The series that transforms failing hotels continues. Alex Polizzi, whose family owns the renowned Rocco Forte group of hotels, is on a mission to change the fortunes of some of Britain’s most calamitous establishments. This week, Alex visits a townhouse hotel in Tewkesbury that desperately needs a new look. To make matters worse, the couple who run the hotel are in danger of splitting up under the pressure.

Award-winning hotelier Alex Polizzi is on a quest to salvage some of Britain’s worst-run hotels and bed-and-breakfast establishments. As the granddaughter of Lord Forte and the niece of Sir Rocco Forte, Alex 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 and St Petersburg, as well as setting up her mother’s successful hotel, Tresanton, in Cornwall. She is now the proprietor of the prestigious Hotel Endsleigh in Devon.

This week, Alex heads to historic Tewkesbury to inspect the eight-bedroom Jessop House Hotel, located just yards from the town’s famous abbey. “It looks like a very pretty town,” Alex says. “According to their website, I’m staying at an equally pretty boutique townhouse hotel. Can’t imagine what’s going wrong there.” It soon becomes apparent that the Jessop’s problems are twofold, as Alex discovers a business and a relationship in crisis.

The Jessop’s owners are New Yorker Ralph Parisi and his English partner Sarah Pountain. The couple bought the hotel three years ago looking for a business where they could work together using their different skills. But with high mortgage costs and increasing competition from new budget hotels opening nearby, Ralph and Sarah are buckling under the pressure.

The bickering pair cannot agree on the most basic aspects of the business and the strain is driving a wedge between them. “Dealing with a personality like Ralph is hard,” Sarah admits. “His second wife used to say, ‘he’s hard work but worth it’. I just stop at the ‘hard work’!”

On her first inspection, Alex is confused by the lack of signage and unimpressed by the dirty hotel entrance. Checking in to her room, she is disappointed by the tired furniture, dated bathroom and threadbare carpet. A tour of the hotel reveals an enormous disparity between Ralph and Sarah’s two refurbished rooms and the rest of their accommodation. With Ralph accusing Sarah of wasting too much time and money ‘playing’ with rooms and Sarah calling Ralph a ‘control freak’, even the simplest of conversations ends in a row.

One of Ralph and Sarah’s major disagreements concerns the hotel’s immediate future. Despite Sarah’s misgivings, Ralph has decided that the Jessop should become a ‘restaurant with rooms’, and duly turns the residents’ lounge into an Italian bistro. Alex is impressed by the food on offer but believes that the Jessop should focus on its core business – hotel rooms.

Alex returns a few weeks later to learn that spiralling costs and rows with the chef have forced Ralph to close the restaurant. But the stubborn New Yorker still refuses to accept that the rooms need a facelift, so Alex invites a focus group to rate the accommodation. With the weight of public opinion on Alex’s side, Ralph finally agrees to refurbish one of the rooms if she

will refresh the hotel’s neglected bar. On Alex’s final visit, she is delighted to find the stylish new bar area is finished and the upgraded bedroom is a vast improvement. Her focus group returns along with representatives of local businesses to sample the new-look Jessop House. But will the results persuade Ralph to swallow his pride and tackle the rest of the out-ofdate rooms?