22 APRIL 1955, Page 32

Let's Halt Awhile. By Ashley Courtenay. 1955 Edition. (8s. 6d.)

fr would be a sad day for the hotel trade in Britain if Mr. Ashley Courtenay ever opened an hotel of his own : for it would surely be the Grandest there had ever been, the most com- fortable, serving the finest food. However,.Mr. Courtenay is a charitable man, and prefers to help us, year alter year, find someone else's hotel in which to stay. Nothing escapes him, not the candlewick bedspreads, the kitchen gardens, or the hot baths after hunting. His recommendations are seldom cheap, for cheap- ness and the quality be demands do not mix.

Mr. Courtenay casts over the fascinating jargon of Brochure English a personal prejudice which makes for most agreeable reading. Discerning holidaymakers can put complete faith in Let's Halt Awhile. His com- ments on one hotel can stand as a motto for the whole book : 'welcome, warmth, comfort- able surroundings and a remarkably good

SILAS FISH