The hotel was opened in 1963 byGene Autry asGene Autry's Hotel Continental.[1] Leased toHyatt Hotels Corporation in 1966, it was renamed theContinental Hyatt House.[2]
In the late 1960s and 1970s the hotel's proximity to popular clubs such as theWhisky a Go Go made it the preferred Los Angeles accommodation for touringrock groups, notably English bandsLed Zeppelin,The Who and theRolling Stones. It was often referred to at the time as the "Riot House", a play on the name Hyatt House.[2]
Hyatt West Hollywood hotel in 2006 prior to renovation
In 1976 the hotel became theHyatt on Sunset. In February 1997, the hotel was renamed theHyatt West Hollywood. The hotel was renovated in 2008 and reopened on January 8, 2009 as theAndaz West Hollywood, the second Andaz hotel in the new brand byHyatt Hotels and Resorts. The 14-story Andaz West Hollywood has 239 rooms, including 20 suites and a restaurant called Riot House.[3] The renovation was completed by New York-based architecture and interior design firm Janson Goldstein LLP and includes a hand-painted metal disk 11-foot sculpture by renowned New York-based artistJacob Hashimoto.[4] The balconies made famous by stories of rock stars throwing televisions from them are now glass-enclosed sunrooms that overlook Sunset Boulevard.
Led Zeppelin rented as many as six floors of the hotel in the mid-to-late 1970s for the band members and entourage. DrummerJohn Bonham was reported to have driven a motorcycle along the hallways (some say it was tour managerRichard Cole).[5] In the filmRock Star the incident was recreated with Chris "Izzy" Cole doing the same.
Room 1015 bears the distinction of being where Rolling Stones guitaristKeith Richards dropped a TV out the window in 1972. The Who'sKeith Moon was also reported to have dropped a TV out of one of the hotel's windows. In the filmRock Star the character "A.C.", played byJason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin drummerJohn Bonham, throws a TV out the window in rage, after he is told that his wife ran off withPeter Gabriel.[6]
Lemmy wrote the song "Motorhead" on one of the hotel balconies in the middle of the night, usingRoy Wood's Ovation acoustic guitar.
Scenes in the filmAlmost Famous which depict the hotel were filmed at the actual hotel. Parts of the hotel were refurbished with exactly the same decor as existed there in the 1970s.
The scene fromAlmost Famous in which Russell Hammond cries out, "I am a golden god!" is a reference toLed Zeppelin singerRobert Plant, who allegedly said the same thing while looking overSunset Strip from one of the hotel's balconies in 1975.
The two-part pilot episode ofThe Rockford Files, "Backlash of the Hunter', had a scene where character Sarah Hunter (Lindsay Wagner) lured the killer of her father into room 1426.[7]
The end-of-tour party scene in the filmThis is Spinal Tap was filmed on the roof of the hotel.
Slipknot FrontmanCorey Taylor attempted suicide by jumping from an eighth floor balcony on November 14, 2003, but was stopped.[8]
Little Richard lived in room 319 at the hotel through much of the 1980s and 1990s
Jim Morrison lived there until he was reportedly evicted by management for hanging out a window by his fingertips, dangling over the pavement.
The members ofBlur attempted to make an improvised steam room in a bathroom by turning on the hot taps and blocking any gaps outside.
Elton John and his entourage stayed at the then-Hyatt House on John's first trip to United States in August 1970.[10]
A lengthy P.O.V. murder sequence inKathryn Bigelow's 1995 filmStrange Days, involving the killer climbing from one room to another via the exterior balconies, was filmed at the hotel, which is given the fictional name Sunset Regent.
