27 FEBRUARY 1993, Page 23

Not a bang but a whimper

Sir: Veronica Lodge (`Unforgivably well- connected', 20 February) writes that cham- pagne, allegedly seen in Darius Guppy's hotel room in New York, 'was actually a quite ordinary bottle of sparkling wine'. I have stayed at the hotel in question, the Halloran House, and can tell you that such a beverage is inescapable. A bottle is pre- sented to every guest, encased in gold foil but with a pop like a sigh, along with a box of four chocolates and a rose.

Anthony Gilbey

White Lion House, Wangford, Beccles, Suffolk