A lesson in hotel discretion

Discretion may be the better part of valour, but it is also the better part of hospitality too - a lesson some Middle Eastern hoteliers may well wish to heed.

After spending a weekend as the guest of the Société des Baines de Mer in Monaco, I quickly learned the prestige and reputation a destination could achieve by leaving some things to the imagination.

Sitting down to dinner with Hôtel de Paris general manager Dominic Bachofen, it only took a few glasses of wine before one of our media group was pressing him for details about the celebrities that have stayed at the hotel.

As the hotel is the oldest in Monaco, opening a year after the Monte Carlo Casino and situated just across the square from the legendary gambling venue in the town's heart, there is no doubt that hundreds of celebrities have walked through the grand entrance.

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was a guest so often that one of the top floor suites is named after him, and even features one of his original paintings set on an easel by the front door.

But even though our journalist friend from the celebrity magazine was extremely persistent, Bachofen wouldn't budge with any juicy tid-bits, subtly redirecting the conversation and pointing out - quite correctly - that the hotel had little to gain from revealing its guest list.

This was a point repeated throughout Monaco, where local hoteliers constantly reminded us that although celebrity spotting in Cannes could become a hobby, it was possible for stars in Monte Carlo to be largely ignored. This discretion left me with the impression that the hotels and the destination itself had the utmost respect for its guests.

In comparison, it seems some Middle Eastern properties are fully prepared to flout their guest lists for the sake of publicity. One hotel in Abu Dhabi, for example, has become so preoccupied with sending releases about visiting celebrities that they have confused themselves as to who the celebrities in their photos actually were - leading to an awkward retraction later.

But while it might not be a selling point for me to know that Robbie Williams has once slept in the hotel, I was definitely sold on the element of mystery in Monte Carlo, and the obvious respect the hoteliers had for their clients.

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