THE FACTS ABOUT HOTELS THAT BREAK THE MOULD

If you feel like getting away from the uniformity of typical corporate hotels, take a look at (www.www.cntraveller.com/special_features.com) for some real gems. Here's a selection of the best: AMBASSADE HOTEL Herengracht 341, 1016 AZ Amsterdam (00 31 20 555 0222; fax: 00 31 20 555 0277; (www.ambassade-hotel.nl) email: info@ambassade-hotel.nl. This privately-owned conversion of 10 merchants' houses is filled with antiques and has a library of 1,800 modern first-editions, many of them signed by the authors who have stayed here. Ask for a canalside room as those at the back can be cramped. DYLAN HOTEL 52 East 41st Street, New York, USA (00 1 212 338 0500; fax: 338 0569; (www.dylanhotel.com) Formerly the Chemists' Club, a gathering place for pharmacists, the Dylan now caters to a business crowd but retains its individuality with abundant foliage in the lobby and uplifting colours brightening up the rooms. Ask for the Alchemy suite, which was once the library; it's a Gothic fantasy with vaulted ceiling and stained glass. HOTEL BULGARI MILANO Bulgari Hotel Milano, Via Privata Fratelli Gabba 7B, Milan, Italy (00 39 02 805 8051; fax: 805 805222; (www.bulgarihotels.com) This is the only hotel within the city walls with a garden and it's one of the most pleasant and peaceful spots in Milan. The hotel spa is superb and although the rooms aren't large, the attention to detail is astounding.