Lobbying around

Well, The Woman in the Lobby is finished. Off to the printers. And I've been lobbying around Europe, checking out the best hotel lobbies. Some favourites: the Hotel de Crillon in Paris (great crowd); The Regina, Paris (great slightly seedy ambiance); The George V, Paris (completely OTT filthy rich clientele); The Gresham Palace in Budapest (astonishing restored art nouveau interior, left); and the Pariz in Prague (small, lovely and atmospheric.) Next week, I'm off to Beijing and Shangai to seek Chinese hotel decadence, courtesy of the Shangri-La group. Stay tuned.