If your idea of a great holiday party is gathering with co-workers in the notorious hotel where Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham once raced a motorcycle through the hallways or The Who drummer Keith Moon and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards threw televisions out the window on not one but two separate occasions, you’re in luck this holiday season.
The Andaz West Hollywood, which will forever live in infamy as the former Sunset Strip rocker haunt the Continental Hyatt House—aka the "Riot House”—is once again living the rock ’n’ roll fantasy by acknowledging, if not celebrating, its storied history that will forever live in lore.
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“Andaz West Hollywood has a history steeped in rock 'n' roll legend—once known as the 'Riot House,' our walls have witnessed the antics of Led Zeppelin, The Doors and countless icons,” said General Manager Christina Fry. “Today, we honor that spirit by offering a venue where history and modern sophistication collide for truly unforgettable celebrations.”
For holiday celebrations that want to acknowledge, yet not wallow in, this L.A. paean to excess, Andaz West Hollywood offers holiday packages starting at $10,000.
The offerings include two or more complimentary perks such as a passed appetizer, a champagne toast or an in-house DJ.
For $15,000, revelers receive three amenities, and a $40,000 booking unlocks all six premium perks.
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Celebrations of Excess
Stories of the Riot House are the stuff of legend, including the following tales:
- Led Zeppelin rented as many as six floors at a time in the mid-to-late 1970s, with Bonham, or was it tour manager Richard Cole—things got a little hazy in the 1970s—famously riding a motorcycle through the corridors.
- Motorhead’s Lemmy wrote the song “Motorhead” on one of the hotel balconies.
- Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin seems to come up a lot in Riot House stories) famously screamed “I am a golden god!” from the balcony, which was recounted in Cameron Crowe’s 2000 movie Almost Famous.
- The Doors’ Jim Morrison, himself a golden god, reportedly lived at the hotel until being booted out for hanging out of a window by his fingertips and dangling over the pavement below.
And while Pete from Accounting may indeed feel the need to hurl a TV through the window while Christmas carols ring through the hallways once repurposed as a racetrack by Led Zeppelin, current times call for a certain degree of restraint in this now-so-sophisticated enclave that still echoes with the unhinged glory of days gone by.
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