English speakers often think that "hôtel" has only one meaning in French, corresponding to its cognate in English. But it has many other meanings:
- hôtel de passe = whorehouse
- hôtel particulier = a private mansion or townhouse
- hôtel de ville = city hall or town hall
- hôtel = a commercial accomodation for travellers
- hôtel = an administrative building
- hôtel des ventes = sales room or auction room
There are probably others... -- Binky 03:27, 1 Jan 2004 (UTC)