In these days of post July 1 smoke free hotel bars and restaurants (heaven), I find it unbelievable that at the Hilton London Metropole, a non-smoking hotel room is a request and not something that the hotel are able to guarantee with a reservation. As the only place smokers can now indulge their habit is their hotel room, as a non-smoker I find it unacceptable to be allocated a post 1 July very unpleasant smoking hotel bedroom.

As someone who spends 60+ nights in hotels on business I will be moving my allegiance to a hotel chain that are able to guarantee a smoke free bedroom - not Hilton it would appear! Fi Martin, by email

A response from Hilton: Hilton hotels in the UK and Ireland have long offered smoking and non-smoking bedrooms for guests, but just 1 per cent of all bedrooms in hotels across the UK and Ireland are smoking rooms.

If a customer books a non-smoking room then the hotel will provide it. If a customer does not specify a non-smoking room when making the reservation, but requests it upon check-in, the hotel will make every effort to honour their request. In the instance that a guest requests a non-smoking room at check-in and the hotel has none available, then the hotel will offer a smoking room and ensure the guest is aware that it is a smoking room.

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