I've been averse to hotel restaurants ever since childhood, when my family would go on bargain basement all-inclusive package holidays and my dad would proudly announce "kids, this works out cheaper than staying at home!".

Alright, if somebody else were picking up the tab, then I could possibly be coerced into dinner at Majestic's Drolma or L'Orangerie at La Florida, but mention the word "value" and I'm haunted by traumatic flashbacks of watery macaroni and tomato.

It's an outdated impression, of course, as good hotel dining has become easier on the wallet as well as better quality. Kitchen at Axel has introduced a step-based fixed price dinner, for example, and Ciutat de Barcelona has opened a branch of the well-affordable El Japonés. And as if to prove a point, the best value comes from a Michelin-starred chef.