Chateau Marmont Is The Hotel Comeback Story of the Year

The October dinner feting Brunello Cucinelli was one of the starriest L.A. events to take place during the actors strike. Demi Moore, her chihuahua Pilaf tucked into a purse, chatted with Kathryn Hahn. Oprah Winfrey and Quinta Brunson cozied up on a banquette. Jennifer Lopez punctuated the starry procession to kiss the Italian designer’s proverbial ring. But the evening’s venue, chosen for its ambiance and air of exclusivity, prompted confusion among some guests. What’s the deal with Chateau Marmont these days, anyway? 

Colman Domingo wondered aloud whether the legendary hotel, as has been reported, was now a private club — a la Soho House and San Vicente Bungalows. Nobody is more eager to clear up this narrative than owner André Balazs. “We are not a members-only, nor do we intend to become members-only,” says Balazs, who told The Wall Street Journal in 2020, amid the pandemic, that he was pursuing the idea. “I view the Chateau as a treasured asset of Hollywood’s creative community. Anybody’s welcome as long as you’re interesting and don’t cause trouble.”

Trouble — see the deaths of John Belushi (drug overdose in Bungalow 3) or Helmut Newton (car crash at the driveway) — is part and parcel of Chateau lore. But starting in 2020, in addition to suffering pandemic-era vacancies, the property had been on the outs, due to a strike and boycott supported by everyone from Jane Fonda to Aaron Sorkin, amid worker claims of sexual misconduct and racial discrimination (which the Chateau disputed).

Those workers ratified a union contract (a first at the hotel) in December 2022,  and now the Chateau seems hotter than ever. Simply look at the buzzy run of parties. Cucinelli’s event was sandwiched between a Sofia Coppola and Chanel dinner and Kylie Jenner’s Halloween bash, capping off months of celebrations from the biggest names in fashion (Gucci, Versace, Dior, Prada) and entertainment (HBO, Marvel, Neon). Formal gatherings have returned — including an upcoming SAG Awards 30th anniversary celebration on Dec. 14 — but some talent never really left.

“For talent, nothing feels more private than Chateau Marmont,” says one top event planner, who’s thrown three events there in the past year. “Sure, there’s San Vicente Bungalows, [but] when you want quintessential Hollywood, you go to Chateau.”

“It’s always been good to me,” says Jeffrey Wright, who recently attended GQ’s Men of the Year party at the hotel. “Everything changes around the Chateau, but the Chateau doesn’t change.”

Of course, there are some tweaks in store. There’s a new culinary director, Jonathan Kinsella. Balazs also wants to rebuild community by introducing a series of salon-style “chats” in partnership with writer Angela Janklow — hearkening to the poetry readings he launched after buying the property in 1990.

But other things, like its unique relationship with Hollywood, are less likely to evolve. “There’s an actor who’s been here for four and a half years and has not paid rent,” notes Balazs, who then is quick to clarify that Lindsay Lohan’s infamous $46,000 Chateau tab, another piece of institutional mystique, was settled. “That’s part of what the Chateau is about. It’s what it is.”

As for Balazs, he seems to be enjoying something of a renaissance himself. The owner of Chateau, Shelter Island enclave Sunset Beach and London’s perennially white-hot Chiltern Firehouse is plotting a return to Manhattan — where he and restaurateur Keith McNally recently teased plans for a joint venture. Details, they say, are forthcoming. Just don’t expect a private club.

“That concept, that business model, it doesn’t create interesting environments,” he explains. “It goes back to Groucho Marx. … I don’t want to be in any club that would have me as a member.” 

A version of this story first appeared in the Dec. 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.