Monica Galetti and Giles Coren hop across to Ireland to scale the imposing and ancient ramparts of Ashford Castle. Set in 350 acres, it was founded 800 years ago by the Anglo-Norman De Burgo family, and much later became the family home of the Guinness family. With the help of hotel historian, Fintan, Giles discovers that the castle has had a rollercoaster journey through the centuries, sporadically reaching moments of real jeopardy, only to be saved by a turn of events or new owners. As recently as 2011, the hotel went into receivership but was bought in the nick of time and, after undergoing a £50 million restoration, has the ambition to be the best hotel in the world.\n\nGiles and Monica soon learn that the secrets of the castle's success are the people who work there and the hotel's strong, long-running community ties. The hotel swarms with local family members co-working, some of whom have ancestors who served here too. They are given a crash course by estate manager Thomas in how to greet guests with Irish charm. They both take up their posts with gusto and have varying degrees of success with gatehouse-to-lobby communications. Thomas also deploys Giles and Monica in the clay-pigeon shooting range, where they clean guns, stack clays and take potshots for themselves. \n\nMonica adds some new hotel strings to her hospitality bow by wrangling the hotel's falcons (part of the on-site school of falconry), assisting a hotel supplier and local oyster farmer, as well as accompanying hotel forager Brian to a secret location to track down pepper dulse for the kitchen. Meanwhile, Giles crashes his way through silver service in the George V restaurant, taking comfort from maitre d' Martin's assurance that his charm makes up for his lack of table skills. Although charm doesn't help Giles pass the four-poster bed-making test in housekeeping, he does impress a colleague with his prowess at vacuuming the intricate and expensive fabric wallpaper adorning the castle's bedroom walls.
Source: BBC 2
Series 5: 4. Ceylon Tea Trails, Sri Lanka
Monica and Rob travel to the highlands of central Sri Lanka to learn about Ceylon Tea Trails - a series of colonial era bungalows that have been renovated and revisioned by a lo ...
18-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 5: 3. Nusfjord Arctic Resort
Nusfjord Arctic Resort is a preserved 200-year-old cod fishing village in the Lofoten Islands of Norway. Working alongside the dedicated team, Monica and Rob learn to appreciate ...
11-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 5: 2. Joali Maldives
Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder travel by seaplane to a paradise island in the Indian Ocean. Joali Maldives offers guests a luxury experience despite its remote location, but just ...
04-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 5: Kasbah Tamadot
Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder travel to Kasbah Tamadot in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. With Sir Richard Branson as their boss, they discover how genuine Berber hospitality an ...
28-03-2024
BBC 2
Series 5: 8. Hotel Hubertus, Italian Alps
In the Tyrol region of northern Italy lies Hotel Hubertus - a family-run resort which offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountains thanks to its panoramic aspect.\n\nTh ...
31-12-2023
BBC 2
Series 5: 7. Glenapp Castle, Scotland
In Scotland, Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder discover Glenapp Castle, where guests are treated to a magical stay made possible by a dedicated team of local staff. \n\nMonica and R ...
12-10-2023
BBC 2
Series 5: 6. Borgo Egnazia, Italy
Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder visit Italy to go behind the scenes of Borgo Egnazia - a hotel modelled on Puglia’s historical local villages. They work with the local staff ...
03-10-2023
BBC 2
Series 5: 5. Phinda Game Reserve, South Africa
At Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa, Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder join forces with the hotel staff to learn how to deliver a luxury safari experience. The hotel is o ...
27-09-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 6. Hacienda Vira Vira, Chile
In this insightful and entertaining programme, Monica and Giles travel to South America to work in Hacienda Hotel Vira Vira - a unique hotel near Pucon, the adventure capital of ...
10-07-2023
BBC 2
Series 4: 5. Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort
Giles Coren and Monica Galetti visit Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, an extraordinary hotel built where people usually struggle to survive - deep in a Middle East desert.\n\nSurrou ...
11-06-2023
BBC 2
Series 5: 2. Joali Maldives
Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder travel by seaplane to a paradise island in the Indian Ocean. Joali Maldives offers guests a luxury experience despite its remote location, but just ...
04-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 5: 4. Ceylon Tea Trails, Sri Lanka
Monica and Rob travel to the highlands of central Sri Lanka to learn about Ceylon Tea Trails - a series of colonial era bungalows that have been renovated and revisioned by a lo ...
18-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 2: 4. Ashford Castle, Ireland
Monica Galetti and Giles Coren hop across to Ireland to scale the imposing and ancient ramparts of Ashford Castle. Set in 350 acres, it was founded 800 years ago by the Anglo-No ...
09-03-2021
BBC 2
Series 4: 4. Nimb Hotel, Copenhagen
Monica and Giles travel to Copenhagen to work at Nimb Hotel in the historic Tivoli Gardens. Giles learns to be the brake man on one of the world’s oldest wooden rollercoas ...
21-05-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 3. Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
Monica Galetti and Giles Coren head to the foothills of the Swiss Alps to experience a very different type of travel - health and wellness tourism. This luxury hotel houses not ...
25-10-2019
BBC 2
Series 2: 2. Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Oman
In the second episode, Giles and Monica travel to the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar in Oman. It is the highest five-star hotel in the Middle East and a resort seeking to blend loc ...
26-04-2021
BBC 2
Series 2: 6. Hacienda Vira Vira, Chile
In this insightful and entertaining programme, Monica and Giles travel to South America to work in Hacienda Hotel Vira Vira - a unique hotel near Pucon, the adventure capital of ...
10-07-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 1. The Brando, French Polynesia
In the first episode of this entertaining and insightful series, Giles and Monica fly to the other side of the world to work in one of the world's most luxurious eco resorts on ...
06-04-2021
BBC 2