The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-10-30
HOTELS ARE BETTER NOW.
COMFORT DID NOT DISAPPEAR U,r,
THE OLD-E,iSTIONED OuSE

t-AH ANC Nv ~ NeNh W nat IL wou..
The disappearance Of n hotel like the Ma,
endon usually calls attention TO the q -, all.
hotels which we're ut one time 80 much ma.
humorous here than they are now. The de.
appenrance Of the small hotel Is by No ma
q phenomenon Of American life. II has boos
observed in all countries. and is an incidon, :. :
modern development which the poll,,o.i
economist can readily account for. Tho go
things that the publie are concerned witr -.
the features In the new form Of cntero,r..
that affect its own comfort. II the com,or, -
the old hotels, with their closer attention :.
the personal wants Of the guest. has bean Ia.
In the present elaborate establishment ~.
public is the loser by the change. The nros.
ress that secured electric lights. tiled h,,t
rooms and telephone communication ia n,A
for too highly II the old comfort that CAM
from the attentions of q sollcitous landlord
and servants acting with a personal Intero.,
have been lest. The same question hNs
arisen In Europe In regard to many Of the rea.
taurants which are now conducted by person.
hired by the stock company that owns the an.
terprise. This Is more interesting In Iondo,
than 1t is in New York. because there ara !
score or more of restaurants I'm the CITY ana
many times as many more scattered throuph
the country that are owned and controlled nv
n great stock company. There ia so far I'M.
OF that form OF enterprise connected with thu
New York restaurants. In most cases each ros.
taurant Is owned by one man. who gives n hi.
personal supervision. and on that depends the
success or failure OF the establishment Thu
hotels are In most cases the property OF nrI,
vate individuals and are not owned by stock
companies, and In this respect they differ
from tho great hotels OF Europe and the Con.
tinent. which are conducted by hired man.
ayers. But In vastness and elaboration, as A
specimen Of the new form OF the hotel IDEA,
the New York establishments are the same "a
those OF Europe. All of them are types OF the
hotel that has superseded the smaller and
more intimate predecessor.
One hears always OF the greater comfoA
that used to be found in the old hotels" said
the proprietor oil, a Fifth avenue caravansery
the other night, and no relic of the good old
thar, the small hotel. which was considered 50
much more comfortable than the kind OF hotel
terest N the guest; who becomes simply mum.
fhrt eyye55yy t shd was lone for the com;
housekeeper, and the Interested cook prepar.
Ing SO well the dish which he knows is to got to
hotel which in this country. at least, seemsto
Grafton need not feel That Il Is ss suf P = R IN:
hotels which they enjoy are not as much In
terior t. those that existed formerly as their
fact, is in every detail superior to any that ever
every new hotel built contains some partIeu..
lar feature, that makes 1t better than the one
put up last before it. That has been the course
result is that the New York hotel Of today Il
incomparably better than its predecessor a
architecture. there is the greatest differences.
l well remember how curious In many re-
s 81 ,Se n ne h aTrra1nG GENE n Of some %9mre Of the rooms
cnlar. and any other queer kind that suited the
as much space as possible ont OF the blot Of
ground. In what modern hotel are such curl
Gus arrangements OF space to be found2 Ar
years; That is everywhere a~cknowledg ed.
markably than in the modern hotel. But even
the well.shaped. light and accessible rooms
with the improved building Of the new hotels,
| suppose that on the average every hotel
built to-day has four bathrooms to every one
the character Of these need not. OF course. be
mentioned. because that has come only within
old houses have been fitted up with these
modern, attributes, Hotels are handsomer.
Is6eei richly as well as more tastefuily fur;
of our fine hotels-and they are in every detail
more comfortable so far as equipment goes.
speets. is the comfort o flivinR in them as great
Ssm If used t3 be- e. th Are , the beds as clean and a;
to be when only a small part OF the great
1t as carefully cookedP All these questions [
MS good as the best ever was. ! should say. and
IL the majority Of cases 1t is vastly better.
ly better. AMI the linen. glass md china better
than they ever were in the past. Such cooks
as are employed now were never sought out
~ ina hnfnI nFnnTt1fnra IN nNNAI Dva1 rAuaS
paid to them. and their force OF assistants was
never made up Of such hiRh-priced and experl-
hotel contains to-dav. OF course there were
scale Of the establishment was smaller. But
THE high standard that has been set up for
the successful hotels to-day has to be kent up
expects to make his house successful fnan.
ciially. pr 4 has to drop back into the second
years ago that the French. or. at ali events.
those foreign walters who are generally de-
every New York hotel. Until that time the
French waiter was looked upon as a kind ofA
but not necessarily nm adjunct Of every
hotel. Now the foreign waiter is looked upon
az a regular feature OF the flrst-class hotel
" That is n second class place. I heard q
Young man say the other day about a house
own, 'ThSy have sS New ." YORK GRs w al ens tR ReTs
That meant that the French waiter has al:
come n he regarded as the only kind
20 employ in a first-class house. Only a few
years ago, they we're luxuries. That Same
nan would have been just as e~xacting about
china and the silver. even II he had not
1t: But to have put before him tho
Of n table service that was regarded az
appropriate ten years ago would have
made him call the hotel even worse than SEQ
Dnd, class. There. are greater facilities for
just as there are more experienced
men to dc. the cooking. and better things 70
look. SO far as the amount Of care bestowed
IN cooking goes. / think It is as great as ever.
have never known a time when the public
was more exacting, The opportunity Of 60:
treat as they are now. At least three hotels
one restaurant are clamorinR right now
or first place among the New York resorts.
The slightest. advantage that one gained over
would put It ahead. Naturally the
OF every one is to, get the best q
yay, That Is one of the causes that have LED IN
,he greatly improved conditions that exist to-
lay. All the features Of a New York hotel to-
lay cost many times more money and are many
ines superior to the same features as they
a quarter ~ a century ago. Don't let
,nyhody deceive you about the palmy days
7 the h9tels; They were never better than
This was the opinion of a hotel proprietnH