"At The Hotel"

According to an article in The Vancouver Province, the new Canadian TV series, "At The Hotel," is based on the Hotel Chelsea.  "At the Hotel focuses on the lives of a group of staff and residents of the Chateau Rousseau -- which is an obvious, albeit slightly more upscale and far less interesting, version of New York's famed Chelsea Hotel."

Here's the plot: "The Chateau Rousseau, located in some unspecified Canadian city, is one of those metropolitan boutique hotels, a century-old family institution housing a mixture of guests and permanent residents, invariably of the artistic variety. The owner is Lucy Knowlton, an alcoholic, faded grande dame who, like the hotel itself, has seen better times. During her lucid moments, Knowlton - played by renowned stage actress Martha Henry - is battling her money-hungry brother who wants to tear the place down to make way for a shopping mall and condo."

Fellow Canadian Susan Swan should sue the series creator, Ken Finkleman, for stealing her idea.  Here's what she says about the blog: “The Chelsea Blog is one of America’s most exciting Web Sites.  Savvy, Sardonic, and always fascinating, its focus is on the hotels famous and not so famous tenants.  Someone could take its stories and make a hit TV series.”

Be sure to check out the March 28th episode, "She Was Giving Me Head on The Unmade Bed," based on the work of another Canadian who used to live here at the Chelsea, Leonard Cohen.