摘要：If you don’t know who Shannon Bennett is, this is so not the guide book for you. If you do know who Shannon Bennett is but wouldn’t dream of paying $500 a head for dinner and $1300 for a hotel room, this may be the most entertaining guide book you’ve read for yonks. It cheered me up enormously to learn that even 3-star chefs who make their reservations months in advance and reconfirm that reservation on arrival in Paris can still be seated in a tiny claustrophobic cellar and served a boring plate of vegetables costing 40€. (L’Arpège, Michelin 3*). It amused me no end to learn that in the 1100€ a night hotel room the slate floors were chilly, the Bang & Olufsen TV didn’t rotate enough to be watched from the bed, the poor acoustics ensured guests were kept awake by all-night parties in the courtyard, and when Mrs Bennett rang the 24-hour room service for a 7am espresso she was told ‘Non, we no do coffee yet’ (Murano Urbano Resort, 5*).
