Chelsea Hotel, New YorkRoom: 100 Status: Unavailable
On October 12, 1978, the iconic Sex Pistols bassist woke from a drug-induced stupor to find girlfriend Nancy Spungen dead on the bathroom floor with a single stab wound to the abdomen. Vicious was arrested and charged with murder, said he had no memory of the incident, and OD’d on heroin not four months later. Room 100 still gets its share of requests, but the room was made part of a larger suite and has a long-term guest.
For more information: www.hotelchelsea.com
The Lodge & Spa at Cordillera; Edwards, ColoradoRoom: Room 35, but the entire hotel has been renumberedStatus: Available, though only luck would get you the actual suite; requests for the “Kobe room” will not be honored (suites from $361)
What really happened in this room on July 30, 2003? A front-desk clerk claimed in court filings that Kobe Bryant, in town for knee surgery, asked for a tour of the hotel, invited her into his room and raped her. Bryant said the sex was consensual. The charges were dropped when she refused to testify, but the exclusive Lodge & Spa at Cordillera had made its mark on the scandal map. The irony? Kobe tried to check into The Lodge at Vail that night, said a hotel spokesperson. Had they not been completely sold out, he would never have made it to the Cordillera.
For more information: http://cordillera.rockresorts.com
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino; Hollywood, FloridaRoom: 607Status: Currently “out of inventory”
“Cut loose inside our spacious rooms,” recommends the web site of this hotel. Certainly, something crazy happened in room 607 on February 8, 2007, where the former Playboy Playmate (and model, and reality TV star) was discovered unconscious (and, as the world knows, taken to a hospital and died). As of this writing, the legalities surrounding her millions and offspring were still being played out, and the future of the room was equally unclear. “We’ve had some calls requesting the room,” said spokesman Gary Bitner, “but we’ve not been through this before, so we’re just going to see how it goes.”
For more information: www.seminolehardrock.com
St. Francis Hotel (now a Westin), San FranciscoRoom: 1220 Status: Available (from $650)
This room is a celebrity two-fer: Al Jolson died here of a heart attack in 1950, and a scandal occurred on September 3, 1921, when silent film star Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle (aka, “Fatty”) stayed here. He and his buddies invited several women to party with them, in the course of which, an actress named Virginia Rappe became ill. She died three days later of peritonitis, caused by a ruptured bladder, and Arbuckle was charged with raping her. He denied the charge and was later aquitted, but his career was ruined. Today, the hotel doesn’t play up the scandal. Still, “people do occasionally call requesting the room,” said spokeswoman Gena Egelston. “If it’s available we accommodate their request.”
For more information: www.westinstfrancis.com
Hollywood Landmark Hotel (now the Highland Gardens Hotel);Hollywood, California Room: 105 Status: Available (from $150)
Fans of legendary blues/rock singer Janis Joplin still call requesting this room, 37 years after she died there. Joplin was staying at the Landmark Hotel while recording an album during the fall of 1970. After a day of work on October 3rd, she retired to her room and was found the evening of October 4th, dead of an overdose of heroin combined with alcohol.
For more information: www.highlandgardenshotel.com
Adlon Kempinski, BerlinRoom: Presidential SuiteStatus: Available (from 9,500 euros or $12,500)
Every proud dad likes to show off his baby, but in November, 2002, Michael Jackson charmed—then horrified—the public by dangling his months-old son, Prince Michael II, from a third-floor balcony. A spokesperson said the hotel received many questions about the incident at the time, some from children’s charities that were upset. But, she said, “we are not responsible for the handling of our guests and what they are doing in their suite.”
For more information: www.hotel-adlon.de
Sydney Ritz-Carlton (now the Stamford Plaza Double Bay), SydneyRoom: 524 Status: Available (from $196)
Ignore the blogs saying this room is being used for storage since so many people wanted to hold séances there. You can request the room by number, though reservations agents of the Stamford Plaza aren’t allowed to honor requests if you call asking for the “Michael Hutchence room.” You won’t find any traces, though, of what happened on November 22, 1997, when the INXS lead singer was found dead here. A belt found in the room suggested suicide, but the lack of any other evidence has led to the belief that the cause of death may have been autoerotic asphyxiation.
For more information: www.stamford.com.au/spdb
The Cadogan, LondonRoom: 118Status: Available (from $760)
Perhaps it’s because the “scandal” occurred in 1895, or because it involved an act that’s more accepted in the 21st century (“committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons,” i.e. homosexual sex). But the Cadogan plays the fame game, even naming this suite after its famous guest. When you stay, be sure to bring a copy of the John Betjeman poem, “The arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel.”
For more information: www.cadogan.com
Vista International (now a Wyndham), Washington, D.C.Room: 727Status: Available (room from $277)
It’s hard to walk into the room where former D.C. mayor Marion Barry got busted for smoking crack in 1990 and not utter his famous line: “B---- set me up.” Another fun game: make your entrance wearing an FBI jacket. Still, as the surveillance-video images fade in the public consciousness, so does the appeal of staying in this room—it’s only the occasional ogler who requests it.
For more information: www.wyndham.com
Chateau Marmont, Los AngelesRoom: Bungalow 3 Status: Available (from $1,700)This famous—and famously discreet—hotel doesn’t exactly market what happened on March 5, 1982, when John “Bluto” Belushi died at age 33 from speedball (an injection of cocaine and heroin). In fact, the hotel doesn’t like discussing guests—present or past—at all; they didn’t return a request for comment.For more information: www.chateaumarmont.com
Sheraton Sand Key Resort, Clearwater Beach, FloridaRoom: 538Status: Available (from $220)
“One night transformed Room 538 into more than a room with a fantastic view of the Gulf,” says the hotel’s web site. On December 6, 1980, the hotel welcomed televangelist Jim Bakker of the PTL ministry. But his ministry came tumbling down when a sexual scandal involving church secretary Jessica Hahn later came to light. As time moves on, the room isn’t requested as much. But the hotel enjoys the notoriety that scandal bestowed on them. “We’ve certainly benefited from the exposure,” said Jack Guy, VP of sales and marketing. “We should probably have notches on the bedpost for Jim.”
For more information: www.sheratonsandkey.com
Sheraton Plaza La Reina (currently the Sheraton Gateway), Los AngelesRoom: 501Status: Available (from $119)
The DeLorean sports car caused quite a stir when it was introduced, and its creator did the same at this hotel back in October of 1982. The FBI had set up a sting for known drug smugglers and DeLorean walked right into it; he was filmed holding packets of cocaine in the hotel room, saying, “It’s better than gold.” (His lawyers argued entrapment and won.) The marketing manager of the hotel back then said there weren’t many requests for his room, even at the time. But even though DeLorean died in 2005, his shadow remains large: the manager didn’t want his name used “in case any DeLorean lawyers are out there.”
For more information: www.sheratonlosangeles.com