Why is the service so bad at Chateau Marmont? It's written on the menu

Photo by Raphael Mazor.

At the bottom of the Chateau Marmont's hotel dinner menu is a notice, in very small type, that your meal will include a 15% gratuity. Not for tables of six or more, or for room service -- all orders have 15% tacked on the bill (as opposed to being built into the menu's prices, as they are in France). 

Guaranteed gratuities aside, there's other reasons for Chateau Marmont's unique style of service. If you're an unknown quantity, service can be slow, invisible or brusque; if the server knows you personally, or if you're famous, rich, powerful or some combination thereof, waiters react accordingly. However, underlying all of it is the staff knows that the Chateau Marmont is the Chateau Marmont; it's one of the few places in Los Angeles that actually feels as glamorous as its history might suggest.