HotelChatter

Justin Is Bringing Disinfectant Back
We're known to be frequent hand sanitizers ourselves but it seems a little extreme that pop princeling Justin Timberlake insists someone go around every two hours disinfecting doorknobs. What’s more, Timberlake requires that the floor’s air conditioning filters must also be changed upon his arrival. Come to think of it, that one actually makes sense after some of the gross things we’ve seen our fellow travelers pull.

The teen idol also demands an entire floor wherever he stays, a private fitness studio, and a PlayStation. What, no books, JT? Taking a page from Barbra Streisand’s playbook, Timberlake’s staff forbids hotel staff to address him under any circumstances. Still, if a hotel meets this former ’N Syncer’s stringent code of conduct, he’s gracious enough to repay the favor by talking them up, as he did with London’s Claridge’s, Dorchester and the Mandarin Oriental in the London Evening Standard in October.

Prince Just Wants Your Extra Time and...Some Oxygen Masks
Someone should tell Prince to lighten up, because before a stay at the Dorchester Hotel in London, the temperamental artist demanded that his entire suite be black: walls, carpets, curtains, furniture, etc. He also wanted black M&M’s and an oxygen bar for his staff. Maybe it’s to stop them hyperventilating because of the other celebrity meltdowns that occur at the hotel with the regularity of a Yellowstone geyser. At least these requests were legal, because as Dorchester Concierge Kevin Edwards will tell you, with some guests, they aren’t always.

Rod Stewart Thinks You Want His Body But Only in The Dark
Rod Stewart also seems to like the black motif in his rooms, though for more…geriatric reason. He has a “darkening team” that scouts his hotel rooms for him ahead of time and makes sure no light comes in so that he can take an afternoon nap in complete darkness. We wonder, was he always an 80-year-old granny, or is this a recent development?

Macca is Fixing a Hole Where the Rain Gets In?
Stewart’s not the only aging rocker with needs though. In fact, next to Sir Paul McCartney, Stewart’s demands seem quaint. The Israeli daily, Haaretz, reports that for his much ballyhooed performance in Israel in 2008, McCartney and his posse racked up an astounding bill of 380,000 Israeli shekels (over $102,000) at the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv, where he stayed in the Royal Suite, while 30 members of his entourage took another 21 suites.

You need a lot of people to move 80 tons of equipment, after all. Israel’s used to dietary restrictions, what with kosher laws and all, but McCartney even brought his own personal chef to instruct the hotel staff, and had a personal butler on call 24 hours a day in the suite. Wonder if he works “Eight Days A Week.” Come on, we couldn’t resist.

No More Sweet Suites for the King of Pop (RIP)
When Michael Jackson stayed at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London in 2007, he demanded bowls full of Haribo sweets, a full body mirror and a toy xylophone. No word on whether these things were for him, or for his kids who were traveling with him. After all the hubbub that resulted from a stay in 2009 at his erstwhile London favorite—you guessed, it the Dorchester—Jackson was asked to stay elsewhere. Due to his untimely demise, however, we’ll never know what hotel he would have asked next to fill the candy bowls and prep the toys.

Men Want Stripper Poles Too...At Least Mr. Katy Perry Does
We can’t figure out if he’s a wannabe rocker who’s taken up acting, or a wannabe actor who’s taken on the persona of a Brit punk rocker, but this past April, eye-liner aficionado Russell Brand requested a hotel room with a stripper pole at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Vegas while filming “Get Him To The Greek.” Actually, let us clarify. Apparently Mr. Brand researched the hotel, and requested the Apex Suite, which already comes equipped with a stripper pole as well as a glassed-in shower, cocktail bar and home film system.

Unlike Britney Spears’ claim that the stripper pole she had installed at the Dorchester was for fitness workouts, based on our recent sightings of Russell Brand at the West Hollywood Crunch, this star wasn’t using his hardware to get in shape.

Thought aging rockers and punkish actors were the only ones making outrageous demands on hotels? Think again. Tomorrow we’re getting political and telling you all about the pork-filled wish lists of public figures from both sides of the aisle.

[Photos: Kyleburning/Wonker/JoshilynJackson/Sander Lamme/Urban Daily/GuardianUK]