2 MAY 1952, Page 16

Guides to Britain SIR,—Mr. Daniel states that "the Michelin Guide

of Britain had no classi- fication of restaurants and hotels." My Michelin (Great Britain, ninth edition), bought in 1927, has a classification of hotels and restaurants. There are six categories of hotels and five categories of restaurants. The category of the restaurant is indicated by a row of diamonds—five diamonds indicated de luxe while four diamonds meant cuisine par excellence. There were no five-diamond restaurants in Great Britain, and few of the four-diamond category. London and Manchester(!) each had 8, Glasgow 2, Edinburgh 1, Liverpool and Birmingham none. There were, however, numerous hotels of the highest category, de luxe, in Britain 25 years ago.—Yours faithfully, E. GOLD. 8 Hurst Close, N.W.II.