e

1 What facilities would you expect a very expensive hotel to provide for
its guests? Make a list and compare your ideas with a partner.

vocabulary Hotel facilities

-
s...
Q 2 Match these facilities with the icons
.J u ? c:
below. \,.

wheelchair access health or fitness credit cards accepted n

c: roo sfacilities
for more than 2 people pets wel air C' nditioning swimming pool
(J) 01
Q me 24-hour,... room business facilities children's

-J
I
service.'.:>
2 3 4
facilities
5 6 7 9 10

u
8

·-u0-
1:1 g a
::J 3 Work in pairs. What facilities do you think these icons
: show?

.
m
Q
I 2 3

'1
. J
reading 4 Read the article on the opposite page and make a list of all the facilities
aiCJ
that guests can enjoy at the Lanesborough Hotel.

. 5 Read the article again. Are these statements true or false? Correct any
false statements.
1 Stanley Kubrick stayed at the Lanesborough.
2 The £5,287.50 a night tariff includes breakfast. ·
3 The room tariff includes a car with a driver.
-
4 The rooms contain their own fitness studio.
5 The hotel combines modernity with tradition
-
6 Guests can be contacted even when they are not in their room
.

7 The butler provides a 24-hour service.

:
8 The butler wasn't able to get a 35 mm
film for the guest.
 E)_H_o_te_l
_fa_c_il_it
_ie_s

A superior night's sleep

yours for only £5,287.50
Michael Jackson, hi-tech gadgets: an in-r oom
computer with fast internet access
M
h
Celine Dion and Mariah
adonna,
ave
Carey all stayed at the and internet radlo so you can
Lanesborough. Stanley Kubrick 1lsten to local stations from New
filmed scenes for Eyes Wide Shut York to Buenos Aires,
in a junior bedroom and Princess fifteen phone
Diana used the dining ro om for handsets and
standards
a party. By £5,287.50
anybody's (excluding a mobile so
breakfast and dinner) is a lot to you can be
pay so what exactly do you get for reached on
your m oney? your room
For starters there was the number you're
when even
chauffeured Rolls-Royce which out about town.
came with the suite. Then there But the
were the butlers whose role is to find price
anything the guest wishes to shouldn't be
receive. There were personalised the
relatedfacilities.
to It's a unique
business cards and stationery, experience, like the butler who
bunches of flowers from the in- can find whatever you're looking
house florist, a bottle of Perrier- 12.10
for. At am I urgently needed a
a Jouetfruit champagne on ice, and
bowl containing giant recommendation for an
strawberries. Ethiopian restaurant, a 35 mm
My butler told me about film for my camera and a fitness
the hotel's fitness studio, I asked if I cycle delivered to my room for
had when I woke next morning.
to train in front of other My night butler did not
guests: 'Of course not sir, I can disappoint. Within minutes he
have the equipment moved up to recommended the Ethiopian
your suite. restaurant in Brixton: 'Would you like
You can work out by the window, us to make a booking sir?'
it's located
and a night chemist
a lovely view over Green Park.' who unfortunately did not stock
There's a lot of gold. Gilt-framed film. It appeared as if by magic by
portraits, gold and black candlesticks 8.30 next morning, as did the
and in the bedroom golden member of staff asking where I
walls, curtains and a gold-canopied required the cycle.
four­ poster bed.
But behind the early nineteenth­
century fa<;ade I discovered a stack Adapted from the Observer, 18 March 2001
of

vocabulary 6 Match these words with their

definitions.
1 chauffeur ,,. a) small, clever
/l 2 stationery machine
b) professional driver
3 florist
-- c) front of a building
4 fa ade
/
----
5 gadget / d) part of a telephone
that you hold
6 handset
e) paper, envelopes etc.
7 mobile ---
- f) person who sells
flowers
r g) telephone you can
( \. .,\ 1 \,\) _ , carry with you
 listening 7 Five guests at the Paragon Hotel make requests at
reception. Listen and match the guests with the services
below.

PARAGON Ho_T_E_L

Room service
D If you need anything - breakfast, lunch, sandwiches or champagne just
ring
reception from the telephone at the side of your bed.
D And if you want us to book theatre or concert tickets for you just ask.

Valet service
D If you have any items of clothing that need washing or dry-cleaning give
them to the chambermaid before 9 am for same-day service.

Valet parking
D Leave your car with a chauffeur who will park it in your reserved space.
If it
needs to be washed tell the person on duty.

Business facilities
D Documents can be typed or translated for you into the world's major
languages. Email and internet available on request.

Beauty salon and hairdresser

D No need to book. Relax while you have your hair cut and your nails
manicured.

Children's facilities
D Leave your children with us in safety if you want a night out on the town
by yourselves.

• This structure is used to refer to actions done for someone by someo ne e

.
Is it possible to have some sandwiches sent up to my room?
• get is a little more informal than have.
I need to get it translated into Spanish.
• If we want to name the person who will do the action we use an infini i e
I'll get the porter to carry your bags.
What other things c a n you have done for you at a top hotel?

speaking 8 Read the descriptions and say which

hotel:
offers a service for no extra charge 1
• ·1
is close to the city centre ll
•
.·,./ ensures its rooms are quie- inside J r
A

) \ - >- •
• combines modernity with tradition t
•
provides an excepti lly high level of

service 5 W,
"'"i .si
Jv

24
 - E)
H_o_te_l_f_ac_i
Hackescher Markt _lit_ie_s

Berlin's Best Hotels

BER LIN BOASTS MANY splendid and luxurious
f This
chamui1g hotel, opened
hotels. in 1998, has bright,
'.n ile some of them belong to international elegant rooms and a
chains, beautiful
•hers are private establishments with an intimate far;ade that matches
m ily atmosphere. The hotels chosen here offer the surrounding
niqu e interiors, excellent service and a price that historic arc/1itectu re.
is
tru e representation of the accommodation and
n i ce provided. I

HotelAdlon DeragHotel Grosser

Tltis super-luxuriou Kurfiirst (/
s Tltis modern !tote! offers
hotel has a stunning many additional
interior. Walls and services, such as free
windows in tlt e bicycle hire, tliat set it
rooms ha ve apart from other ltotels.
excelle11t sound-
proofing.

ur Seasons Hotel - j
·s l1otel, one of the top tltree in Berlin,
trs op ulent interiors with magnificent
·er arrangements and impeccable service.

vocabulary Describing
9hotels
Match these words with their
definitions.
stunning a) very light
1 impeccable b) extremely
2 spectacular / G) attractive
highly decorated
3 bright d) very impressive and
4 luxurious exciting
5 e) perfect
/
6 charming ) extremely
attractive and nice
/ g)
7 opulent comfortable
pronunciation Word stress

• •
1 0 Now listen to the stress in the words and put them in the correct
groups.
stunning
• •• • • ••
speaking 1 1 Which of these hotels would you like to stay at and
why?

25
 Look at the examples a n d complete the rules below
The Hotel Ad/on is more expensive than the Berlin
L AN GUAGE TIP
Hilton. Berlin is one of the busiest cities in the world .
Don't forget that The Berlin Hilton is older than the Hackescher Markt.
comparatives are followed by Prices are as expensive as in other major capital
than. cities.
• Going by U-Bahn is
To
l form comparatives
three-syllable a n d superlatives of ...
adjectives
quicker than by car. 2 one-syllable adjectives
3 two-syllable adjectives ending in -y
4 similar or identical people a n d
things
a) put more, less, most or least in front of the adjective.
J b) ch ange -y to -i a n d a d d -er or -est.
c) a d d -er or -est.
d) use as ... as or the same as .
Some adjectives have irregular comparative a n d superlative
forms. g o o d - better than - the best
b ad - worse than - the worst
far - farther I further than - the farthest I furthest

...,. For more information turn to p a g e 123.

practice 1 2 Look at the information about the four hotels and complete the text on the
opposite page with the correct comparative and superlative forms.

2 14 TR AV E L L E R ' S N EE DS

Choosing a Hotel
.....
T HE CHOI CE OF HOTELS selected in this guide is based tLl
u
5
on quality of accommodation and service as well as "'!=
tLl >
c::
lfl t:l
location. The list of hotels covers all the areas and price "'c
:::; ::::i c:: z
tLl
(J)

u c" c
c.
categories with additional information to help you §
Cl
:tLlCl 0
c::: a z
::
'0
§ 0
ex
choose a hotel that best meets your needs. Hotels u
-z
s
t ( J)

within the same price category are listed alphabetically.

c::
u;
:.i.. "' ::::"'Cl
tLl ::;:
tLl I- :::c
z;;; ;- ' tLl
;'<:!"
:0E 0
q"'
More details can be found on pages 217- 25. =
::i
u u a ::i
O' N
Ll
::0
Jugendgastehaus der ® 124
cx: L

• ••
DSJ
Hotel Antare s ®® 85
Hotel Riehmers Hofgarten ®® 25 _.
Best Western Hotel Stuttgarter Hof ®®® llO
• f
l

... 26
 - E>_ H_o_te_l _f
a_c_il_ir_ie_s

230 WHERE TO S TA Y

- -

KREUZBER I

G
The Jugendgastehaus
Antares are about (same)
The Jugendgastehaus der DSJ is
(large}-l !C................... :... ·.: bf the four hotels JLC...\ . . .L ..f 6

but at the Riehmers Hofgarten but guests at

not (cmn fortable) .-.'...r:..-:..i . . . -::. .!.. ....2 . the Riehmers will find it (easy) ..
the corridors. For those who do not (r.,9/..t...--:-:.7
The rooms
mind
sharing,
do not have .!
(cheap)
bathrooms but there are showers in to get to the shops and it is in a
bed in a dormitory. The Hotel Antares is (quiet) ....J .t U.. ..f ./ ..........8 location.
1 ....:.: 1....:.
....:..:.....
(expensive) ..................
3 rate is 4for a
the -1.None
.n< . . .of
. . . . . . .L·r:<r . . , .these. . .'°
. . .. . . .hotels
. . ._ isbusiness
. . . io for
visitors.
but the extra level of comfort is worth the
Jugendgastehaus establishments
All (':. . . Y?/.f:-:-::..............
(well-equipped)except for the Riehmers 9
:.:A.....:..........
1

(high)
f..r?.... .. 5
price. Room Hofgarten cater for children.
the
rates at The Best Western, which is (suitable)

speaking 1 3 Work in pairs. Student A turn to page 108. Student Bask your
partner questions to complete the following information about hotels in
Berlin.
How many rooms does the Hotel Pension Funk
have? How expensive is it?
Does it have business
facilities? Is it close to shops?

2 15 TR AV E L L E R ' S N E E
DS

"' "'
::::i
Price catagories for a do u ble or m eetin g roo m w ith i n t he h o t el c:::
t3 i'.S z
"' :l :i: 0
u
and room pe r nig h t. Including all computers with Internet access fo r 0 [::: t3 (/')
>
gues t s.
roo m . Cots an d babysi tting service
available. There are creche areas in some h
0 :l 0
tJ.l
f:::
ci:: 0 § c:
ci::
taxes (i n Eu ro s) otels, or a ::.: 0 0 I-
"'
( /')

Cl ll LD R EN 'S FAC I LIT I ES "" "' z

tJ.l
0
c..
c:::
0 s ::.:
0c: "z "g' 0
® unde r €100 "13' :::: c::: !;; 0
u
= z
;:;; C i
u
c
5
::::i
ci::
c:
Fam il y room s a n d / or ext ra b ed in a double z::::i ::::i 11.l
O' ::::i

c::l a ci:: 0
:I:
®® €100-150 I

®®®€150-200
•- N

"
games room with toys and ot h er su itable

®®®® €200-250 "

1 4 In some countries there are official hotel classification schemes'
which
eq ui p m e nt rate hotels from one-star to five-star (excellent). What would the
differences
®®®®®€2 50 be between a typical one, three and five-star hotel?

f cilities restaur cleanlin comfort servic

QUI ET LOCAT IO N ant ess es
room size staffing
H
customer
o care
t

el
27
is
 reading t e l inspections
1.5 What kind of things do you think hotel inspectors check? What questions
do they ask?
n Read the article below and complete the
table.
area check
concierge s
restaurant
room
service
bedroom
bathroom

B u s i n e s s Tr a v e l

From Bu siness Tra vel, 7 December

L