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07 : 07 : 2010
The Hotel Inspector Returns to Five - Thursday, July 22 at 9pm
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The Hotel Inspector, Alex Polizzi, is back on her quest to transform Britain’s most desperate hotels and bed & breakfasts. In Twofour’s new six-part series Alex goes head to head with extraordinary characters like Elvis fanatic chef Dave Elliot in Yorkshire; flamboyant and fiercely proud Persian entrepreneur Joseph Louei in Plymouth and jaded former airline trolley dolly Melanie White in Chertsey. The Hotel Inspector is enraged by a unique ‘art hotel’ in Brighton, devised and managed by a student, and struggles to drag the septuagenarian owners of an historic Georgian manor house in Devon into the 21st century.

Alex Polizzi is the daughter of hotelier and interior designer Olga Polizzi, the granddaughter of Lord Forte and niece of Sir Rocco Forte, so she has all the industry experience and authority needed to turn flagging hotels into profitable ventures. She trained at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, worked for Marco Pierre White at the Criterion, and has done stints at Rocco Forte hotels in Cardiff, Rome, St Petersburg. She also set up her mother’s hotel, Tresanton in Cornwall, and is currently managing the Hotel Endsleigh in Devon.

In this sixth series of the Hotel Inspector, the three star Astor Hotel in Plymouth is struggling in the face of stiff competition from a plethora of chain hotels that have moved into the city. The 62 bedroom hotel has been described by web reviewers as ‘urgently needing the help of the Hotel Inspector’ but when Polizzi tries to ride to its rescue she discovers the proud Persian owner is reluctant to accept criticism of his beloved hotel.

Artist Residence in Brighton is the brainwave of 21-year-old student Justin Salisbury who has staffed his uniquely decorated B&B with up-and-coming young artists. But it’s far from the boutique experience the website promises and has been described as the worst hotel in Brighton. Polizzi thinks it’s more suitable for ‘teenage runaways’ and wants Justin to ‘grow balls’ as he’s disrespecting both his guests and the art.

The Rutland Arms Hotel in Bakewell is situated on the foot of the Peak District National Park and has been owned for the last 12 years by eccentric ex-solicitor David Donegan. However the 35 bedroom hotel is far from a perfect picture postcard. Polizzi is astonished to find a hotel with no manager, a pitiful room rate and an owner who would rather clean 'bogs' than manage his staff. Although David has sunk £750,000 pounds into the business the hotel is yet to make a bean. Alex faces an uphill challenge if she's to turn the fortunes of the Rutland Arms around.

The Sandygate Hotel near Rotherham has a pitiful occupancy rate, but it’s 6ft 6in Elvis loving chef and owner seems more interested in his restaurant than his rooms, and when Polizzi tries to ring the changes in the kitchen she comes up against stiff resistance.

Windsors in Chertsey is a bistro/wine bar with six bedrooms which its owner and former air hostess Melanie White insists as marketing as a hotel. But after 20 years at the helm Mel has become jaded and has developed an aversion to guests, particularly complaining Americans and ‘short, bald northerners’. With the business in dire straits Mel has called in the Hotel Inspector, but when her taste is called into question she begins to have second thoughts.

Historic Kingston House in the rolling Devon countryside, offers five star luxury accommodation. Owners Michael and Elizabeth Corfield gambled on a costly Conference Centre. But it's not paying its way and last year the business made a loss. Now in their late 70's, the Corfields were hoping for an easier life. Right now it's anything but. When the Hotel Inspector comes to the rescue, the Corfields struggle with her criticism and Alex discovers it’s tough to teach two old dogs new tricks.