Rooms with a View : The Secret Life of Grand Hotels

Salvador Dalí once asked room service at Le Meurice in Paris to send him up a flock of sheep. When they were brought to his room he pulled out a gun and fired blanks at them. George Bernard Shaw tried to learn the tango at Reid's Palace in Madeira, and the details of India's independence were worked out in the ballroom of the Imperial Hotel, Delhi. The world's grandest hotels have provided glamorous backgrounds for some of the most momentous - and most bizarre - events in history. Adrian Mourby is a distinguished hotel historian and travel journalist - and a lover of great hotels. Here he tells the stories of 50 of the world's most magnificent, among them the Adlon in Berlin, the Hotel de Russie in Rome, the Continental in Saigon, Raffles in Singapore, the Dorchester in London, Pera Palace in Istanbul and New York's Plaza, as well as some lesser known grand hotels like the Bristol in Warsaw, the Londra Palace in Venice and the Midland in Morecambe Bay. All human life is to be found in a great hotel, only in a more entertaining form. TITLE PAGE DEDICATION CONTENTS INTRODUCTION THE AMERICAS PARKER HOUSE HOTEL, BOSTON (1855) HOTEL MONTELEONE, NEW ORLEANS (1886) LE CHÂTEAU FRONTENAC, QUÉBEC CITY (1893) THE ALGONQUIN, NEW YORK (1902) PLAZA HOTEL, NEW YORK (1907) COPACABANA PALACE, RIO DE JANEIRO (1923) ROYAL HAWAIIAN, WAIKIKI (1927) BILTMORE HOTEL, MIAMI (1931) UNITED KINGDOM THE LANGHAM, LONDON (1865) THE RANDOLPH, OXFORD (1866) THE SAVOY HOTEL, LONDON (1889) THE CALEDONIAN, EDINBURGH (1903) THE WALDORF HOTEL, LONDON (1908) THE DORCHESTER, LONDON (1931) THE MIDLAND HOTEL, MORECAMBE (1933) FRANCE LE MEURICE, PARIS (1835) GRAND HÔTEL TERMINUS, PARIS (1889) THE RITZ, PARIS (1898) THE CARLTON HOTEL, CANNES (1911) GERMANY FRANKFURTER HOF, FRANKFURT (1876) THE ADLON HOTEL, BERLIN (1907) AUSTRIA HOTEL IMPERIAL, VIENNA (1873) HOTEL SACHER, VIENNA (1876) SWITZERLAND HÔTEL DES BERGUES, GENEVA (1834) BAUR AU LAC, ZURICH (1844) GSTAAD PALACE, GSTAAD (1913) ITALY HÔTEL DE RUSSIE, ROME (1820) THE GRITTI PALACE, VENICE (1850 – or 1948) LONDRA PALACE, VENICE (1853) GRAND HÔTEL ET DE MILAN, MILAN (1863) HOTEL EDEN, ROME (1889) GRAND HOTEL TREMEZZO, LAKE COMO (1910) HOTEL CIPRIANI, VENICE (1958) GREECE HÔTEL GRANDE BRETAGNE, ATHENS (1873) POLAND HOTEL BRISTOL, WARSAW (1901) RUSSIA GRAND HÔTEL D’EUROPE, ST PETERSBURG (1875) HOTEL ASTORIA, ST PETERSBURG (1912) TURKEY PERA PALACE HOTEL, ISTANBUL (1895) AFRICA MENA HOUSE, GIZA, EGYPT (1886) REID’S NEW HOTEL, FUNCHAL, MADEIRA (1891) HÔTEL DE LA MAMOUNIA TRANSATLANTIQUE ET CFM, MARRAKECH, MOROCCO (1925) CECIL HOTEL, ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT (1929) INDIA THE TAJ MAHAL PALACE HOTEL, BOMBAY (1903) THE IMPERIAL HOTEL, DELHI (1936) ASIA THE ORIENTAL HOTEL, BANGKOK, THAILAND (1877) THE CONTINENTAL HOTEL, SAIGON, VIETNAM (1880) RAFFLES HOTEL, SINGAPORE (1887) GRAND HÔTEL MÉTROPOLE PALACE, HANOI, VIETNAM (1901) THE CATHAY HOTEL, SHANGHAI, CHINA (1928) THE PENINSULA, HONG KONG, CHINA (1928) A PERSONAL NOTE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS GUEST LIST BEHIND THE SCENES ABOUT THE AUTHOR ALSO BY ADRIAN MOURBY COPYRIGHT "Salvador Dalí once asked room service at Hôtel Le Meurice in Paris to send him up a flock of sheep. When they were duly brought to his room he got out a gun and fired blanks at them. George Bernard Shaw tried to learn the tango at Reid's Palace in Madeira, and the details of India's independence were worked out in the ballroom of the Imperial Hotel, Delhi. The great hotels have provided glamorous backgrounds for some of the most momentous {u2013} and most bizarre {u2013} events of world history. Adrian Mourby is a distinguished hotel historian and travel journalist {u2013} and a lover of great hotels. Here he tells the stories of 50 of the world's most magnificent, among them the Adlon in Berlin, the Cipriani in Venice, the Intercontinental in Saigon, Raffles in Singapore, the Dorchester in London, Hotel Kamp in Helsinki, the Pera Palace in Istanbul {u2013} and, a personal favourite, the Art Deco Midland in Morecambe Bay. All human life is to be found in a great hotel, only in a more entertaining form."--Inside dust jacket Salvador Dali once asked room service at Hotel Le Meurice in Paris to send him up a flock of sheep. When they were duly brought to his room he got out a gun and fired blanks at them. George Bernard Shaw tried to learn the tango at Reid's Palace in Madeira, and the details of India's independence were worked out in the ballroom of the Imperial Hotel, Delhi. The great hotels have provided glamorous backgrounds for some of the most momentous - and most bizarre - events of world history. Adrian Mourby is a distinguished hotel historian and travel journalist - and a lover of great hotels. Here he tells the stories of 50 of the world's most magnificent, among them the Adlon in Berlin, the Cipriani in Venice, the Intercontinental in Saigon, Raffles in Singapore, the Dorchester in London, Hotel Kamp in Helsinki, the Pera Palace in Istanbul - and, a personal favourite, the Art Deco Midland in Morecambe Bay. All human life is to be found in a great hotel, only in a more entertaining form Incredible, startling and often hilarious tales from the world’s best hotels