The Hotel Inspector, aka Alex Polizzi, is back on Channel 5 for a new season of nosing around in 2022. Filthy rooms, sticky plastic restaurant menus and broken facilities are just some of the horrors no-nonsense hotel critic Alex faces when she checks in for a new series of The Hotel Inspector.
The six-part Channel 5 series follows Alex as she inspects struggling hotels and guest houses across the country, and gives the owners some much-needed (and often brutal!) advice to help them kick start their businesses after the Covid crisis. But with several novice hoteliers, a few awkward moments, and even some tears from Alex herself, it seems she has her work cut out.
So here's everything you need to know about the 2022 series of The Hotel Inspector on Channel 5 with Alex Polizzi herself telling us more…
The Hotel Inspector 2022 air date
The Hotel Inspector 2022 starts on Channel 5 on Thursday June 16 at 9pm. It's a six-part series with episodes shown weekly. After it's initial release date, each episode will become available of streaming service My5. We will update if we hear about an international or US release date.
Alex Polizzi on what happens in The Hotel Inspector 2022
There's plenty to occupy Alex Polizzi in this latest series of The Hotel Inspector as she reveals here...
What can we expect in this series?
Alex Polizzi says: "In many ways it’s all about going back to basics. If you don’t get the basics right, there’s no hope of survival. And what do I mean by the basics? Cleanliness, a decent bed, a hot shower and a good breakfast. If you have those elements right, at whatever level of service you’re offering, then you are likely to have customers. There’s been nothing particularly clever about the advice I’ve been giving – it’s real ground work stuff!"
Was there anything that particularly shocked you in this season of The Hotel Inspector?
Alex says: "I visited six hotels this series and three of them were run by novice hoteliers. You have to ask why they got involved after everything that’s happened in the last two years! One couple in Loughborough had taken on their guesthouse at the peak of the pandemic and were panicking about how many hours they had to work and how hard it was to make money. Luckily they were very easy to work with and very eager to take my advice!"
So what would be your advice to a novice hotelier?
Alex says: "You need an enormous capacity for hard work. The relentlessness of the business does astonish people. Customers’ demands come seven days a week, which can be rather exhausting. The fun bits are putting out the clean towels and putting the chocolates on the pillows. But in between that there’s an awful lot of loo cleaning, onion chopping and dealing with irate guests!"
Do you have a favourite moment from this series of The Hotel Inspector?
Alex says: "Yes, I visited the wonderful Gracellie Hotel on the Isle of Wight, which is owned and run by father Phillip, daughter Kelly, and their manager Charlotte. It’s one of the few times I’ve felt overwhelmed by emotion and love at the end of the process that I very nearly had a cry on film. They’ve worked incredibly hard and had a lot of personal tragedy, yet they live it with grace. I’d never been to the Isle of Wight before and I’d love to go back."
How do you see the future of the hotel industry post Covid?
Alex says: "Domestic providers might suffer a bit in the next couple of seasons, as there’s so much pent-up demand for going abroad. Unfortunately, unless you’re lean and mean, you’re not going to survive these days, especially with the incredible rate by which costs are going up. Some guests just want the world on a plate, but it’s going to be quite hard to give it to them."
What’s your top travel tip?
Alex says: "The thing I’ve learned through bitter experience is to always have destination-appropriate clothing in your hand luggage! We’ve all experienced the hell that is an airline losing your bag – and there’s nothing worse than trying to find a swimming costume that fits you in a strange country when you’re hot and flustered and all you want to do is dive into the sea!"
Finally, what would your fantasy hotel night away involve?
Alex says: "It would be barefoot, somewhere with a bar on a beach, and with my husband and children. If I’m by the sea, I’m happy!"
The Hotel Inspector 2022 episode guide
The Hotel Inspector 2022 episode guide, which we'll update for all six episodes as the series progresses...
Episode 1: June 16, 9pm
The first stop in the new series for hotel inspector Alex Polizzi is the LG Thai Derm Spa and Guest House in Loughborough, run by first-time hoteliers husband and wife Hasmeeta and Bharat. When the couple took over two years ago, they fell in love with a unique Thai-themed business that boasts a Thai spa with treatment rooms, a 24-seat Thai restaurant and 10 guest rooms. They ploughed their hearts, souls and life savings into it. The business survived the pandemic — but at huge cost. That cost is evident as Alex discovers dirty rooms, a broken spa and chaotic management. Not to mention the unintentionally unsavoury vibe and signage to boot. Hasmeeta and Bharat are losing money hand over fist, and say they’ve tried everything — but the Hotel Inspector is not convinced. Alex isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and lays her cards out on the newly cleaned table: there’s a complete restructure needed, a rebrand and a facelift. But, crucially, the couple need to get a grip and run the business, not let the business run them! Will the couple take Alex’s expert business advice, and make this the Eastern-inspired retreat they have dreamed of?
Episode 2: June 23, 9pm
Alex Polizzi heads to the famous seaside town of Shanklin on the Isle of Wight to visit father and daughter team Philip and Kelly, who run Gracellie Hotel. Twelve years ago, Philip spent a pretty penny on the 50-bedroom hotel, which has a basement bar, restaurant, sun deck and pool. But with no prior experience running a hotel, over a decade later, even in one of the UK’s staycation hotspots, the hotel has only once made an annual profit. Philip, now aged 70, dreams of leaving the hotel to daughter Kelly and is determined to finally make it a success. But after years of haphazard management compounded by Covid and then a very personal tragedy for the family, the hotel has fallen into deep decline. And as the family prepares for the upcoming season, their dream is turning into a nightmare with the hotel falling to pieces...
Episode 2: June 30, 9pm
This time, the Hotel Inspector visits Caer Beris Manor, run by former Dubai real estate agent Omar and his wife, Kim, along with Kim’s publican parents, Pete and Angie. In 2019, this family of first-time hoteliers took on the 22-bedroom manor near the Brecon Beacons, complete with 30-seat restaurant and function room. Despite their inexperience in the hotel industry, the family have high-minded ambitions for their business, dreaming of offering fine dining and a five-star experience at a three-star price. But having barely survived their first full season, the reality is that the family have bitten off more than they can chew. As well as dodgy decor at odds with the historic building, the hotel is run by a skeleton crew, piling more pressure on the family. They have big ambitions for the restaurant, but with no chefs in the kitchen, it’s an area that’s fallen to self-taught cook Omar to oversee alone. Alex advises that the family put on hold their dream of a Michelin-starred establishment, and bring in experienced business owner, Barney Cunliffe, to help them think carefully about their dramatic change of direction, and tell them what it really takes to achieve a Michelin star. Can Alex convince the family to go back to basics — or will she leave them determined to reach for the stars?
Is there a trailer for The Hotel Inspector 2022?
Channel 5 has yet to release a trailer for The Hotel Inspector in 2022, but you can take a look at one from a previous series below.
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