Check Into a Hotel and Never Leave

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Rich people from Andrew Carnegie to Al Capone once lived full time in residential hotels. And now you can too.

"I love hotel living. I would never live anywhere else," says Sotheby's International real estate broker Elizabeth Sample, who not only sells units in Manhattan's Mandarin Oriental Residences, but bought a $3 million place there in 2005. "I like the fact that you never have to leave the building if you don't want to."

The Ritz-Carlton Boston Residences

A popular housing option in the 19th and early-20th centuries for wealthy people, living full time in a hotel is making a big comeback.

Many of New York's landmark hotels -- from the Plaza to the St. Regis -- have converted some floors to condos in recent years. The Mandarin Oriental, the Ritz-Carlton and other hospitality chains have also teamed up with developers around the world to build combined hotel/condo complexes from scratch.

Developers will typically put condos on special floors or wings of five-star hotels that they're building, creating private residences with access to a facility's spa, health club and other amenities.

"The one thing that buyers all have in common is that they all want a hotel's amenities and services -- and they all gravitate toward brand names like the Ritz-Carlton," says real estate broker Michael Doherty, who lives Boston's Ritz-Carlton Residences and has sold several units there. "Most people who buy at the Ritz have stayed at a Ritz, and they expect the same services as residents that they got as hotel guests."

Hotel-based condos generally start at a bit under $1 million in smaller cities like Boston, while top-of-line Manhattan units can approach $100 million.

You're getting a lot more than just a glorified hotel room for your money.

Hotel-based condos usually come with full-sized dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and everything else you'd expect in a private residence.

Throw in housekeeping, valet parking and other services and you get a lifestyle that's popular with CEOs, celebrities and others who have lots of cash but little free time.

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