Fawlty Towers

Faded, scruffy, self-satisfied, overpriced, depressing... I wonder if these are the adjectives that the Thistle Hotel Brighton, where I have the misfortune to be sitting typing this, would expect to associate itself with ? Not by the look of their website, or of the self-congratulatory leaflets that litter the room, proclaiming all of the varied wonders which one can benefit from, all at a (large) price of course.

Three highlights: no minibar in room, hence no water. The drinks dispenser by the elevator has, of course, run out of water (a bargain at £1.50, anyway). Aircon "working", in the sense that is blasting out hot air, but not adjustable (at least the reception tried to help by giving me a different room, but it was exactly the same). And then, possibly not entirely Thistle's fault, but why should I be feeling generous, we have:

Oh, but at a price. And what a price. Here's an example:

Yes, 20p per minute. Compare and contrast with the last two hotels I stayed in, in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Tallinn, Estonia, which both had free Wifi. I would suggest that the Thistle charges extra for hot water, puts a meter on the lights, offers rental TV (or sorry, they've already done that) and rents out towels. At least that would achieve a level of consistency.

There will always be something of the Fawlty Towers about English hotels, it seems. And England.