Rooms with a View: The Secret Life of Grand Hotels

by Adrian Mourby

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 – 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

304 pages, Hardcover

Published November 2, 2017

Reviews

[Saturday's Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I have never stayed in them I am interested in grand (iconic) hotels and their history. If I ever won Tattslotto my plan is to travel the world and stay in some. Adrian Mourby has been fortunate enough to do this so and I found his accounts of many of them an interesting read.

[Sevelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This elegantly produced and nicely written book is about as perfect a book as you’ll come across. Crisp and accessible, it is an interesting way to approach history: through the doors of the world’s grandest and most storied hotels. Seriously researched, it is full of great anecdotes and compelling imagery. Just an thoroughly enjoyable read that while envy-producing, is considerably less costly than the obvious alternative.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun book to read, you can open it up to any section and learn about whichever grand hotel you find on the page. The author includes a photo of each hotel to help the reader get a feel for the grandeur. Especially interesting is how the hotels have fared during times of turbulence over the years.

[Fran Cormack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love hotels? Love history? You will love this book too then.

[Antony · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and well researched book, but a bit formulaic and elitist. I'm not sure it warrants the secret but of the title - I was hoping for something a bit more exciting and a bit less focused on the glamour.