
The Eagles was formed by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner (Courtesy: EaglesBand)
Quick Take
Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed.
The Eagles had asked the hotel to drop the name and hand over profits
The lawsuit was filed this week in Los Angeles
"Many visitors are mesmerized by coincidences between lyrics and place"
The lawsuit quoted online reviews by guests who appeared to believe that the hotel was inspired by the song.
"Consumers who visit the hotel and purchase defendants' merchandise then return to the United States with the infringing merchandise and inform others that they have visited 'the' Hotel California made famous by the Eagles," it said.
The hotel's website says that "many visitors are mesmerized" by coincidences between the song's lyrics and the place.
"There are numerous stories. Whether fact or myth, nobody knows for sure. However, one rumour, fabricated in the 1990s by someone with no connection to any owners of the hotel, states that the Eagles once owned it. This is unequivocally false," it says.
The owners, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, state clearly that they do not have a link to the band.
The Eagles have given various accounts of the meaning of Hotel California, which has generally been taken as a metaphor for the promise and pitfalls of the American dream rather than as an actual place of accommodation.
The cover of the album of the same name featured a photograph of the posh Beverly Hills Hotel. Ironically, art designer John Kosh later said in a documentary that the hotel management complained that it had not granted permission.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)