It’s not a great way to start the day. You’ve turned up at the breakfast room, bleary-eyed, needing nothing more than tea and a bit of toast to revive you. Seems a simple enough request. Or maybe not. There’s a queue for the conveyor toast machine, plus the settings are inscrutable, so your toast comes out as warm bread and you have to put it through three times. Meanwhile, your tea has gone cold and your partner, who wants eggs, has had to pony up for the full buffet price because eggs aren’t covered by the “continental breakfast” offer.

Does this sound familiar? Over the past few years, big-name hotels have splashed millions on making their restaurants matter. On the way out is the old stereotype of the colourless, anonymous dining room you’d go out of your way to avoid; on the way in are exciting, contemporary concepts helmed by high-profile chefs and sought out as much by destination diners as by the hotel’s overnighting guests.