10 Hotels You Didn't Know Were Home To Your Fave Celebs

Haven't you ever had a long lost dream of living in a hotel for most of your life? I mean come on! Who hasn't wanted to pull off the Sweet Life of Zack and Cody lifestyle at least once in their lifetime? I know that I have, and as it turns out, there are quite a few celebrities who have had that dream as well… but you know, they actually have the funds and resources to make any fleeting desire spark to life.

They do every crazy thing that you would ever imagine doing if living the life of a long-term hotel guest and then some. They're noisy, they're weird, they're obsessive, they are creative, and they are flat out insane at times. But hey, I suppose that's why they're famous and we are not so much. Either way, these ten hotels have witnessed the celebrity insanities up close and personal and have leaked some of those incidents down the food chain for us to hear.

10 Hotel Chelsea, New York

Hotel Chelsea was a long-term home to countless celebrity guests in the sixties and seventies. Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin are among a few of the most notable. Which how cool would it be, by the way, to have these three hot shots as your next door neighbors in one of the best hotels in New York City?! Pretty freaking cool I would think.

On top of these three, in the 1950's, while a long-term resident as well, Arthur C. Clarke wrote, 2001: A Space Odyssey, while staying at this location and, around the same time, Dylan Thomas died of pneumonia.

Although this world renowned hotel no longer accepts long-term residents, there have been countless celebrity guests who have rested their heads on the plush pillows of Hotel Chelsea in their day. Not to mention, a TripAdvisor writer who lived there in the seventies and wrote countless accounts of their haunted halls. If you ever have a chance to visit, there's no doubt you'll probably come across someone notable.

9 The Ritz, Paris

Early in the thirties, Coco Chanel was among the first to move into the Ritz in Paris where she stayed for the better part of the next three decades to come. She customized the hell out of her suite and decorated everything just to her liking, detailing the space with a suede beige sofa and quilted cushions everywhere. She truly made this hotel her home and is probably the most famous guest to have ever lived here.

In the March 1937 issue of Vogue, they noted in admiration, “Just the basics are enough, when tasteful, to make even the most banal room personal. Mademoiselle Chanel who has been staying at the Ritz for several months is at home with a folding screen and a few flowers.”

You have to appreciate such an affluent women taking her life by the reins in every area of her life, including where she chose to live. How many people really even think when looking for a new home, “oh, hey… the grand hotel down the way sounds like the perfect place to call home.” I mean it wouldn't really be my first thought, but I definitely would not be the one to say no to such an opportunity.

8 The Savoy, London

Okay, this one totally makes sense, if I do say so myself. Dumbledore (you know, the one from Harry Potter, obviously) whose real name is Richard Harris, lived at the Savoy for much of his life all the way up until his death in 2002. I have to admit that I honestly wouldn't expect Dumbledore of all people to live anywhere else but a glamorous hotel. When he first became ill, he was actually carried off to the hospital on a stretcher through the hotel when he famously announced, “It was the food” to all who were within earshot.

Because this is such a high-end place of residence, the staff would note the regular guests' likes and dislikes in a variety of areas. Such as, those who were familiar with Harris noted the exact temperature that he liked his porridge to be served to him whereas Marlene Dietrich was known for her desire to have 12 pink roses and a bottle of Dom Perignon delivered immediately upon arrival.

A comedian and novelist, Kathy Lette, also spent a few months living at the Savoy as part of its “Writer in Residence” ploy. She told BBC later on that, “It's like living in a giant ocean liner. You have endless fabulous drama of people coming and going, and the mistresses and lovers. I have a staff of 500 at my beck and call, maids delivered fresh flowers every day. I got my own dish on the menu, a Kathy Ome-Lette. The concierges have to do whatever you ask them. I would ring up and say 'what's the square root of the hypotenuse?'”

7 AC Santo Mauro, Madrid

When star soccer player, David Beckham (and the family), first moved to Real Madrid, they set up their home in this incredibly lavish Madrid hotel. Although they only called this home for about 80 nights, the bill came out to a whopping £430,000. They took up two of the largest suites between all of them however only £80,000 accounted for the actual cost of the rooms. The remainder of their balance consisted of food, drinks, laundry expenses, security guards, phone calls, and one killer birthday party.

I don't know about you but that sounds like one pretty suite deal. That sounds like the vacation from heaven… you know if you have a spare million or so dollars to splurge on an amazing Madrid hotel. If not, maybe you could convince the Beckham's to adopt you and take you along the next time. I don't think I'd be too opposed to being a part of that family.

6 Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles

This Hollywood hills hotel was the home to Mr. Robert De Niro for an extended vacation that lasted about two years. He lived in the top penthouse looking down on the Los Angeles valley.

Was it the secluded location that attracted his attention or was it more to do with the traditional fireplace and exquisite dining room that stole his heart? Or maybe, just possibly, it was the 1,500 square foot private terrace with the panoramic views over all of Hollywood? It's quite hard to say, but either way, this definitely tops my one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn that's probably the size of his bathroom.

The perfect weather, the stunning landscape, the secluded total private location, and I'm sure every amenity you could possibly ever dream of was also enjoyed by Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, and Mick Jagger during their lengthy visits. Not to mention, Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded the vocals for “By The Way” here as well.

5 Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles

This lavish Beverly Hills Hotel was lucky enough to have an equally glamorous long-term guest, Marilyn Monroe who lived here for just over two years. While Monroe made this a home, John Lennon and Yoko Ono are famously known for hiding out in a bungalow for nearly a week in the Seventies.

However, these superstars aside, it was really Howard Hughes, pilot and businessman who was the hotel's most memorable (by far) guest to stay with them. He was forever immortalized by Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator and was barely able to scrape the surface of who this man really was. Hughes had spent nearly his entire adult life living in hotels but that didn't stop him from living in the hotel's bungalow in the '40's after a nearly fatal plane crash.

He suffered severely from OCD and rarely left the hotel premises, but he is most famously known for keeping his Cadillac parked outside for so long that eventually the tires went totally flat and weeds began to grow inside of the car. Also, according to the staff working at the hotel, Hughes would often watch movies naked covering his family jewels with nothing but a pink hotel napkin.

4 The Dorchester Hotel, London

Peter Sellers, (whom I'd actually never heard of until researching to write this article, but he's apparently a pretty big deal according to the internet world), was an actor and singer who lived in the Dorchester Hotel for literally decades. He went through the peaks and pitfalls of his first marriage all with this hotel roof over his head, watching and waiting for his next true love to come along. Sure as you know it, a short while later, Sellers ended up meeting his second wife right in the hotel, just feet from his suite. Talk about great customer service.

Another fascinating long-term guest of the hotel came through in 1970. When Sultan of Oman, Said bin Taimur, was ousted from the throne by his very own son, he was displaced and left without his kingdom at his feet. So, what was his next move? To move to The Dorchester for the rest of you life, duh.

3 Hotel d'Alsace (now L'Hotel), Paris

The most famed guest of this extraordinary Paris hot spot of a hotel was the infamous Oscar Wilde. This is where he chose to take his final breaths, in the Hôtel d'Alsace in Paris's Rue des BeauxArts. Just imagine, knowing that you're dying but still have the ability and opportunity to go anywhere in the world that you'd like in order to make that deathly transition… Where would you choose to take your last breath?

The best part of this somewhat tragic tale of Oscar Wilde is that he was still delivering light little one liners literally right up until it was his last moment on earth. “My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death - one or the other of us has to go,” he joked. That takes a hell of a brave spirit to be on the brink of death and still have it in them to be able to crack a joke and allow one last smile to spread across their face.

2 Hotel Elysee, New York

Have you ever heard of the play, A Streetcar Named Desire? I think literally everyone in the country has at least heard of or about this play, whether they've seen it or not, enough to know that it is very highly regarded. Well the lesser known, Tennessee Williams, was the playwright who made the story come to life behind these very walls.

Williams lived in Hotel Elysee for about fifteen years right up until his death in 1983 at the age of 71. Legend has it, that quite frequently, a hotel guest would call down to the reception desk and complain about the incessant tapping sound of a typewriter at all hours of the day and night. Due to the many, many complaints that they received, the hotel staff would continuously have to move guests to others because they found it an unbearably annoying sound through the thin walls. I guess he probably didn't have many roommates in his time.

1 Le Meurice, Paris

For thirty, what I'm sure seemed like very long, years, Salvador Dali wreaked havoc on the regular in the halls, rooms, restaurants, bars, etc. that make up the grand Le Meurice in Paris. It's extraordinary staff and exquisite decor makes it the ideal place to turn into your long-term home. I suppose that's why Salvador Dali found it to be such a perfect fit with his lifestyle.

On one given occasion, he was said to have ordered an entire flock of sheep to be sent up to his suite immediately. Shortly after, he proceeded to then shoot at them with a pistol. So this is not my favorite example of using your resources, but it is a quite impressive task to pull off none the less. He was also said to have made quite close friends with a couple of the staff members who had been with the hotel nearly for his entire stay. Apparently, they would pull off extra favors for him behind the scenes (which is probably how he managed to get all of those sheep up there). But who's to say… Who knows what goes on behind the walls of the magnificent Le Meurice.