The best hotel stories in the world? Robert Pimm’s “Seven Hotel Stories” are comic, spicy, and show how hotels and guests really interact.
I have so far published seven hotel stories, available on Amazon in the novel-length Seven Hotel Stories.
All the stories feature the world’s most brilliant, unpredictable and occasionally homicidal hotel manager, Ms N; her beautiful but naive ally, Tatiana; and Ms N’s unique methods of solving problems.
Britches
The first story, Britches, shows how Ms N and Tatiana first met; and how they sorted out the hotel owner from hell using a Combined Burns Night and St Patrick’s Day Ball (they exist – I have been to one); the President of China; and something Tatiana found under a handsome Scotsman’s kilt. You can read an excerpt from Britches here.
The Two Rooms
The second Hotel Story is The Two Rooms. It features an obnoxious guest; a hypocritical Prime Minister on a moral crusade; some Russian ice-hockey fans; an angry Japanese sushi chef; and a startling twist. Is it my favourite? Perhaps it is. You can read an excerpt from The Two Rooms on this site.
The Swedish Woman
In the third story, The Swedish Woman, a man is found dead in a hotel elevator awash with blood. But who has killed him? The suspects are many, including the enigmatic Swedish woman, whose identity is a closely guarded secret. You can read an excerpt from The Swedish Woman here.
The White Blouse
The fourth Hotel Story, set somewhere in the Former Soviet Union in a hotel with ugly problems including bribery, corruption and a guest with unpleasant proclivities, is The White Blouse. It has a couple of scenes which are not for the squeamish. An excerpt is here.
Gents
The fifth story, Gents, is set in Florida and involves a congress of hoteliers; alligators; and an ambitious colleague who does not respect Ms N. Tip: not respecting Ms N is always a bad idea. The opening of Gents is here.
Ask for Scarlett
The sixth story, Ask for Scarlett, takes Ms N and Tatiana to the Caravanserai Ultra Platinum – “the coolest and most ecological as well as the most luxurious hotel on earth”. Find out why Tatiana says that “every paradise contains a serpent”. You can read an excerpt on this site.
The Three Heads
The seventh story is The Three Heads. Why are hotel review sites saying that Tatiana’s luxurious but loss-making hotel, the Caravanserai Ultra-Platinum, is flea-infested and plagued by theft? Can social media phenomenon DaGurl help save the day? Excerpt here.
The Complete Works…
You can find the complete volume of Seven Hotel Stories via the “buy now” buttons on my book page. Of if you prefer you can buy individual stories, although they are not such good value as the complete set.
The best hotel stories… and more to come
I continue to publish a new story each year. I write them as a birthday gift for my partner, who is a brilliant hotelier. She says she likes them. Hotel Story No.8 is Sausages; No.9 is Total Control; and No.10, the birthday gift in 2020, is Chateau d’Yquem. Are these the best hotel stories? I hope so.
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2 Responses
Meine liebste Hotel Story are “The Three Heads”. Alle sieben sind nicht nur sehr witzig haben aber auch eine – durch masslose Übertreibungen (Thomas Bernhard ist vergleichsweise fad) – eine gesellschaftspolitische Kritik. Wenn ein super luxuriöses Hotel in einer Menschenleeren baumlosen Gegens gebaut wird, und nur durch Fluglinien erreicht werden kann, die höchst unsicher sind, zeigt das die übersteigerte Hybris für die Bedürfnisse der ganz wenigen “Happy Few”, zu der naturgemäß auch kriminelle Elemente gehören.
Danke Eva! Es freut mich immer, deine Kommentare zu sehen! Und besonders, dass du die “Hotel Stories” so geniesst!