Only 12 of the 90-odd hotels in Brighton and Hove are listed in the main section of the 2003 edition of the AA Hotel Guide. Another four creep into the short list at the back of the book. Not one of them rates a solitary rosette for its restaurant.

Bournemouth has 56 listings in the new guide. Five have single rosettes and one has two. There are 39 Torquay hotels in the guide, two with restaurants rating two rosettes and four with one rosette. Even Eastbourne has a hotel with a two-rosette restaurant.

Is this a reflection of the taste and discrimination of our city's visitors? I suspect the real blame lies with the accountants who have elbowed aside the traditional hoteliers. These new bosses have no interest in quality and style. Their sole motivation is the bottom line - minimum wages and mean-minded portion control.

These are the true bean counters, even looking to shave a fraction of a penny off the cost of a cup of coffee.

-Allan Allbeury, Kemp Town, Brighton