14 MAY 1983, Page 23

Old hotels

Sir: Richard West is able to assure Walter Kendall that the Moskva Hotel still func- tions in Belgrade. So too does Sofia's Hotel Bulgaria. Like the Pera Palace in Istanbul it has seen better days and is less sought out now than the glass tower blocks on the out- skirts of the city. Bulgaria has no one of the stature of Djilas who could distinguish its patrons but it has a lively bar which is still popular with a number of Sofia's in- telligentsia. It also has a restaurant in which I once saw a British businessman stand on the table in protest at having to wait two hours for his dinner. Thereafter he received fast and favourable service.

R. J. Crampton

Rutherford College.

The University, Canterbury, Kent