The Night I Went To.....Chateau Marmont

Books have been written about it, including the recent "Last Night at Chateau Marmont" by Lauren Weisberger; films have been shot inside it, such as "Somewhere" starring Steven Dorff, which tells the story of a rock star struggling with addiction and living the high-life at the infamous landmark, until his 11-year-old daughter turns up forcing him to re-evaluate his existence. Basically it's one of the most infamous luxury hotels, not just in the US, but the world; and the Chateau Marmont certainly has the air of a discreet witness who's seen it all. In its 80-year history, everyone from Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh and Rudolph Valentino have stayed at the iconic institution. An undiscovered Marilyn Monroe hung around the corridors in the 50s; James Dean jumped into a window to audition for "Rebel Without A Cause"; Keanu Reeves and Lindsay Lohan both lived in the hotel for a short period (not together, obviously); Rock Hudson lived there with his first live-in lover Kenneth G Hodge before he became famous in Hollywood-land and Johnny Depp once boasted he made love to ex-gf Kate Moss in every room there. I hope not all in one night, that's a lot of......well you get my drift. The hotel is also the last resting place (kind of) for frequenting celebrities too - legendary fashion photographer Helmut Newton died outside the hotel in 2004 when he crashed into the car-park wall; and actor/comedian John Belushi died in one of its garden bungalows in 1982 from a 'speedball', a combined injection of cocaine and heroin.

John Belushi's Body Is Removed From Chateau Marmont In 1982

No hang-out for famouses would be complete without a few rebellious rock n rollers too, which is why members of Led Zeppelin rode their motorbikes through the hotel's lobby, and the late, great Doors frontman Jim Morrison injured his back after trying to climb a drainpipe from the roof into his hotel room window - ending up on a cabana roof instead. That would be a rock n #FAIL then.
But my favourite tales of naughtiness at Chateau Marmont have to be Clark Gable and movie co-star Jean Harlow canoodling secretly while Harlow was on honeymoon with husband Chuck McGrew at the hotel, and the insatiable actress later hanging a sign saying ‘Gone Fishing’ on her ­bedroom door, while she ventured out onto Sunset Strip to find new hot young eye candy to seduce. Just brilliant! After flings on the hotel's top floors with Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth, eccentric film producer Howard Hughes (Scarface, 1932) was also up to no good with a pair of binoculars in his attic room, where he would spy on glamorous women in the pool area. I would probably do the same today myself, but I'd be zooming in on Jake Gyllenhaal on the hotel's patio instead.

© Global Pictures / Led Zeppelin at Chateau Marmont

To think of all the starlets from Hollywood's golden age that have walked the hotel's corridors with its gothic vaulted-ceilings in their Ferragamo heels (like Garbo), re-applied lipgloss in the hotel's antique beveled bathroom mirrors where so many screen icons must have re-touched their lippie before; and sat sipping a Martini in the candlelight of the voguish garden restaurant, as the smell of night-blooming Jasmine carries gently on the balmy breeze. As the hotel's description says, it's "a folly in the land of make believe", steeped in history and it's also littered with modern-day famouses looking at you trying not to look at them. But I didn't look at them, how terribly passé. Don't try a sneaky iPhone camera pic either to sell to Mr Paparazzi later on, the hostesses at Chateau Marmont will put their palm in front of your camera lens quicker than you can say Brody Jenner (I saw him dining with Avril Lavigne by the way - terribly C-list spot though). 
My two very handsome companions - one of whom is staying in a latin-style bungalow at the hotel, hence our being able to dine as his guests - it's not open to the public unless you book a room, also told me how the hotel is haunted. Not just by tragedy and scandal, but also by the spirits of Jim Morrison, Marilyn Monroe and Howard Hughes, among others. Maybe I will have that affair with Morrison when he emerges for cocktail hour after all. I hope his back is better though.

© Kate Lawson 2011

I'll leave you with a song by The Eagles, which was said to be written about the hedonist hangout on Sunset Boulevard, where I'm sure there are more unheard tales of debauchery locked inside its secretive star-studded walls, tales we'll never know - mainly thanks to the staff's discreet and reliable 'tight-lipped' policy. As the lyrics go, "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave." I can see why, it has a very hypnotising, seductive atmosphere which casts a spell on you. I'll definitely be visiting again before I leave L.A.
Heck, I might even check-in and position myself on a lounger in a poolside cabana in my white two-piece, strappy heels and oversize Jackie O-esque shades. If only to "accidentally" bump into Jake Gyllenhaal taking a dip of course. As Harry Cohn, founder of Columbia Pictures film studios, famously told film legends William Holden and Glenn Ford, “If you’re going to get in trouble, do it at the Chateau Marmont.”  *Winks*