Elaine Denby's magnificently illustrated history of the world's greatest hotels in the most important contribution to the subject ever published. Grand Hotels is the fruit of the many years the author has devoted to travels and visits throughout Europe, North Ameica, the Near East and the Orient, a fascinating architectural and social history that covers the 1830s to the 1930s but which also takes note of the most recent refurbishments. The railway that opened up Europe and North America demanded sumptuous hotels for every new terminus. later in the century it was the steamship companies that were to introduce travellers to the ancient cultures of Egypt, India and the Orient, where once again lavishy appointed new hotels wre available. By that time in Europe many people were seeking out the swiss mountains for winter sports and the French or Italian Rivieras for casinos or rest-cures, while across the Atlantic the exclusive summer resorts of New England and Virginia were equally fashio