Iconic Chateau Marmont Hotel To Become Members Only Club

Chateau Marmont owner André Balazs announced today that he will convert the famed 20’s era hotel into a private members only club in the wake of the current pandemic.

Balazs has for months been discussing turning his other properties into private clubs due to the downturn of business in a new coronavirus world. The hotel’s long time visitors are practically members already as most returning guests are regulars. Balazs feels that his guests will be more comfortable with sharing space with a pre-vetted group, rather than the tourists that often frequent the restaurant looking for celebrities.

It is also known among locals that numerous well known guests have been living at the hotel during the crisis. Staff was almost entirely let go during the last few months and industry insiders were musing about changes to come. Most former staff will not be hired back in the controversial new plan.

Balazs properties include clubs in London, Paris and Tokyo as well as Greece. With famed properties like the Mercer in New York and Chiltern Firehouse in London, he could follow the successful model that has proven popular at those locations.

Unlike most private clubs, this new venture would be more like a timeshare rather than a heavy dues membership, something the Sunset Strip is becoming well used to in past years. Members will own an equity in the entire portfolio of properties and can visit other countries as part of the arrangement.

Thankfully, one of my favorite spots for champagne and food is the hotel’s restaurant which will still be available to non-members, however it could prove extremely difficult to secure a reservation, similar to how it works with Soho House.

The 63-room Chateau Marmont, filled with secretive and very private bungalows has long been a staple to celebrity culture in Los Angeles. Its storied position overlooking Sunset Boulevard. The hotel was modeled after a French retreat from the Loire Valley and has had as many legendary dramas, as historic visitors. The Chateau was acquired by Balazs in 1990

Many celebrities and rock stars have called the hotel their full-time home including famous guests like John Belushi who died of an overdose in Bungalow 3 in 1982, and famed photographer Helmut Newton died in 2004 after a car crash at the hotel’s entrance.

In the book The Castle on Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont, scandals have included Howard Hughes long residency in the penthouse suite for romantic flings, Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski once took up residence, the movie “Rebel Without a Cause” was scripted and rehearsed in one of the bungalows. Actress Bette Davis almost burned down the hotel twice after cigarette fires, and rock band Led Zeppelin was forever banned from the property after wild parties in the 60’s.

I will personally miss the old days of the Chateau Marmont, where we could all feel like a celebrity at one point, entering the romantic courtyards and candelit tables as a piano played in the distance. It was Hollywood glamour at its best.