see A - listers here

The history of the hotel closely parallels the history of Hollywood

It is going to become a private club but the restaurant will still be open to the public

· Restaurants -

It has 2 restaurants

Chateau Restaurant - Med infused Californian

Poolside Restaurant

First restauarant opened in 2003 74 years after the hotel opened - rooms were self contained with their own kitchens

Al Fresco dining in the back garden area

· Bars -

It didn't get a liquor license until 1995

Bar Marmont for cocktails - "Night of the Iguana", the "Daisy Buchanan" / Butterfly's Kiss

· Sights -

Hollywood / Sunset Strip / Hollywood Bowl / Santa Monica / Universal Studios / Beverly Hills / Rodeo Drive / Venice beach / Paramount Pictures / La Brea Tar Pits / Los Angeles Country Club / Phillippe the Original / Olvera Street / Chinatown

· Extra -

See 'Train Trips' LA to Montreal ( #132 Amtrak Across America) and #66 Get Your Kicks in USA - 'Countries M - Z').