Alas, 2012 has come and gone, and we can't help but get a little nostalgic. After all, it was a great year -- especially in the hotel industry. Tons of gorgeous new resorts, such as the St. Regis Bal Harbour, opened their doors, Kanye West declared Kim Kardashian his baby momma at Revel (coming soon to Oyster.com!) in Atlantic City, and hotel chains such as Marriott continued to work towards setting the bar for green initiatives. But what really rocked our world this year were the numerous (and we mean numerous) celebrity scandals that went down behind closed hotel doors. Of course LiLo makes the list (and could several times), but even the likes of cherubic Justin Bieber was kicked out of his hotel (although reportedly by no fault of his own) in 2012. So here's a look back at the biggest celebrity hotel scandals of 2012 -- and here's to many more in 2013!
Lindsay Lohan at the Dream Downtown, New York City
Oh LiLo, when will she ever learn? The former child star had several run-ins with hotels this year (including partying too hard at The Standard and attempting to run out on her bill at the Chateau Marmont), but most notably may be the one in which she was arrested for a hit-and-run which took place just outside of the Dream Downtown back in September. After the actress [Ed. note: If you count her performance in Liz & Dick as acting] spent the night partying it up at the hotel’s exclusive nightclub, she hopped into her Porsche to call it a night. And we guess she was really ready to get home, because despite reportedly hitting a restaurant employee (who sustained a knee injury), she continued to speed away. NYPD later arrested Lohan on charges of causing an injury and leaving the scene of an accident.
Amanda Bynes at The Standard Hollywood
Not one to be upstaged by a fellow child-star-turned-junkie arch-nemesis [Ed. note: Gotta love it when the whole Disney versus Nickelodeon feud resurfaces], Amanda Bynes also caused a stir while attempting to party at a hotel in 2012. This spring, Bynes was arrested (and then released) on suspicion of a DUI. While most starlets choose to cry (and lawyer up) after such an incident, Bynes figured it was as good a time as any to party. However, upon arriving at The Standard’s Smoke & Mirrors nightclub, Bynes was reportedly denied entry by the bouncers.
Whitney Houston at The Beverly Hilton, Los Angeles
Unfortunately, 2012 saw the passing of an icon. On February 11th, the day before the Grammys, the singer-actress tragically died from an accidental drowning in her hotel room’s bathtub, as a result of a lethal cocktail of prescription meds and cocaine.
Justin Bieber at the Langham Hotel London
Bieber fever has crossed the pond, people! While stateside hotels may have more sympathy for the teenage heartthrob, however, it appears that London hotels do not: Staff at the Langham reportedly asked Bieber to leave the hotel after a multitude of calls to the hotel from fanatic fans caused the phone system to crash.
John Travolta at The Beverly Hills Hotel
Back in the spring, John Travolta faced a slew of accusations from various employees of hotels where the actor had stayed. The first accuser was a masseuse at The Beverly Hills Hotel who claimed that the actor exposed himself to the employee in a bungalow at the hotel. Several other men came forward, and one (who did not claim to be a victim) reported that he shared a wild romp with Travolta in his suite at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. The accusations were later dismissed, so we guess they were just Pulp Fiction! But it still created quite the scandal and left a lot of people musing about the actor’s sexual preferences.
Prince Harry at the Wynn Las Vegas
No one is going to forget Prince Harry’s naked antics (or naked pics!) in Vegas anytime soon, even though they took place back in the summertime. We’re sure the Queen Mother wasn’t too happy when the photos surfaced, and the scandal intensified when it came out that cocaine had been present in the hotel suite and that many of the party guests arrived high on marijuana or shrooms. But when you’re the spare (and a new heir is in the oven), you might as well live it up — and let your brother play the role model!
RELATED LINKS:
- 7 shocking hotel drug scandals
- Most memorable celebrity uh-ohs
- The British royal family’s favorite hotels
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