Most of us unconsciously acknowledge this fact by inviting arriving guests into our houses twice: once at the door when they are brought in from outside, and then again, after they have been divested of coats and hats, into the house proper with a hearty, more emphatic double cry of “Come in! Come in!”
This feels like an English thing - I don't think we do this as much in the States. And their hall is our entryway or foyer. Hall to me is the hallway.
