October 2007 Archives

Ever wonder how a celebrity evades the prying press when staying at a hotel? The answer is the celebrity psuedonym.

Back in February, the New York Post gossip pages ran a multiple choice quiz of celebrity nom de plumes for hotel check in. Alas, the quiz is no longer available but below is a compilation of the results, courtesy of wizbangpop

1. Angelina Jolie = Miss Lollypop

2. Jon Bon Jovi = Stanley Kowalski

3. Jennifer Aniston = Mrs. Smith

4. Pharrell Williams = Luke Skywalker

5. George Clooney = Arnold Schwarzenegger

6. Paris Hilton = Tinkerbell

7. Michael Bolton = Ben Herr

8. Kate Beckinsale = Siquorney Beaver

9. Diana Ross = Miss Orange

10. Huey Lewis = Jacques Strapp

11. Val Kilmer = Thomas Paine

12. Britney Spears = Bella

13. Ozzy Osbourne = Harry Bollocks

14. Michael Jackson = Sir William Marshal

15. Bono = J.C. Penney

16. Tiger Woods = B. Simpson

The Sex and the City ladies have been re-shooting scenes for their new film over at New York's Bryant Park Hotel according to our friends at HotelChatter.com

About the Bryant Park Hotel

It's Halloween so time to spot a celebrity ghost. According to Hotel Chatter, the ghost of Marilyn Monroe makes appearances at the Hollywood Roosevelt.

The hotel is the birthplace of the Academy Awards and features the marilyn Monroe Suite, Tropicana poolside bar and Hockney's signature swimming pool.

Model Petra Nemcova loves the peace at the Amanpuri resort in Phuket. And who can blame her. Where's the stress chilling by the Andaman sea?

As well as the usual facilities one would expect from such a resort, you can also get the tailor to run you up some new outfits. Sun, sea and fine handmade Thai clothes.

Hollywood heart-throb Ben Affleck is in Paris to promote his new movie "Gone Baby Gone".

Where's he staying?

Justin Timberlake is staying at the Stamford Plaza Hotel and Resort in Brisbane as part of his FutureSex/LoveShow world tour.

Unfortunately, Labrat, Camilla and Stav, breakfast show wind-up merchants at Brisbane's local radio station, caught wind of his hotel alias and thought it would be AN HILARIOUS JAPE to call him up and have a chat.

Pretending to be Denis Handlin, president of Sony BMG Australia, the B105 breakfast show staff called the hotel and were transferred to Mr Timberlake's suite by the unsuspecting staff.

Justin answers, chortling self-satisfied breakfast pranksters introduce themselves properly and quelle surprise, Justin hangs up.

Mr Handlin, Sony BMG president is unimpressed by the stunt.

About Stamford Plaza Brisbane

1. 252 guestrooms


2. 22 floors


3. Located between the banks of the Brisbane River and the Botanical Gardens


4. Four restaurants and two bars


5. Art gallery, hair and beauty salon, bridal boutique and florist and designer giftware shop

Elizabeth Hurley has been snapped in her bikini while on holiday in Seychelles with her son and new husband Arun Nayler.
According to Gossipgirls.com, her ex, Hugh Grant tagged along on the family trip.

Finally some news about the ongoing "Are They? / Aren't They?" (Ooh! it's a big secret!! YAWN!!!!) Reese Witherspoon / Jake Gyllenhaal saga.

We at Travel Weekly were getting bored with this one because, well, it was getting boring.

According to the 3am girls, American R&B star Mary J Blige is in London 'shopping for diamonds' and staying at the 5-star luxury hotel Mandarin Oriental.

Facts about Mandarin Oriental:

• It's the only hotel in London to overlook Hyde Park


• It has 198 guest rooms and suites


• It was built in 1889 originally as a gentlemen's club, becoming a hotel in 1902


• Baroness Margaret Thatcher held her 80th birthday party in the hotel’s grand ballroom. Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip were guests


• It has a entrance reserved only for international royalty and those with permission from the royal household.


• Foliage - the hotel’s restaurant - is michelin starred

Celebrity bad girl Courtney Love has been banned from Claridges, according to the Daily Mirror website.

Allegedly, Ms Love started a fire during her last stay resulting in the suite being redecorated and a fire marshall posted outside her door for the duration of her stay.

Subsequent attempts to book a room in the Mayfair hotel for the luckless Love have proved fruitless.

The article also reports that it's not the first time Courtney has wrecked a room; during boozy birthday celebrations in July, her £495-a-night suite at the Covent Garden Hotel was trashed with cigarette butts littering the floor and upholstery riddled with burn marks.

Staff at the hotel are reported to have said "the room was left in a right state - like a wild animal had been let loose in there".

So, you're a big celebrity with a big house in California and suddenly this fire comes towards you. What do you do?

Well, according to Variety you check into a hotel of course. But which ones?

Reservation managers at Shutters on the Beach and the Viceroy in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills' Peninsula and the Four Seasons Hotels all reported being fully booked for the rest of the week because of the fires not only in Malibu but also San Diego.

Above: Peninsula Beverly Hills

The Sun has this picture of Oasis star Liam Gallagher and Prodigy star Liam Howlett at Disney World, Florida. They are are on holiday with their partners and children.

Originally built in the 5th century BC to keep out barbarian hoardes, the Great Wall of China doesn't immediately spring to mind when you think of fashion.

Unless - of course - you are uber fashionista Karl Lagerfeld, creative director at Italian fashion house, Fendi. And what Herr Lagerfeld wants, Herr Lagerfeld gets.

After a year in planning, the Unesco World Heritage site was transformed into a catwalk for Fendi with nearly 100 Chinese models taking to the runway to showcase designs from Karl Lagerfeld's Winter 2007 collection and Fendi's Spring and Summer 2008 collection.

Celebrity guests in the 500-strong audience included Thandie Newton, Kate Bosworth and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress Ziyi Zhang

According to OK! Magazine's website, celebrity sprog Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, has earned enough airmiles to fly around the world first-class.

Daughter of Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Miss Jolie-Pitt's passport has been stamped in Namibia, California, India, New York, France AND Italy since her birth 17 months ago in May 2006.

Do they make compression stockings for infants?

Jaunted reports that Anthony Hopkins' new movie Slipstream is shot outside Yucca Valley, California. But one scene takes place at the Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, California.

The club, a private members' club, offers:
* Two championship golf courses
* Vast clubhouse
* Spa facilities
* A range of restaurants
* Private jet hire

In London for the premiere of her latest film Interview, Sienna popped in to the Soho Hotel. According to the Metro newspaper, Rhys Ifans was also there, but drinking coffee in a separate room.

Miller is no stranger to the hotel, ducking in to avoid the paparazzi earlier in the year.

OK, so he's not actually on holiday and he may not be staying there, but Matt Damon has been promoting The Bourne Ultimatum at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Tokyo.

This is one ritzy (well it would be) place. And it's brand spanking new. It opened on March 30, 2007. One of the many special features that GM Ricco de Blank has arranged is a Rolex partnership at night turndown. According to Kiwi Collection, "Once a month, now through December 2007, one lucky guest will find a note under the pillow that invites them to pick up a watch from the Rolex store in the hotel (the recipient is chosen by an outside audit firm."

More about the Hotel:

Occupying the top nine floors and the first three levels of the 53-story Midtown Tower(248m), the tallest building in Tokyo, The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo features:

* 360-degree panoramic vistas of Tokyo including Tokyo Tower and Mount Fuji
* 248 elegantly appointed guest rooms and suites
* Magnificent sky lobby on 45th floor
* Two sensational restaurants, lounge & bar, cafe & deli
* 21,528-square-foot/ 2,000-square-meter Spa & Fitness by ESPA on 46th floor
* State-of-the-art event facilities including a dedicated Wedding Chapel

Prices there start at more than £200 a night

Amy Whitehouse is currently staying at the Raddison SAS Hotel Norge in Bergen, Norway as part of her 12-date European comeback tour.

Due to perform at the Peer Gynt, Grieghallen in Bergen tonight and Rockerfeller Music Hall in Oslo tomorrow, Ms Whitehouse was arrested at the hotel last night (Thursday October 19) along with her husband and detained until this morning.

The hotel website states that the Raddison SAS Hotel Norge is "Bergen's most prestigious and historic hotel".

Leonardo Di Caprio - actor, heart-throb and environmental activist - is teaming up with the Four Seasons Hotel chain to build an eco-hotel in the Caribbean.

According to the Marie Claire website, the hotel will be built just off the coast of Belize on an island already owned by the Hollywood hunk.

Work is scheduled to begin 2008.

According to hotelsoftherichandfamous.com, Al Pacino likes to stay at the Four Seasons Hotel, Los Angeles amongst other fine hotels.

Fancy resting your weary feet on Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island? Check out this video tour. Mel Gibson, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg have done so. And it's cheap at the price. The main lodge can be rented out for $46,000 a night.

It's difficult to tell when A-listers aren't on holiday. Victoria has actually been working hard in Paris, as can bee seen on her blog, but as she has been staying at such an iconic hotel as the Ritz we thought it was worth a mention. Other famous guests from years gone by include Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich and of course the late Princess of Wales.

Owen Wilson recovers in Malibu

Entertainmentwise reports that Owen Wilson is currently chilling in Malibu.

Today's Metro newspaper has pictures of Owen Wilson and ex-girlfriend Carolina Cerisola having fun in the Malibu surf.

According to celebritygossip.net, Georgia Rule actress Lindsay Lohan has been chilling with her father in Orem, Utah.

And so to Cannes, which is not just a star magnet in May for the film festival. It's an all year celeb destination, according to away.com. Stars from Antonio Banderas to Pia Zadora like to bed down at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc.

According to away.com, Aspen Colorado plays host to A-listers by the bucket load. Jack Nicolson, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have homes. Others such as Sylvester Stallone and Johnny Depp stay at the Hotel Jerome.

Socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson is currently having a house built by Karma resorts in Bali. And when she's not there you'll find her on the Swiss slopes as she has a chalet in Klosters.

Model Gisele Bundchen was in Melbourne, Australia this week.

Hello magazine's website reported that she dropped into an animal sanctuary to see the local wildlife.

Jennifer and Orlando stayed at the One & Only Palmilla resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to see their mutual manager Aleen Keshishan get married.

Following a troubled few weeks Britney Spears has apparently checked into the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills and plans to stay there for a few weeks.

When she's in Europe getting a break from filming Sex and the City, Kim Cattrall loves staying at London's The Dorchester.

I read on the Thomson blog that Dustin Hoffman is currently in Milan with his wife Lisa Gottsegen, taking a hard earned rest from filming Last Chance Harvey.

By "rest" we mean "playing hide and seek with the Italian paparazzi"

Natalie Portman is starring in new short film by Wes Anderson called Hotel Chevalier.

The hotel in question is actually the luxury hotel, Hotel Raphael in Paris, France.

Just found this on The Sun. Not the most flattering of shots of Mel . . .