Finally got to stay in the famous Chateau Marmont. First off, let me say that you can definitely get a far more luxurious hotel experience for the same - or less - price at a number of other LA hotels. If you want the perfect room and the huge marble bathroom with gold fixtures and a tv over the tub, I highly recommend the Four Seasons. It's glorious, and you will feel so pampered you never want to leave. Chateau Marmont is a completely different experience, and what you're paying for is truly the legend and the "privilege" of being part of it. If that's worth 5-star prices to you, it's a fabulous place to spend a weekend. We just got back from three nights in a two-bedroom suite, we were overlooking the driveway on one side and the garden on the other. Checking in here is like stepping back in time. The keys are actual keys, not key cards, and it's all so discreet they don't even tell you your room number, lest some unauthorized ear should overhear it. You have to look at the key to see what room you're in. The elevators are tiny and creaky and delightful. I had heard complaints that some of the employees here had a major attitude, or were unhelpful, but we found everyone to be great. The only time we had any problem, when a lunch order was lost and we waited for a really long time, they comped us the lunch and I hadn't even complained.
Now, I must warn you, you will spend a lot. A lot. Breakfast for 4? $125. Lunch? $175. Is it worth it? As I said, that depends what your expectation is. We happened to be there the week before the Oscars, and the place was full of celebs, and there was an Oscar party one night that all guests were graciously invited to. It was an experience you can't buy, being part of that scene. Well, I guess you can buy it, by staying at the hotel, but it probably wouldn't be a tradeoff for a lot of folks.
The rooms themselves are like little old apartments. The kitchens are funky and old and the bathrooms, well, funky and old too. And small. Pretty much one person at a time in there, so if there are three or four of you getting ready to go out at the same time, well, you have to take turns in he bathroom. It's all very clean, and the bath products are luxury, but it's more akin to some faded old grand-dame hotel in Seattle than it is to a 5-star hotel in LA.
I think that if you are someone who knows what the Chateau is all about and who wants to experience it from the inside, you 'll never get another chance to feel quite so much like a rock star, right down to having your picture taken by the dozen or so paparazzi who haunt the end of the driveway. It's like a private club to the stars, and being a guest there gives you a temporary pass to live like one. It's great fun, and worth doing at least once in your life. At the Four Seasons, you'll *see* a lot of stars. At the Chateau, you'll feel like you are one. If that's worth the trade-off for the funky room and the tiny tiled bathroom, go for it. At least once.
