Five-star living: The hotels around the world where some people never check out

Coco Chanel was a trendsetter in fashion and, it turns out, real estate.

Not only did the French designer revolutionise women’s wardrobes with her signature suit and little black dress, she was an early adopter of the idea that some hotels are so luxurious and convenient that checking out is entirely optional.

In 1937, at the height of her fame, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel took up residence in a pair of two-room suites at the Ritz in Paris, across the road from her couture salon. She brought her own coromandel lacquer screens, lamps, sofas and artwork. The hotel was to be the designer’s home until her death in 1971.

Since that time, all manner of stars, from rockers to writers, actors and business leaders, have turned hotel suites into homes, sometimes for years at a time.

In the early 1960s, Bob Dylan and his then-girlfriend Joan Baez shacked up at the Washington Square Hotel in New York.

In the same city, around the same time, the playwright Tennessee Williams checked in to the Hotel Elysee. It would be his home for the rest of his life, his typewriter tapping occasionally causing guests in neighbouring rooms to complain about the noise.

On the West Coast, the actor Robert de Niro had a penchant for the penthouse at the legendary Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.

And in London, Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies, chose the Savoy Hotel as his abode. The Irish actor once told The Telegraph, “If you’re paying the mortgage on a home, you can’t ask the bank manager to fetch you a pint.”

The ultra-convenience of hotels has proven irresistible to scores of rich and famous long-term residents. Around the world, savvy developers have taken note, sparking a surge in projects combining luxury hotels with high-end apartments.

In these contemporary mixed-use developments, residents can enjoy the best of both worlds: the comfort of their own home plus access to services synonymous with five-star hospitality.

In many cases, the hotel and residential sections are kept separate – placing residences on different floors to hotel rooms, for example, and offering separate lift lobbies.

High-profile examples include The Residences at W Sentosa Cove in Singapore, 10 Whitehall Place adjoining the Corinthia Hotel in London, The Royal Atlantis Resort and Residences in Dubai, the Plaza Hotel in New York and residential offerings around the world by the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton hotel groups.

In Australia, the Gold Coast is set to welcome a new collection of luxury apartments within The Star Gold Coast, a $2-billion master-planned precinct on Broadbeach Island.

At 63 storeys, Epsilon at The Star, the second of five towers planned for the project, is on track to be the tallest building in Broadbeach when it’s completed.

The DBI-designed residences will occupy levels 21 to 63, offering majestic views from nearby beaches to the hinterland. On the lower levels, a yet-to-be-announced five-star hotel will open its doors.

“Residents will be able to tap into everything,” says Chris Hinds, sales manager at The Star Residences Gold Coast.

“It provides a really unique opportunity for somebody to live in a residential apartment in a great city like the Gold Coast but also be able to access those extra hotel amenities that are already on site, such as the casino, the gaming, the restaurants – and that offering is just going to expand.”

It’s expected residents will be able to order room service not only from the hotel restaurants but from other bars and restaurants within the precinct. Pools, gyms, meeting rooms, a cinema, a kids’ club and concierge services will also be accessible.

A mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments are still available at Epsilon at The Star Residences Gold Coast. Completion is due in 2024.

“A lot of purchasers have said the reason they want to come and make The Star Gold Coast home is because it’s somewhere they can eat, play and relax – and never check out.”