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Private Notes
Return of the series exploring extraordinary hostelries. Giles Coren and Monica Galetti explore one of the world's most luxurious eco resorts on the small island of Tetiaroa in French Polynesia. Surrounded by a beautiful coral reef and an abundance of marine life, they work alongside staff of the exclusive Brando Resort to serve five-star luxury to guests paying up to £11,000 per a night.
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 local tradition with modern tastes. Built to resemble an ancient Omani fort, and situated 2,000 metres above sea level on the rim of a dramatic canyon, the hotel has recently made the most of its location by constructing a jaw-dropping via ferrata and zip-wire rope course along the cliff edge. Led by the hotel's mountain guru Maher, Giles and Monica undertake a test-run of the stunning adventure course before it opens to guests, facing 30-metre drops and Giles's prolific fear of heights.
Giles Coren and Monica Galetti head to the foothills of the Swiss Alps to experience a very different type of travel - health and wellness tourism. The Grand Resort Bad Ragaz houses not only multiple restaurants, spas and golf courses but also Olympic-standard sports facilities - and a high-spec clinic boasting 80 medical staff, who offer guests everything from sleep therapy to dietary advice and surgery.
Monica and Giles hop across to Ireland to scale the imposing and ancient ramparts of Ashford Castle. Founded 800 years ago & set in 350 acres, it 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.
Giles Coren and Monica Galetti visit a hotel in South Africa that has been built into a 187-foot tall former grain silo and which also incorporates a museum of contemporary art. They are challenged to wash the building's 96 windows inside and out, and discover how staff have coped with the challenge of keeping the place clean in the wake of the worst drought to hit Cape Town in a century.
Giles Coren and Monica Galetti travel to South America to work in Vira Vira, a hacienda hotel that overlooks an active volcano near Pucon, the adventure capital of Chile. Giles and Monica prepare a meal for guests, go trekking through the Chilean forests on horseback and hear how the chef has an abundance of Chilean produce for his recipes. Last in the series.
