Rock and Roll Hotels

Gone are the days when rock musicians slept on seats in the back of tour buses. Today’s rock stars live it up and some even share their lifestyle by opening their own hotels.

The Clarence, once a down-at-the-heels Victorian hotel in Dublin, is now a stylish, contemporary oasis thanks to its current owners: Bono and the Edge of U2. Located in the historic Temple Bar district, the interior of this light and airy hotel is warmly decorated with Arts and Crafts furniture, white oak paneling, stone floors and leather chairs decorated in rich jewel and earth tones. The unique rooms – no two are alike, are a pleasing amalgam of traditional and modern. Austere Shaker furniture and limestone tabletops are warmed up by leather and suede upholstery and lush velvet drapes. Each room is decorated in one of the hotel’s five signature colors: crimson, royal blue, amethyst, gold and chocolate. The colors are an homage to the priests and nuns who once lived at the hotel. Another ecclesiastical detail: phone booths resembling confessionals. The two-story Penthouse Suite has a baby grand piano as well as a terrace with a Jacuzzi. (Rumor has it that when Piano Men Elton John and Billy Joel were on tour together, they had a spat over who would get the suite. (Elton won. “The Bitch is Back.”)

What The Clarence lacks in glitz is made up in spades by the legendary Beverly Wilshire Hotel. This Italian Renaissance-style palace is a veritable way station for transient rock stars: Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Elton John have all been long-term guests. Elvis lived at the hotel for several years while filming at nearby Paramount Studios. Ten years later, when John Lennon was estranged from Yoko, he chose the Beverly Wilshire as his address because he knew Elvis had lived here.

No article on rock and roll hotels is complete without the legendary Hotel Chelsea and Chateau Marmont. Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Jefferson Airplane, and Lou Reed all wrote lyrics about the Hotel Chelsea, where punk rocker Sid Vicious is alleged to have murdered Nancy.

LA’s legendary Chateau Marmont, is best-known for the demise of John Belushi, but it’s also where The Door’s Jim Morrison hurt himself trying to swing from the roof into his room and Led Zeppelin had to pay for TVs that miraculously flew out the window. Other notable rock and rollers include John and Yoko (together), Britney Spears and Sting (separately).