Tokyo has the cleanest rooms in the world, 18/11/2016

followed by Warsaw,Seoul,Bratislava and Sofia.I have only stayed in one hotel in Bratislava,the capital of Slovakia - Kempinski.It is is in a prime position by the river and near the old town and I like the feeling of familiarity so I stay here every time I am in town and always for one night only,often having the same room.I come in the evening, do not leave the hotel until the following morning when I depart for Schwechat,the Austrian airport an hour or so away,never quite benefiting from the facilities the hotel or the surroundings have to offer.And had I followed my usual course,there is where I would be tonight.But today I have decided to come at lunchtime and stay at the Devin.This hotel is one of the Communist era originals,it underwent substantial renovations some four years ago.I love new hotels and have been planning to stay here for a while but until today it had never quite worked out,so it is not new any longer.Am I happy? Yes. It is spotless.It does not have the luxury and the wow factor of the Kempinski, but I would happily stay here again.And it is literally a stone throw away from the old National Theatre.The next time I come I will try to get a theatre ticket.The old town is full of people, the Christmas season has begun,the main square has a podium for live music and the Mayor of Bratislava was being introduced as I was passing.The numerous stalls had on offer regional food,hot red spicy wine in various forms.I had a sausage the size of an arm with a large chunk of bread as light as feather and it was even slightly toasted so that it is served warm.Then I sat down in the most exquisite coffee shop called Cafe Mayer where the coffee was truly excellent, but the chestnut nest too sweet and creamy.My sister would have loved it, I prefer cakes of the Victoria sponge variety.The cafe was full of retired Italians.I was shown to a table next to two couples immaculately,expensively dressed,men of the old school.charming,pleasant,I smiled as I sat down and said buongiorno [good afternoon],they reciprocated.No-one does elegant better than the Italians,neither the Scandinavians, nor the French.The jewellery windows in St Marks Square in Venice have to be seen to be believed,truly unsurpassed in originality and style. And,by the way,London has the second dirtiest hotel rooms in the world,beaten to the prime position by Rio de Janeiro.