What did the hotel sign read in the episode Waldorf Salad?

What did the hotel sign read in the episode “Waldorf Salad”? It read “FLAY OTTERS”.

The altered sign is part of Fawlty Towers’ recurring visual joke. In the opening titles, the letters of “Fawlty Towers” are repeatedly shown damaged, displaced or rearranged, creating comic alternatives to the hotel’s name.

In “Waldorf Salad”, the sign becomes “Flay Otters”, an absurd phrase made from the available letters. It is easy to confuse this version with other sign gags from the series, including “Warty Towels”, “Watery Fowls”, “Fatty Owls” and “Farty Towels”. Those phrases belong to different episodes.

The episode itself centres on Basil Fawlty’s disastrous attempt to satisfy an outspoken American guest, Mr Hamilton, who requests a Waldorf salad after the kitchen has effectively closed. Basil’s frantic explanation of the dish—celery, apples, walnuts and grapes—became one of the episode’s memorable comic moments.