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HOTELS – A USER'S GUIDE Torquil Arbuthnot recalls the days when one could billet at establishments that ranged from the highly suitable to the socially dangerous, and he presents a handy guide to each type of hotel accommodation
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adly 2020 was a year mainly of Colditz-style internment, with very little opportunity to leave one’s abode for a well-earned holiday or even to flee one’s creditors. One can only fondly remember evenings spent in the Hotel Splendiferoso on the Cap d’Antibes or wet weekends in a B&B in Rhyl. But once the quarantine is lifted and the bucket-andspade retrieved from the pawnshop, the Chap will want to saunter forth on his summer hols. As there are many types of hotel and accommodation available, this is a short guide to hostelries for the discerning traveller.
THE SEASIDE B&B The British seaside B&B is not known for its comfort but, like a Land Rover or a pork pie, does the job in an admirably no-nonsense fashion. True, the hot water will only be available for several minutes a day, there are a list of rules that would not be out of place in a German prison, and the management will steal the guests’ towels. But the bed will be comfortable and the breakfast magnificent. Since any holiday to the British seaside is bound to be ‘rained off’, a Chap will find himself spending time in the Residents’ Lounge. This
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