Bunhill: Grosvenor House hotel

HOW THE other half lives. Forte's pounds 10m refurbishment of the Grosvenor House hotel in Park Lane, London, was completed in time for the Christmas season, enabling the group's flagship hotel to serve 45,000 lunches and dinners. Throughout the month-long season, the hotel opened 20,000 bottles of wine plus 2,500 bottles of champagne. Guests ate 1,500 Christmas puddings, pulled 25,000 crackers and used 500,000 glasses. In all, 18,000 pounds of meat were served. If all the dirty plates had been piled up they would have created a stack 17,000ft tall - and before I am deluged with letters, Forte reckons each dinner setting includes 12 plates, six inches high . . .