Many of Beckett’s friends were horrified to see how simply he was living and felt that he could and should enjoy more comfort and more luxury. By this time productions of his plays throughout the world had made him into a rich man and he could certainly have afforded the most expensive nursing home or private nursing care. Yet the room reflected the austerity with which he had always lived. And it was by no means sordid. He was comfortable there. He had no need for luxury, he protested. The staff were very kind, looking after his welfare and carrying his meals through to his room, because he found it too depressing to eat with the other old people.
— Knowlson, Damned to Fame
Notes from a Room 