Robert Hoffman

In the novel At Bertram's Hotel, Robert Hoffman and his brother Wilhelm are the two wealthy brothers who are the true owners of Bertram's Hotel, as revealed by Mr Robinson. He lives in London and has a Dutch wife. He also has offices in Amsterdam.

Robert mostly deals in diamonds, but he is very rich, and owns a lot of property, not usually in his own name.

Robert is described as a "big solid-looking man", who gives "the appearance of being carved out of wood--preferably teak".

Some years before the events of the novel, Robert had been a witness for the Crown in a case known as the Aaronberg Diamond Case.

When Chief-Inspector Fred Davy asks him about owning Bertram's Hotel, Robert stiffens. He then says that he owns quite a lot of property in London, and that if something comes on the market in what he thinks is a good position, and there is a chance of buying it cheaply, he invests in it. He says that Bertram's Hotel had "gone down the hill" at the time he bought it. He says that he knows very little about the hotel personally, and that he leaves everything to Mr Humfries, only looking at the balance sheet once a year to see that everything is alright.

Robert says that he does not let business absorb him too much. He lives simply, with leisure, growing roses, and with his family, to whom he is devoted.

It is revealed that he and his brother handle the illegal financial transactions of the hotel.