Luxury Travel Advisor - April 2008 - (Page 37)

demand for room service at the Chateau Marmont. Sales Manager Federica Carrion (f.carrion@ chateaumarmont.com; 323-6561010) says many guests prefer to eat in the privacy of their rooms and notes that room service is available 24/7. Head Concierge Benedict Matic (concierge@chateaumar mont.com; 323-656-1010) will book in-room and poolside massages, luxury ground services, private dinners with celeb chefs and personal shoppers at überchic Sunset Plaza or Fred Segal, which is a paradise for fashionconscious kids and moms on the corner of Crescent Heights and Melrose. General Manager Philip Pavel (323-656-1010) also can be contacted. Staff are discreet, and many have been here for years. The small leafy courtyard/garden remains filled with patrons from breakfast until late in the evening; the pool area, with its riot of mature plants and trees, is secluded, though you can hear the buzz of the traffic down on the Strip. The hotel’s 50 units retain the layout and feel of the small apartments they originally were. Spacious and with kitchens, many have separate bedrooms and differ in size and layout. The premier One Bedroom Suites (39, 49, 59 and 69) have fantastic views over the Strip, large living rooms with the Marmont’s signature artsy ’40s-style furnishings, dining rooms and kingsize beds. All bathrooms have ’30s-era tiles with tubs, separate showers and Kiehl’s products. We would happily have stayed in number 29, the 1,000-squarefoot One Bedroom Penthouse Suite where Marilyn Monroe lived. It has glowing hardwood floors, a dining room and a spacious living room with an extra-long velvet couch, a baby grand piano and a large sunny balcony overlooking the garden. The bedroom in 53, a One Bedroom Suite, is small but has the kind of bed you just want to flop onto, with veneer-and-velvet headboards and footboards and fine Mateo linens, which are standard issue. For clients who like quieter, shadier rooms, ask for those facing the hillside. Make bookings at least four weeks ahead, advises Federica Carrion, who also advises against guaranteeing any particular room, as the hotel is usually sold out year-round and hosts many clients for weeks, months or years at a time, making room availability unpredictable. Among the long-time guests, Greta Garbo and Gloria Swanson lived for years in the One Bed- room Suites. Howard Hughes took up residence in Penthouse 64 and spent much of his time on the terrace watching the starlets at the pool. More recently, Robert De Niro stayed for two years in Penthouse 64, Keanu Reeves calls the hotel home and Leonardo DiCaprio lives on and off in Suite 54. The ultra-private Poolside and Hillside Bungalows have two or three large bedrooms, living rooms with hardwood floors, fireplaces and private, enclosed gardens or patios. The one-bedroom Poolside Cottages with queen-size beds are in a courtyard adjacent to the pool. The Marmont is not the place to send clients who want glitzy Hollywood pizzazz; rather it’s for those whose dream it is to steep in vintage luxury and escape the ordinary. — Pamela McCourt Francescone RETRO STYLE and unity with the outdoors defines Chateau Marmont’s guest rooms (living room shown here). www.luxuryta.com April 2008 | LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR 37 http://www.luxuryta.com

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Luxury Travel Advisor - April 2008 Contents Publisher's Letter Editor's Letter London DESTINATIONS India Greece HOTELS Golf Royal Hideaway Playacar Chateau Marmont SPAS Hawaiin Spas Southeast Asia CRUISES: Antarctica Cover Story: Rocket man The Pulse Traveling Gourmet Jetset Sightings Source List

Luxury Travel Advisor - April 2008

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