Likewise, when I was at school, many of my older teachers would say things like "an hotel" although I've not heard anyone say anything but "a hotel" for decades

Likewise, when I was at school, many of my older teachers would say things like "an hotel" although I've not heard anyone say anything but "a hotel" for decades now. I think I've heard "an hospital" relatively recently though. Weirdly, in certain expressions I say "before mine eyes" even though that fell out of common usage centuries ago, and hasn't really appeared in literature for around a century. So while I wouldn't have encountered it in speech, I've come across enough literary references that it somehow still passed into my diction. I only ever use it for "eyes" though, never anything else starting with a vowel. I also wouldn't use it for something mundane like "My eyes are sore", but I'm not too clear on when or why I use the obsolete form at other times - it just happens!