If walls could talk, the hotel rooms on this list would produce the ultimate bestseller. The details are nefarious, unpretty and in truth, often quite human and normal, but because they involve celebrity, the fascination is ceaseless. As a result, we present the next part in our countdown of notable hotel rooms.
7. Room 1220, St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco
In a rare tour de force, room 1220 in the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, is the location of two infamous celebrity episodes. Back in 1921, silent film star Fatty Arbuckle threw a party in the luxury suite that would have made Caligula proud. Sadly, the outcome was the death of a young actress. Fatty had to battle a subsequent rape charge and though he won, his career in Hollywood was toast. Years later in 1950, Al Jolson, perhaps unaware of the room’s history, had a heart attack in the middle of a card game in 1220 and met his maker.
6. Room 203, Mark Twain Hotel, San Francisco
Billie Holiday had a permanent impact on jazz and popular music, both as a singer and songwriter. Lady Day however, had a turbulent childhood that she could never quite reconcile, even at the summit of her success. A fierce appetite for opium once sent her to jail for ten months and soon after her release, federal narcotics agents got Holiday again in room 203 of the Mark Twain Hotel in San Francisco. The hotel now has a defacto shrine of the singer in the lobby to remind you of the unhappy event.
In one of the most prolific creative outbursts by any stretch of the imagination, Claude Monet went ballistic in his Savoy suite as a result of the beautiful riverside view. He went on to produce over 70 works that drew direct inspiration from the London scenery he saw from his Savoy perch.
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4. Presidential Suite, Kempinski Hotel Adlon, Berlin
In one of the most unusual twists in Michael Jackson’s fall from grace, the King of Pop came within an inch of infanticide. Perhaps a little extreme in retrospect but still, the photographers on the street must have had that exact thought when Jackson saw fit to dangle his newborn son from the balcony of the Presidential Suite of his hotel in Berlin. Talk about Thriller. The best quote to come out of the incident was the claim from Jackson that he was “caught up in the excitement of the moment.” Apparently the appearance of a horde of paparazzo incites the type of hysteria that makes you want to kill your baby. Whoops!
3. Bungalow 3, Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles
Legends are born as a result of premature deaths, no more so than in Hollywood. The icon evolution of James Dean is a notable example. While John Belushi had none of his screen idol persona, he had the charisma and brilliance of a comedian and actor who would have had a long and legendary career in show business. The creator of some of the most indelible and hilarious characters in Saturday Night Live history, the Animal House and Blues Brothers star had a very public battle with addiction. On March 5, 1982, Belushi lost the war in Bungalow 3 at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles via heroin and cocaine overdose.
Janis Joplin, then at the height of her musical fame, left the Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles on October 3, 1970 for her room at the Landmark Motor Hotel. Later the next day her body was found on the floor, the result of death by heroin overdose. Though tragically brief, Joplin’s career, with a signature style and sound, became one of the most influential in popular music. The Landmark, now Highland Gardens Hotel, draws Joplin fans from around the globe.
1. Rooms 1738, 1740, 1742, Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montréal
The most famous sojourn in bed took place in the city of Montréal at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent a week here in 1969 to protest the Vietnam War, decompress and confabulate with myriad guests, from fans to fellow artists, spiritual healers and politicians. The press coverage of the second “Bed-In for Peace” - the first by Lennon and Ono was in Amsterdam - was immense, with swarms of reporters on hand to document almost every conversation, declaration and comment by the couple. The most famous and landmark result of the Queen Elizabeth stay was the “Give Peace a Chance” performance, with backup vocals by the likes of Timothy Leary and Dick Gregory.
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Honourable Mention and Lifetime Achievement Award
Who else but Keith Moon and The Who? The band’s legendary celebration of Moon’s 21st birthday in a Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan in 1967 was so destructive that it resulted in banishment from every hotel in the chain’s roster.
Photo credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
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August 7th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Awesome stories, I have not heard of most of these. I’m sore the Stones had some legendary hotel escapades.