A Luxurious Haven for Celebrity Guests

Nestled atop the scenic bluffs of Santa Monica beach with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, Santa Monica has for decades served as an exclusive playground for Hollywood celebrities and a quiet refuge for politicians and other guests who enjoy luxury and seclusion.

During the "Roaring Twenties" Santa Monica was a popular seaside resort, and the Miramar became a favorite getaway for members of Hollywood's fabled movie colony, who used the hotel as a haven from fans and the prying eyes of media.  In 1924, the six-story Palisades Wing was constructed to provide apartments for guests who planned lengthy stays at the beach.  Scandinavian beauty, Greta Garbo, was one of the first celebrity guests to move into the wing and resided there for more than four years.

During the 1930's, the Miramar was also the stage for nightly entertainment at the height of the Swing and Big Band era.  Jay Whidden's big band music was broadcast live to the Southland from the Miramar Lounge.  Betty Grable, the poster girl for a generation of young G.I.'s during World War II, was his featured vocalist in 1932.  MGM studio talent agents later discovered the young chanteuse at the tender age of 15.  Screen legend Gloria Swanson was such a fan of Jay Whidden that she had a standing reservation during the months he played at the Miramar.  Other celebrities visiting the nightclub during this era included Humphrey Bogart, Noah Beery, Jr., Claudette Colbert and Cary Grant.

In the 1940's, the Miramar hosted such celebrities as Randolph Scott and Jimmy Stewart.  Stewart Granger was a regular visitor to the Miramar for more than 20 years, continuing to have his hair cut in the barbershop until his death.  Dick Van Dyke was a regular for lunch in the Garden Room and actually began his nightclub in the hotel's Stateroom Lounge.

The 1950's brought a new crop of celebrities to the Miramar, including Susan Hayward, Louie Jordan and Anthony Quinn -- who were all frequent visitors.  Lana Turner was married at the Miramar and returned to spend her fifth anniversary in a tenth floor suite. 

Other celebrity guests who have taken up temporary residence in the Miramar over the years include: Faye Dunaway, who maintained a private suite at the hotel in the 70's, Judge Reinhold, a long-tern guest in 1994, Oliver Stone, who stayed for several weeks while working on a script, Debra Winger, who spent the last month of her pregnancy at the hotel and Anjelica Houston, who routinely escaped to the Miramar for weekend getaways.

The Miramar has also hosted a number of distinguished political guests, including former President John F. Kennedy, who was a frequent visitor in the 1960's.  In 1992, while campaigning for President, Governor Clinton stayed in a tenth floor suite at the Miramar.  President Clinton stayed there during a second visit in 1994, accompanied by guests Barbara Streisand, Steven Segal and Steven Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw.  During a third visit in January 1995, President Clinton stayed in a tower suite, and his guests included Rosa Parks, Cicely Tyson, Denzel Washington, Quincy Jones, attorney Johnny Cochran, Jamie Lee Curtis and June Lockhart. 

The Miramar has long been a favorite locale for movie shoots, including "That Touch of Mink," "Oh God"' "The Joy of Sex," and "The Check Is In The Mail."  In the 1980's, the hotel grounds were featured locations during the filming of a number of popular television series such as "Moonlighting," "Dallas," "Dynasty," "Hart to Hart," "Remington Steele" and Knot's Landing."  During this same period, radio station KFOX broadcast a live talk show from the Miramar with guests Mort Saul, Phyllis Diller, Julie Newmar, and Jane Meadows.  Jane Fonda also filmed several of her exercise videos in the Miramar's bungalows and spent time at the hotel on a regular basis while she was married to Senator Tom Hayden.

Celebrities making the Miramar their home during filming have included Alan Alda while filming "Mash," Anthony Quinn while filming "A Walk in the Clouds," and Mel Gibson who stayed in the Champagne Tower during the filming of "Tequila Sunrise."  Various members of the cast of "90210" have stayed at the Miramar while filming episodes at Santa Monica beach.

The Miramar has been the site of numerous entertainment industry meetings and gatherings.  In 1992, Sir Anthony Hopkins was at the Miramar to accept the Academy Award for Best Actor and has returned many times since.  In 1993, the American Film Market Keynote Speaker Luncheon was held at the Miramar, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ted Turner, Jane Fonda, Don Johnson, and Sharon Stone were in attendance.  Similarily, the cast of the TV series "Coach" -- Shelley Fabares, Craig T. Nelson, and Jerry Van Dyke -- were guests at a hotel function in November 1994, and director Martin Scorsese attended a Film Archive meeting at the Miramar in April 1995.

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Millionaire recluse Howard Hughes was a regular at the Miramar's Café restaurant in the 1940's, and actor Cameron Mitchell lunched there daily until his untimely death. 

Other guests at the Miramar over the years include Stan Laurel of Laurel & Hardy; Olivia Newton-John who stayed during her honeymoon, Wolfe Blitzer of CNN News, Paul "Hulk" Hogan, Goldie Hawn who attended a fashion show in which Kate Hudson participated, Pat Morita, Tom Berenger; Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Sommers; Lindsay Wagner, Patricia Kalember of the TV series "Sisters," Jodie Foster, Rob Reiner, Ken Wahl, F. Murray Abraham, Robert Downey Jr., and Burgess Meredith.

More recently, the hotel has played host to the following well-known guests:

Alec Baldwin

Stephen Baldwin

Tom Berenger

Jack Black

Beau Bridges

Bobby Brown

Kobe Bryant

President Bill Clinton

Robert Conrad

Geena Davis

Rosario Dawson

Robert Duvall

Eve Ensler

Jon Favre

Derrick Fisher

Calista Flockhart

Harrison Ford

Peter Gabriel

David Hasselhoff

Hugh Hefner

Sir Anthony Hopkins

Whitney Houston

Ron Howard

Janet Jackson

Rickey Jones

Melina Kanakaredes

Christine Lahti

Hugh Laurie

Chad Lowe

Debra Messing

Phil Mickelson

Helen Mirren

Paul Newman

Shaquille 'O' Neal

Gwyneth Paltrow

Sean Penn

Robert Redford

Doris Roberts

Tim Robbins

Shiva Rose

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Gary Shandling

Brook Shields

Britney Spears

Gloria Steinem

Julia Stiles

Ben Stiller

Kiefer Sutherland

Hilary Swank

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Leslie Ann Warren

Venus and Serena Williams