I WENT with my family to the Royal Garden Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui, to see the largest Christmas tree in Hong Kong, at 10.45pm, on December 22. We were hoping to sit back in the restaurant, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the sight of the tree. We took the lift to the third floor and looked around for the entrance of the restaurant. We saw three hotel guards, and heard them say in their walkie talkies, 'Stop the people getting up from the lobby.' One of the guards approached us, looked us up and down suspiciously and asked, 'Where are you guys going?' We felt as if we had just committed a crime. I felt that this member of staff had been so impolite, that I had no intention of staying and intimated our intention to leave. I pressed a button for one of the lifts and he shouted to us that we could not use the 'long lift' and must use the 'short lift'. We were puzzled, because from the outside, all five lifts in front of us looked identical. How could we be expected to know which was which? There was no sign from the hotel, warning people not to use the long lifts. Obviously, the hotel was taking precautions to stop members of the public from coming to the hotel to see the Christmas tree. I suggest that the management put up a sign at its lobby saying, 'Christmas tree restricted to hotel guests only. Outsiders not welcome.' That way, no one except guests will use their lifts. I was both amazed and angry with the way we were treated by this hotel. SHIRLEY CHAN Kowloon
