On a recent stay at the Amstel, I'd requested a smoking room when reserving. When I was given a non-smoking suite and called down to ask to change rooms, the front desk told me not to bother changing rooms, and they'd send up a couple of ashtrays and matches. So, it really does seem to be a city/country thing, not just the Hotel de l"europe.

re the Hotel de l'Europe hassling the maestro: Maybe whoever was giving the guy a hard time had been to the performance 2 nights earlier. I know some people go wild over that, but the performance I saw (the Met) had me yearning to listen to a Philip Glass marathon.