The Hotel on the Roof of the World
Encyclopedia
The Hotel on the Roof of the World is a humorous account by Alec Le Sueur of the attempt to manage the infamous Holiday Inn
Lhasa
in Tibet in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The book was first published in the UK in 1998 by Summersdale publishers and has stayed in print every year since.
in 1978, commonly referred to as Deng's 'open door policy
', paved the way for tourism to develop in the People's Republic of China
.
Holiday Inn
was quick to see the potential of this huge market and opened the Holiday Inn Lido Beijing, the first international hotel in China, in 1984. This was followed by the Holiday Inn Lhasa in Tibet
in 1986. The hotel in Tibet had first opened in 1985 under local management as the newly built 'Lhasa Hotel' and when the management contract with Holiday Inn expired in 1997, the hotel returned to being the 'Lhasa Hotel', again under local management. It had been an ambitious project for Holiday Inn and the book details the trials and tribulations of taking on the management of the hotel against the backdrop of the fragile political situation in Tibet and the policy of the Chinese government tentatively opening Tibet to the outside world in the 1980s. The book does not go into any detail on the political situation, instead it is a first-hand account of life for an expatriate in Lhasa at the time of the opening of Tibet and the often very humorous consequences of attempting to provide a Holiday Inn service in the most extreme circumstances. Reviews have compared the situation to a real life Fawlty Towers
.
In 2001 the main title was shortened to 'The Hotel on the Roof of the World' and an extra chapter and epilogue were added. The book has been reprinted several times, with minor alterations to the cover, most recently to include a quote by Michael Palin
. The current UK edition, in print, is ISBN 9781840241990
When the book was published in the US in 2003 by RDR Books the main title was kept as 'The Hotel on the Roof of the World' while the sub-title was changed to: 'From Miss Tibet to Shangri-La'. The current US edition, in print, is ISBN 9781571431011
Other language editions include: Czech, Dutch, German, Latvian, Polish, Romanian and Spanish.
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
in Tibet in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The book was first published in the UK in 1998 by Summersdale publishers and has stayed in print every year since.
Overview
The economic reform brought to China by Deng XiaopingDeng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
in 1978, commonly referred to as Deng's 'open door policy
Open Door Policy
The Open Door Policy is a concept in foreign affairs, which usually refers to the policy in 1899 allowing multiple Imperial powers access to China, with none of them in control of that country. As a theory, the Open Door Policy originates with British commercial practice, as was reflected in...
', paved the way for tourism to develop in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
was quick to see the potential of this huge market and opened the Holiday Inn Lido Beijing, the first international hotel in China, in 1984. This was followed by the Holiday Inn Lhasa in Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
in 1986. The hotel in Tibet had first opened in 1985 under local management as the newly built 'Lhasa Hotel' and when the management contract with Holiday Inn expired in 1997, the hotel returned to being the 'Lhasa Hotel', again under local management. It had been an ambitious project for Holiday Inn and the book details the trials and tribulations of taking on the management of the hotel against the backdrop of the fragile political situation in Tibet and the policy of the Chinese government tentatively opening Tibet to the outside world in the 1980s. The book does not go into any detail on the political situation, instead it is a first-hand account of life for an expatriate in Lhasa at the time of the opening of Tibet and the often very humorous consequences of attempting to provide a Holiday Inn service in the most extreme circumstances. Reviews have compared the situation to a real life Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
.
Editions
The first edition was published in 1998 by Summersdale as 'Running a Hotel on the Roof of the World' with the sub-title of 'Five Years in Tibet'. ISBN 1873475934In 2001 the main title was shortened to 'The Hotel on the Roof of the World' and an extra chapter and epilogue were added. The book has been reprinted several times, with minor alterations to the cover, most recently to include a quote by Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
. The current UK edition, in print, is ISBN 9781840241990
When the book was published in the US in 2003 by RDR Books the main title was kept as 'The Hotel on the Roof of the World' while the sub-title was changed to: 'From Miss Tibet to Shangri-La'. The current US edition, in print, is ISBN 9781571431011
Other language editions include: Czech, Dutch, German, Latvian, Polish, Romanian and Spanish.
External links
- http://www.forewordmagazine.com/not-your-typical-guidebooks-travel-books-readers-can-relish-without-leaving-home ForeWord Magazine review: a review service for readers, booksellers and librarians.