Real-life Fawlty Towers hotel becomes a four-star

Cory Doctorow 8:10 pm Fri Jul 14, 2006

The terrrible hotel that inspired Fawlty Towers, the funniest TV show ever made about bad hotels, has been remade as a four-star boutique hotel.

Under new ownership since February, the hotel's luxury facelift has ushered in a new ground-floor swimming pool and al fresco dining area, a luxurious lounge and a conservatory. Ceilings have been raised and Italian chandeliers installed, while over 40 skip-loads of rubbish have been removed.

The character of Basil Fawlty was inspired by a former manager at the hotel; he gave John Cleese and the Monty Python team a frosty welcome when they booked in 1971. The ferocious host berated them for not holding their knives and forks correctly and threw one of their briefcases over a wall believing it could be a time bomb.

Link

(via Kottke)

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