John Lennon

Sunset Tower rises above the Strip in creamy Art Deco curves, a small hotel whose discretion has always mattered more than flash. Sean Penn checked in here with Charlize Theron for a private Los Angeles escape, fitting naturally into the hotel's long tradition of low-key Hollywood regulars.

Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth turned one Montreal suite into a piece of music history. John Lennon and Yoko Ono occupied Room 1742 for eight days in 1969, staging their Bed-In for Peace and recording Give Peace a Chance amid flowers, handwritten signs and a stream of visitors.

Beverly Wilshire sits at Rodeo Drive with the grand confidence of a Hollywood institution. During his 1970s separation from Yoko Ono, John Lennon made the hotel his Los Angeles home for months, following in the footsteps of his musical hero Elvis Presley and giving the polished address a distinctly rock-and-roll chapter.