New EU Thon is not a Bristol

A new Thon hotel is opening in the European Quarter of Brussels later this month, but it won't be another Bristol. Olav Thon, the colourful Norwegian property billionaire, already has three hotels called Bristol, one of them in Brussels – the Hotel Bristol Stephanie, which he bought in 1995. His first hotel acquisition was the historic Hotel Bristol in Oslo (pictured) in 1974, and in 1998 he bought the Hotel Bristol in Bergen. The new hotel in Brussels, the Thon EU, has 405 rooms, which will use mobile phone keys.

The wealthy Mr Thon is reported to have once said that one day he would like to take over the Hilton Hotel chain, which would simply be rebranded as Hilthon hotels.

Jazz on a Cold Winter's Night, a story from High Times at the Hotel Bristol, is set in the Oslo Bristol.