Departures: Dial P for profit

A FIVE-UNIT telephone call from a room in the Savoy Hotel costs pounds 1.46. In the Grosvenor House it costs pounds 1.90. By contrast, the Beaufort, also in London, imposes no additional fee at all, so you pay only the 25p charged by British Telecom.

These figures come from the 1995 Good Hotel Guide (Vermilion, pounds 12.99), which takes issue with the charges. But at least you know what you are in for when you pick up the phone in those hotels. The Friendly chain has just reduced the cost of calls from rooms to 10p a unit - but not in all its hotels, so check before dialling.