18 FEBRUARY 1949, Page 5

With the approach of spring, and its invitation to staggered

holidays, comes Mr. Ashley Courtenay's annual volume Let's Halt Awhile, with his selection, and description, of hotels in Great Britain, and now also Ireland, north and south, which he guarantees from personal inspection (almost always—and if not he says so). I always give the book a note because it can be of real value to many who use this column. Mr. Courtenay explains that he does not claim for a moment that all good hotels are in his book, but he does claim with some emphasis that all the hotels in his book are good. He mentions their particular characteristics, says something about their surroundings and gives their tariffs—though with the warning that the Catering Wages Act is turning many things in the hotel world, including tariffs, upside down (I am glad to see that some change is to be made in the present regulations, which lay an intolerable burden on hotel-keepers). Among various improvements in this year's issue are area maps at the beginning of each section, showing the location of every hotel described. (Price 7s. 6d., to be obtained from Ashley Courtenay, 68 St. James's Street, S.W.I.)

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