Actor Tom Conti reveals how he once walked out of a hotel because it was like Bates Motel in Psycho

This week veteran actor Tom Conti checks into our travel Q&A.

He talks about his favourite hotel, his worst hotel experience, the one item he can’t travel without – and more. 

EARLIEST HOLIDAY MEMORY? The Isle of Man with my parents after the war when I was five.

FAVOURITE HOTEL? My home from home is the Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles which is very Hollywood. It used to have a lovely coffee shop, the Pink Turtle – actors would pop in there for breakfast before going to the film studio.

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A HOTEL? A well-lit bathroom mirror – I get so irritated when the lighting is poor because women can’t do their makeup and men can’t shave.

EVER CHECKED OUT OF A HOTEL IN DISGUST? Yes, I went to a wedding outside New York and booked into a hotel that was like the Bates Motel in Hitchcock classic Psycho but without the blood – my wife and I walked straight back out.

TOP TRAVEL TIPS? If the re is a problem with your flight, remember that it’s not the fault of the staff at the desk.

CAN’T TRAVEL WITHOUT? If I’m on tour, I always bring my own pillow – some hotel pillows feel like they’re filled with grit or polystyrene granules.

WHERE NEXT? I’d like to visit the north-west coast of Scotland next year – I grew up north of the border. Whatever the weather, it always looks astounding.

DREAM DESTINATION? Machu Picchu, the Inca citadel in Peru, but I’m afraid the legs won’t take me up there any more.