PAY to PLAY

The design team behind The Standard, Singapore shares how the city's most anticipated new stay is making its not-so-standard mark.

- CHANDREYEE RAY

On 1 February 1929, one of the most storied hotels in history opened its doors on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles. Perched on the edge of the Sunset Strip, the glamorous Chateau Marmont offered its clientele tooth-aching luxury and discreet privacy in equal measure, becoming an instant Hollywood favourite. The hotel quickly became known for the legendary incidents that happened on its castle-like grounds, featuring an eclectic cast and crew of some of the most famous people to ever exist—from Marilyn Monroe to Courtney Love.

Some of these stories are robed in scandal—like Lindsay Lohan running up a bill of more than US$40,000 and refusing to pay—while others, like Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s A-list-only Oscars afterparties in the garage, reflect the nearly century-old hotel’s emblematic status as a home to the Hollywood elite.

But this story is not about Chateau Marmont; neither is it about its ultra-famous clientele. Instead, it is more interested in where the loyal entourages of these celebrities (their publicists, assistants and make-up artists—anyone they couldn’t travel a mile without) would stay when their famous bosses were trashing thousand-dollar hotel rooms.

Cue: The Standard. In 1999, the first Standard hotel opened on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles—a stone’s throw from Chateau Marmont. This proximity in location was where the similarities between the two hotels ended.

It quickly became obvious that The Standard was designed for a younger, hipper, cooler guest. Modern art was embedded in every inch of the hotel: Andy Warhol’s iconic flower print was transformed into drapes, and a permanent installation in the lobby invited performers to sleep in view of the public. While guest rooms were pared back, the common spaces felt like nightclubs thanks to rebellious design and lighting choices. Music reverberated throughout the lifts; the front desk doubled as a DJ booth.