Fairmont Newport Beach: The West Coast's Hotel Carter?

Where: 4500 MacArthur Blvd. [map], Newport Beach, CA, United States, 92660

3/10/2008 at 9:00 AM
Tags: Fairmont Hotels, Hotel Crime, Hotel Death, Hotel News, Orange County Hotels

Normally, we don't like kicking off a Monday with grisly hotel crime but when it happens at a luxury hotel in Orange County, it's hard to ignore.

A woman's body was found packed in dry ice at the Fairmont Newport Beach Hotel Saturday and the details surrounding her death are mysterious to say the least.

The body of Monique Felicia Trepp was discovered in Room 966 at the Fairmont Hotel just before midnight Thursday, shortly after narcotics investigators say they arrested [Stephen David] Royds with a small amount of cocaine.

There's no cause of death yet but both Trepp and Royds had several prior drug-related arrest. Royds also told the O.C. Register that "Everything that happened was for religious reasons."

This is certainly not the kind of publicity the Fairmont wants after having just completed an extensive $32 million renovation. Maybe the Mondrian West Hollywood has some tips on how to cope.