LOS ANGELES, Aug 22, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – For nearly a century Chateau Marmont
has been an adopted home and playground for Hollywood’s elite, discreetly
hosting sophisticated Golden Age icons and raucous Brat Pack celebrities.
Etched into Tinseltown folklore, it is where James Dean crashed director
Nicholas Ray’s bungalow to bag the lead in “Rebel Without a Cause,” Jean
Harlow and Clark Gable allegedly conducted a torrid affair, and comedy legend
John Belushi died of a tragic drug overdose.
More recently, the imposing Gothic hotel perched above the famous Sunset
Strip has become a hub for swanky showbiz parties, from Leonardo DiCaprio’s
21st birthday bash to Beyonce and Jay-Z’s secret Oscars after-parties.
The hotel is so synonymous with Hollywood glamour that it has its own film
credits, appearing in movies from 2018’s “A Star is Born” remake to the
musical “La La Land” and Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere.”
But the storied institution that prides itself on being highly selective
about who it admits — and then keeping their secrets closely guarded — is
about to get a whole lot more private and discerning, its owner told AFP.
Later this year, it will become a member-owned hotel, offering dedicated
domestic staff, private dining and long-term personal belongings storage to
an invitation-only, financial-stake-owning inner sanctum.
“I’d compare it to a superyacht… you can only deliver that kind of
service — and have people on deck — if they’re almost hand-selected,” said
Andre Balazs, the Boston-born hotelier who once dated Uma Thurman.
No details are yet available on the costs of membership.
But Balazs had been mulling the transition for years, with that process now
accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Common sense, and even a modicum of understanding of health, requires that
you surround yourself with less people,” he said.
“In this time, it allows you to be safer, and curate a more interesting
crowd.”
– ‘Symbolic of Hollywood’ –
The concept of members-only institutions offering accommodation is well
established in cities like London, but newer to Los Angeles, where Soho House
launched its buzzy West Hollywood outpost just a decade ago.
At Chateau Marmont, shielded-off private quarters will serve an
“essentially nomadic” wealthy and creative elite tired of traditional luxury
hotels, Balazs said.
But Balazs insists media reports that “the Chateau” is set to ape
“exclusionary clubs” like White’s in London, are wide of the mark.
Those reports triggered a backlash in Los Angeles among stargazers fearful
they will no longer be able to dine across from their favorite celebrities.
“There will always be a public component” to Chateau Marmont, Balazs told
AFP, including “probably the restaurant… and then maybe some public aspect
to the rooms as well.”
“Something that’s become as, if not more, symbolic of Hollywood than the
Hollywood sign itself… making that inaccessible is not the right thing to
do,” he added.
Yet as a Los Angeles Times op-ed recently pointed out, Chateau Marmot has
“long been a VIP club that only pretends to be open to the public,” catering
largely to a closely guarded list of repeat guests.
Shawn Levy, author of “The Castle on Sunset,” also noted that “an infusion
of initiation fees and membership dues would be a godsend, as the Chateau,
like most hotels, has withered during the pandemic.”
The vast majority of hotel staff were laid off in March.
“We’ve seriously had to downsize, obviously,” said Balazs, who donated
$100,000 to a staff fundraiser.
– ‘Shenanigans’ –
The new, member-owned model is a return to Chateau Marmont’s original
roots. It was constructed as a high-end apartment building in 1929, modeled
after the Chateau d’Amboise in the Loire Valley.
Balazs intends to roll out the scheme to cities such as London and New York
— where he already owns hotels — and rural outposts including, ironically,
“a spectacular chateau in the south of France.”
But the hotelier, 63, insists it is mere coincidence that he is starting
the experiment at the legendary Marmont — his first hotel, purchased in
1990, long after many of its fabled Hollywood “shenanigans.”
“We don’t traffic in glamour,” said Balazs. “We traffic in service to our
guests — discretion and service and safety, privacy.
“That’s what we make our money on.”