Business Insider Edition
Some hotels are known for their opulence. Some are renown for their high-profile clientele. Others are notorious for scandals that have occurred there.
It's possible to visit the sites of old Hollywood glamour or stay in the same imperial suites that royals once occupied at famous hotels around the world.
Here's what 15 iconic hotels looked like then and now.
Peter King/Fox Photos/Getty Images
They bought five adjoining buildings and opened the expanded hotel in 1856 . It was then bought by Richard D'Oyly Carte, remodeled, and reopened in 1898. More rooms and a ballroom were added in 1929.
The exiled kings of Greece, Norway, and Yugoslavia stayed there during World War II.
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Claridge's
Kate Moss celebrated her 30th birthday at the hotel, and Diane von Furstenberg designed four of its suites.
Bettmann/Getty Images
Famous guests included Igor Stravinsky, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and members of the Romanov Dynasty.
cliplab.pro/Shutterstock
It features 266 rooms and suites and five restaurants and bars .
Bettmann/Getty Images
The building has been a New York City landmark since 1969 and a National Historic Landmark since 1986.
Kevin Tachman/Getty Images
Rooms can cost up to $50,000 per night .
Studio Livernois/Wikimedia Commons
The hotel is named for French governor Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac , who served from 1672 to 1698.
Scott Legato/Getty Images
Guests have included King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Princess Grace of Monaco, Chiang-Kai-Shek, Ronald Reagan, Prince Andrew, Lady Sarah Ferguson, and Alfred Hitchcock.
E. C. LaRue/Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons
It contains 327 rooms and features a restaurant, lounge, snack bar, and gift shop.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
The Inn is open from early May until mid October.
Giorgio Lotti/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
It was originally built by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, who served under Pope Gregory XIII, as his summer home.
Stefano_Valeri/Shutterstock
The property has won numerous travel awards over the years.
Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The hotel was the headquarters of the British Mandate of Palestine. It was bombed by the Zionist military group Irgun in 1946 after British troops invaded the Jewish Agency.
Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images
The King David Hotel has hosted royals, celebrities, and world leaders on their visits to Israel, including Prince William on his first trip there in 2018 .
Dmitri Kessel/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
The hotel's gardens were a wedding gift for Prince Al Mamoun in the 18th century. Winston Churchill called it "one of the most beautiful places in the world."
Abdeljalil Bounhar/AP
It maintains its Arabic Andalusian style of decor and intricate tile designs.
Harris & Ewing/Wikimedia Commons
President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote his famous line, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," in room 776 in 1933. The king of Morocco hosted a dinner for President and Mrs. Eisenhower there in 1957.
Andrew Harnik/AP
It has also played a part in political sex scandals over the years.
Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
Tony Bennett, Jerry Lewis, Liberace, and Diana Ross performed at Caesars Palace in its early days, the Los Angeles Times reports. Daredevil Evel Knievel also jumped over its fountains on his motorcycle in 1967, crash-landing on the concrete.
Denise Truscello/WireImage
The Colosseum was built for singer Celine Dion and continues to host other artist residencies for Rod Stewart and Reba, Brooks & Dunn.
Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
It's famous for its celebrity clientele including Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Faye Dunaway.
Alexandra Wyman/Getty Images For March Of Dimes
Each of its 21 bungalows also has storied histories of celebrity occupancies. It's also hosted the Golden Globe Awards every year since
The Iron Trade Review/Wikimedia Commons
The two hotels were next door to each other on Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street and eventually merged. They were then demolished in 1929 to make way for the Empire State Building. Lucius Boomer bought the Waldorf Astoria name for $1 million and built the hotel at its current location on Park Avenue.
a katz/Shutterstock
A Chinese insurance company bought the hotel for $1.95 billion in 2014 and is reconfiguring 500 hotel rooms into apartments.
Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
Designer Coco Chanel lived and died at the Ritz , according to Forbes. The hotel was also used as a Nazi headquarters when Germany occupied Paris. Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway "liberated" the bar as Germans were retreating in 1944 and ordered champagne for everyone, resulting in the bar's name, Bar Hemingway.
EQRoy/Shutterstock
The Imperial Suite, where Princess Diana had her last meal before tragically dying in a car crash, costs $30,000 per night , according to Forbes.
Pierre Dieulefils/Wikimedia Commons
The hotel's bomb shelter was used by celebrities such as Joan Baez and Jane Fonda during the Vietnam War. Tours of the shelter are now offered daily.
Daa/Wikimedia Commons
Its colonial-style architecture and luxurious accommodations have attracted the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Bill Clinton, Vladimir Putin, and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, according to Culture Trip.
Tropenmuseum/Wikimedia Commons
It was originally a bungalow with 10 rooms and kept expanding as demand grew. A bartender at the hotel's Long Bar invented the Singapore Sling cocktail in 1915.
Elisa.rolle/Wikimedia Commons
It's slated to reopen in mid-2019.
Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.
