When I was younger, I had a phase when I was into hostels (although I only had the chance to stay in two), but nowadays I admit that I value privacy and comfort the most. After a day of eating and wandering around, nestling in warm and crisp hotel sheets and listening to the hum of traffic sounds so much more relaxing than hanging out in a common room or listening to the noise of other people in the dorm.

As long as everything's clean, luxury isn't the point for me, but there are a few legendary hotels that I want to stay at at least once (hauntings may or may not be involved). Chateau Marmont, the private faux French castle nestled atop Sunset strip is one of them. It seems that despite the changing times, the essence and soul of Marmont has stayed fairly uncompromised, meaning that it hasn't been turned into a shiny and modern copy of other LA luxury hotels.

The development from the failed apartment house, when Sunset Strip was just a dirt road, to the secluded safe haven for adventurers or privacy seekers is recounted in a very no frills way in The Castle on Sunset. The right amount of history and gossip, always pointing out what stories are true and what aren't. Although I had maybe wanted something more lively and definitely something much less repetitive, Levy's narrative is a good place to start reading hotel histories. As expected, pre-80s era was the least interesting for me personally, but I won't be too discriminating with my list of Marmont movies to watch while waiting for summer.