Most have grudgingly added air conditioning, but that is about the only serious concession to modernity made by the great old resort hotels of the Continent. Tourists who need cellophane-wrapped water glasses may take their business elsewhere.
Stays are shorter and guest lists less gilded nowadays, but there are still enough old-rich, old-faithful families who return year after year to keep Europe's deluxe palaces filled nearly to capacity. For $30 and up for a double room, they get majestic grounds and baronial interiors that evoke the glories of la belle epoque, as well...