The Philbeach in London's Earl's Court apalled. When I visited them there ~ten years ago I couldn't fathom why my (visiting) friends had chosen to stay there--noise, unkempt furnishings, oppessivley small rooms and low ceilings. There *was* an incident in which people reportedly stumbled into my friends' room "accidentally." H'mmm. yesssssss....
I don't know that it's even still in existence.
I do know that my favorite B&B (not a hotel as such, more like a private row house residence, complete with a glassed-in conservatory overlooking a lovely, well-tended, well-planted, walled yard) which I visited at least half a dozen times IS no longer, period. True, it was situated some distance from the West End, in hardly stylish Brixton. (I can just imagine the aghast looks on the faces of London sophisticates--but only on those who had had no occasion to visit or stay at Guesthouse No 7 or meet hosts John or Paul.
And then, in what I'm beginning to think is the manner of various gay establishments in many large cities perhaps "everywhere", the only other London hotel advertised to gays I had occasion to visit, the Manhattan, lasted what seemed like a year at most and then receded into anonymity.
OTOH, Dundonald House is a wonderful B&B in Toronto, and the Tarntawan in Bangkok an hotel with special features; BOTH those two seem to be prospering and deserving of my return business. Not in Europe, of course.
So, if you find a gay establishment to your liking, like it a lot; for my ex-
perience they're (a) not likely to be around long (b) few and far between.
Happy travels!



Are the hotels very cruisy and do you have people knocking on your doors at all hours? Would a dreary (fashion victims ) monogamous couple feel at ease there?