its about drugs. more specifically, about addiction. in the beginning he is riding cool, and then he starts coming down off his high. he finds a 'hotel' and he stays there. the hotel is symbolic of addiction. he stops, meets a girl thats like him, with her tiffany twisted mind (her addiction to jewelry/high life), her pretty pretty boyfriends and all that stuff. the chorus about livin it up at the hotel california, drugs drugs drugs all day long. then the captain (dealer) tells him hes out of that 'spirit', then it goes to the mirrors on the ceiling part. mirrors on the ceiling is a sexual thing IE addicted to sex. we are all just prisoners here of our own device, prisoners of their addictions, and then the feast where they all shoot up or do whatever they do to feed their addictions. the beast metaphor shows that their addictions are deepseeded and impossible to kill. he runs for the door, tries to escape his addiction and is stopped by the nightman (his habit, or dealer, whichever). you can check out any time you like but you can never leave, hopeless addiction. and as for the title, hotels are often places for hardcore sex action, and drugs. plus california, kind of an obvious reference to a really drugged up addicted state.


but hey, maybe its just an acid trip song

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
(He's down a 'path' in his life he doesn't need to be on [dark desert], wind is symbolic of the Holy spirit, Christ is tugging at his soul)
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
(The colitas are symbolic of something entising)
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
(Light is thought of as good, but this light is Satan, "Lucipher, oh Son of the Morning, Light of Day")
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
(This force is messing w/ him and manipulating him to stay)
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
('She,' something else entising)
I heard the mission bell
(Some kind of service/ceremony is about to begin)
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
(He feels bittersweet, is this good or is it bad?)
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
('..and she showed me the way' [not forcing religion, just showing facts] Jesus said: I am the WAY, the truth, and the light. No one reaches the Father, but by me. Jesus is the way not the woman in the song)
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...
(Irrelevant)

Welcome to the Hotel California
("The Hotel California is the name of an actual Satanic 'church' in the state of California. Founded by Allister Crowley in 1969, he was also the author of the Black Bible)
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
(The appearance seems purely innocent)
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
(They want more 'recruits')
Any time of year, you can find it here
(We want your soul at any time)
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes-Benz
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls
friends
(She is in this cult and has so many great things, this makes him want to join)
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
(He's dancing w/ the patience of God. 'Remember' I made it out, 'forget' I was that crazy.)

So I called up the Captain,
(He summoned Mr. Crowley)
'Please bring me my wine'
(Wine is symbolic of Jesus Christ)
He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here
(Spirit is in a double meaning here, Spirit as in alcohol AND spirit as in Christ)
Since nineteen sixty-nine'
(1969 is the year that the "Hotel California" was declared a Satanic church, in their minds Christ was gone.)
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...
(You think you've got away, they draw you right back in)

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis
(I'm not sure)

Mirrors on the ceiling,
(Mirrors are reflection of who we really are, we can 'think' we are beautiful, but if you have a dog-face the mirror will show that you look like hell)
The pink champagne on ice
(Champagne is basically the opposite of wine)
And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device
(we are stuck in this cult becouse of our own temptation)

(Foreword: This whole section is about the 'Feast of the Bridegroom', aka the return of Christ.)
And in the master's chambers,
(The Master is Jesus)
They gathered for the feast
(the 'feast' is symbolic of the reward Christians will receive from Christ for being honorable to him and the Father. 'they' are the Christians.)
The stab it with their steely knives
(In the 'Battle of Armegeddon' they are fighting Satan and his soldiers.)
But they just can't kill the beast
(The 'beast' is Satan. They're saying that Satan and his army will defeat Christ and rise over him in authority.)

Last thing I remember, I was
(LAST thing he remembers. He has lost all mortal consienceness and demonic forces have taken over his soul.)
Running for the door
(Prior to being taken over by demons, he realizes he wants out.)
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
(He wants back w/ Jesus and his ways)
'Relax,' said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
(We WILL receive souls)
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave!
(If you want to go from us, go, but your soul is still ours)
My opinion..take it or leave it.

I've heard that it is based on a true experiences. Such as they did stay at a haunted hotel.

But the song refers to drugs and the lifestyle of California or more like Rock and Roll.

The line "You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave" I feel what that really means is You can die from it at anytime. But you can't escape the addiction.

I think it is a combination of a lot of the comments. It's about Rock & Roll, Drugs, Love, Lifestyles, and excesses of life.

The fact though that no one can come with a definite answer to the meaning of this song shows the great talent of this band. I feel it is lost in a lot of today's music. But I also feel it is coming back.

"This is about materialism and excess. California is used as the setting, but it could relate to anywhere in America."

" "Colitas," in the line "Warm smell of colitas," is often interpreted as a flower or a sexual reference. It is a Spanish word translated to Henley by The Eagles Mexican-American road manager meaning "Little Buds," and is a reference to marijuana."
^^these were from songfacts.com

now, drugs have only been referred to once in this song!! there's your proof. also...

Don Henley: "We were all middle-class kids from the Midwest. Hotel California was our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles."

From the man himself, drugs? i don't think so!

its really about a drug addiction to the artist, but to someone else, it could mean what ever they want it to. thats whats awesome about art, is that you can see any way you want, it doesnt have to have the same meaning, that was meant by the artist himself. i just love this song and i think its cool.

i love this song

drug addiction?? my god! it's one of the best songs on the whole freaking planet! i mean, i know this is a 70's band but man...talk about a way to destroy a good song! i can see how you see it as a drug addiction but i don't agree but hey, i'm just the minority...

its a drug addiction, or an evil womanly wrath.. i personally lean more twards the drug addiction... but i think the name Hotel California is a way of symbolism, they are calling the endless addiction, as a hotel. and katie girl, its not only that line there are countles hints throughout the song but some are hard to catch, soetimes i find it easier to analys it like a poem not line by line or verse by verse but word by word....(sometimes 2 wordsnever more.) for exampple...
"Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before "
Last meaning before that could be before anything such af a smoke or... an shot of heroin smack anything, it could be before his last love, then the next couple wors will decifer that
running for the door, well that could be running away frma n abusive lover or a bad tripp on coke or heroin or smack er sumthin... Passage, there is a trick word, a way, a way for what? a way to stop the drug a way to stop the woman from yelling.. who knows? then the word back folows... a way back a way back to the way thing were maybe, before what? drug or woman? the reason every one hangs on lthe line "You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave!" is because, it is the defining line and no one said we were taling about suicide in here, nowhere does it say that... all it says in that lineis, "CHeck out" to remove yourself, not to kill but to remove, "never leave" you can remove yourself, buty you cant leave it behind, you will carry it with you forever, to leave means to go with allowance of coming back, and should you come near it that drug agin, you will check back into it without meaning to....

wow okay sorry ive written so many comments but thisll be my last... gonna be long though

ok first i wanna say some stuff to some people i think are wrong

first of all i hate it when people say its all about drugs because there are way too many signs pointing against it... as i have said earlier...

also... someone said the "you can check out any time you like but you can never leave" thing was about drugs because you can check out or kill yourself but you can never leave cause youll always have the addiction, but how can you have an addiction once your dead???

and yes it is beverly hills hotel on the front, ive seen countless reviews confirming that....... and i think the shadow is to represent the darker side of la, how it looks all pretty on the outside but is really awful

and really, i just agree with spitbars on what its all about

ok, what i dont get is why people would come on here just to tell us this song is evil and if you play it backwards you hear satan... i mean jese, if you hate the song so much just dont listen to it... but im going to if you want me to or not... so please... just shut up!

ok, taddy teddy, your idea is very good, but there are a few flaws. such as, when you said "and while you can check out any time you like, you can still never leave (a reference to the inscription over the gates of hell in the divine comedy: abandon all hope ye who enter here" the part about you can never leave makes sense but how can you "check out" of hell any time you like???

THINK PEOPLE!!! everyone keeps saying its about drugs because of the line "you can check out any time you like but you can never leave" well ok i get the "you can never leave" part but..... are you forgetting the first part of the line??? maybe you have something explaining that but ive yet to hear one

ok... im seein a lot of people say that its all about what the song means to you and thats true... but who cares??? what i want to know is what the writer wrote the song about.... or at least what people think he wrote it about...

the songs about drugs

To me the song is about the excess drug use, and just the excess of everything period that went on during the sixties, whether it be the drugs, the sex and etc. The song to me is about reflecting on that period and how hard it was to move on from that. "You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave"

Great song, one of the best rock songs of all time.

Why has anyone not noticed that this song is about sex?

"Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device""

There is PINK Champagne
and the prisoners are sex addicts.

"They gathered for the feast"

The feast meaning the new meat the has just arrived for them to have sex with.

no question about it, its about drugs. "havent had that spirit here since 1969 (Woodstock) she has pretty boys she calls friends (drug dealers) voices calling Welcome to the Hotel California (drug world). All signs point to drugs. Drugs use is inevitable.

thats quite touching TabuuDi26. definatley the most poigniant comment ive seen on this website...

hmm, to me this song means death....especially the part "you can check out anytime you want,but you can never leave". My uncle who died in 1987 loved this song and it reminded me of him andit reminds me of my fiance's death a few months ago

hmm, to me this song means death....especially the part "you can check out anytime you want,but you can never leave". My uncle who died in 1987 loved this song and it reminded me of him andit reminds me of my fiance's death a few months ago

wow!i dont know what the song means always wanted to but anyways it is an awesome song awesome guitar solo and it has been a favorite of mine for about 15 years! lovin them eagles!

i think your comment was the best luvlyss23!

its about alchoholism

i always thought this song was just a dream this guy had

Wow, some of you are overanalyzing this song A LOT. I mean, to me this song isn't on the symbolic par as Stairway or Boh Rap (see my reviews of those for true overanalysis.) It's pretty straight forward, just about the Underworld of LA. If you get the 2 disc Eagles: Best of set it actually says exactly how the song came about. I'll paraphrase it: basically it said they got the basic thoughts for the song, a twilight zone-like hotel in LA, watched a lot of Twilight Zone shows to get ideas, did a lot of research on hotels, and then threw in as much weird shit as they could to get a very odd feel to it. It's nothing more than that. So not to say your ideas aren't good, but in my opinion the song is just about some crazy shit going down at a hotel.