The Eagles are suing the Hotel California

(Image credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images)

published 3 May 2017

The Hotel California in Baja California, Mexico, might be a lovely place, but it is not the one referenced by the Eagles' 1976 title track of the same name. As a result, the band is suing the hotel for "actively [encouraging]" guests to believe it is the inescapable residence referenced in "Hotel California," the BBC reports.

I hear the eagles playing #todossantos #hotelcalifornia #baja #mexicoA post shared by Rusty Partch (@rustypartch) on May 2, 2017 at 4:14pm PDT

Online reviews of the 11-room Mexican hotel complain that guests are misled into believing they are visiting the inspiration for Eagles' song. "This is not the hotel they are singing about [and] once you enter the hotel, you can read the pamphlets with the history of the hotel and they will tell you the same thing," one reviewer wrote. Another complained: "The association often made between this hotel and Eagles song of that name is not supported in fact, only implied."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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