LIVING IN HOTELS

Actors, painters, musicians, clubbers, writers or simply famous people; disregarding people who just hate cleaning and love room-service, if someone is living permanently in a hotel there is a good chance they fall into one of the categories above. Well-known examples of famous long-termers are Oscar Wilde in the Savoy (London), Keanu Reeves and Robert de Niro in Chateau Marmont (Los Angeles), and Coco “Luxury is the opposite of vulgarity” Chanel, who lived in the Ritz (Paris) for more than 30 years, and even passed away in her suite! Marilyn Monroe, ironically once quoted as saying “It’s all make believe, isn’t it?”, apparently still appears in the mirror that used to hang in her room at the Roosevelt, which now hangs in the hotel lobby.

Robert de Niro stayed in Chateau Marmont for over two years. Chateau Marmont, the hotel where John Belushi died after overdosing in bungalow 3, Led Zeppelin rode their motorcycles through the hallways and wild child Jim Morrison jumped from a second floor balcony without getting hurt. Guests staying here at the time remember De Niro as speaking in half sentences and always checking his watch. One of his habits was to sneak down into the lobby late at night and play the piano. As soon as somebody recognized him, he’d leave. Probably while checking his watch. Check out a famous Playboy-interview with De Niro from 1989, in which Chateau Marmont is mentioned as well and DeNiro looks at his watch a lot. We only read Playboy for the interviews. Really.

Most long-termers turn out to have a special reason to stay longer; they are often looking for their creative muse, and many seem to find that muse in a hotel. There are many examples of celebrities or wannabe-celebrities who sometimes spent years in a hotel, searching for fame or inspiration. Although some of them were possibly just hooked on doing unspeakable things in a Jacuzzi. Whatever their reasons, long-terming is done mostly by creative personalities. And creative personalities have a tendency to do interesting things.

Homeless people looking for a job are called Hobo’s. Bohemian people living in hotels are called Boho’s. Chelsea Hotel Manhattan, written by Joe Ambrose, is about the latter category. The epitome of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll, all conveniently concentrated in the history of Chelsea Hotel’s 400 rooms. The hotel’s guests, some of which stayed for years, included famous artists such as Bob Dylan, Stanley Kubrick, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jack Kerouac and many more. Ambrose took up residence in the hotel and spoke to many long-termers who are still there, providing the reader with brilliantly shocking tales about New York’s cultural past and present.