The Real Life “Hotel California”
- Lantern Ghost Tours
- Mar 20, 2021
- 1 min read
Who hasn't heard the famous Eagle's Song “Hotel California”? If not, you might wanna give it a go and check out this famous song! Also, don’t miss out on the haunting lyrics "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”. Woah.
Fun fact, the song was based on real life Cecil Hotel, the center of the Elisa Lam mystery and subject of the Cecil Hotel documentary that is now trending on Netflix. 21-year-old Canadian Elisa Lam, was tragically found dead in the water tanks of the Cecil Hotel, Los Angeles, in 2013. Elisa's strange behavior on the night, recorded on CCTV, spurred a host of different theories but her murder remains unsolved.
In 2017 Lantern Ghost Tours visited the Cecil Hotel and found out that the song was based on this tragic hotel! This hotel has always attracted the murderers. It’s like a place where these people can actually let their hair down.
Therefore, you really can “check out any time you like but you can never leave”…
According to The Eagles, it's not about a hotel at all. Duh! Anyone who has truly listened to the lyrics could tell you that. I guess more people need to listen to the actual words and stop debating about which hotel it is based on. Lol
The song Hotel California was, in fact, based on a hotel Henley and Fagan were familiar with, Chateau Marmont, which is a much more exclusive place frequented by rock star. The line about never leaving is a reference to the music industry of Los Angeles. Otherwise, cool story.