London Hotel Offers Reader-in-Residence Program For Lonely Guests

One London hotel is offering a new service alongside the more usual minibar and the breakfast tray: it has installed a ‘reader in residence’ who will come up to your room and read you a bedtime story. And yes, several guests report successfully falling asleep.

The reader in question - wearing a hotel uniform of pink pajamas - is Damien Barr. Guests staying at the Andaz Liverpool Street in London can select a book from a carefully edited selection and have excerpts read to them at their bedside. The hotel’s ‘Book Menu’ has 25 books within categories such as Classic & Comforting, Guilty Pleasures and Books You Think You Should Read But Probably Never Will. Or guests can be prescribed suitable reading material by Damien in a service called ‘Bibliotheraphy’. The service was trialled during 2008 and is back in celebration of London Book Week (April 17-25, 2009).

Guests should be aware that the Reader has three rules: 1. The reader must sit in a chair not on the bed (no snuggling), 2. Readings last an hour, maximum, 3. Damian won’t do voices. Ever.

Image credit: timesonline.co.uk