Giles Coren as Self
Episodes 24
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
Giles and Monica join the 9,500 staff working at one of the world's largest hotels. As well as viewing some of the facilities on offer they go behind the scenes to see the parts of the hotel guests never see.
Read MoreMashpi Lodge, Ecuador
Giles and Monica visit Mashpi Lodge in the Ecuadorian rainforest which features a gondola cable car to transport guests through the forest canopy. The pair learn how eco-tourism is saving endangered species.
Read MoreGiraffe Manor, Kenya
Giles and Monica discover a unique hotel in Kenya where giraffe, guests and staff all co-exist. They then visit the Sasaab Lodge a 6-acre plot set within 82,000 acres of land owned by the Samburu tribe who receive a fee for each guest.
Read MoreRoyal Mansour, Morocco
Giles and Monica visit and go to work in the luxury hotel in Marrakesh, which was built by royal decree to showcase the region. Monica learns how to pleat the curtains while Giles dons the uniform of a butler.
Read MoreFogo Island Inn, Canada
Giles and Monica visit the hotel sited off the northeast coast of Newfoundland. Housekeepers Cynthia and Lori rope Giles into a boat race while Monica learns the secret of growing the perfect potato.
Read MoreIcehotel, Sweden
Giles and Monica's final stop-off takes them 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle into Swedish Lapland. Giles joins the artists who craft the rooms from huge blocks of ice while Monica meets the hotel's 82-year-old reindeer-meat supplier.
Read MoreThe Brando, French Polynesia
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.
Read MoreAnantara 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 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.
Read MoreGrand Resort Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
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.
Read MoreAshford Castle, Ireland
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.
Read MoreThe Silo, South Africa
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.
Read MoreHacienda Vira Vira, Chile
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.
Read MoreChristmas Special 2018, Kulm Hotel, St Moritz
In a festive special, Giles Coren and Monica Galetti travel to Kulm Hotel St Moritz. This Swiss Alpine hotel was the birthplace of winter tourism more than 150 years ago. Back then the owner made a bet with summer guests that if they returned in the winter and did not enjoy themselves he would pay for their stay. The guests stayed for the season - and a new industry of winter leisure and sports was born. During their stay, Giles works as a bellboy alongside veteran head concierge Silvio, while Monica helps joint managing director Jenny transform her office into a private dining room for a nostalgic candlelit dinner.
Read MoreMGM Cotai, Macau
Monica and Giles travel to the self-governing Chinese city of Macau, which is the gambling capital of the world, welcoming millions of Chinese visitors every year. Joining the 6,000 staff of its newest super-hotel, the MGM Cotai, Monica gets special access to The Mansion, a secret VIP world of huge suites where even money can’t buy a stay. Giles flies through the air in one of the world’s most technologically advanced theatres and helps create the floral displays for Chinese New Year.
Read MoreThe Torridon, Scotland
Monica Galetti and Giles Coren visit the Scottish Highlands to work at The Torridon, Britain's most northerly five star hotel. Its need to balance a luxury stay with being self-sufficient has Monica collecting sea-weed for the kitchen and helping to herd Highland Cattle. Meanwhile, Giles learns to change toilet seats and joins the staff in their afternoon off for a swim in the beautiful but freezing cold loch.
Read MoreSchloss Elmau, Germany
In this episode, Monica Galetti and Giles Coren visit Schloss Elmau, a hotel deep in the snowy Bavarian Alps that claims to be a cultural hideaway and restore their guests mind, body and soul. Monica joins in the daily meditation session for the restaurant staff, and Giles recites poetry and travels to a mountain hut to serve dinner, while dressed in lederhosen. They join the hotel guests for an evening of world-renowned musicians playing for free.
Read MoreJade Mountain, St Lucia
Monica Galetti and Giles Coren visit Jade Mountain, a hand-built hotel in St Lucia where each room has no outer wall and so is open to the ocean view - as well as having its own private infinity pool. Giles finds that room service here is tougher than it seems, and Monica dives for lionfish, which they both serve to guests visiting especially to have their wedding on the beach.
Read MoreSwinton Estate, Yorkshire
Monica Galetti and Giles Coren visit the Yorkshire Dales to work at Swinton Estate, the ancestral home of Lord and Lady Masham. By taking a look the heart of the grand house and its countryside charm, as well as the wider estate, which has opened up to for guests to enjoy, Monica and Giles learn about the challenges of making history pay in the modern world.
Read MoreShangri-La, London
Monica Galetti and Giles Coren stay in the city they live in to work at the Shangri-La Hotel, in Britain's highest hotel. Their expectations of a standard business guest experience are blown away by discovering a hotel that makes guests' personal moments special. From bath butlers to marriage proposals, the hotel is a resort for celebrations in the clouds.
Read MoreIcelandic ION Adventure
If lazily sipping cocktails in the sun is your idea of a dream vacation, then look away now. In this unique BBC Select travel documentary, Monica Galetti and Giles Coren visit Iceland's ION, an adventure hotel levitating out of a dormant volcano. Guests expect the icy experience of a lifetime, exploring lava flows and glaciers. But how do you keep guests safe when a volcano starts erupting?
Read MoreReid’s Palace, Madeira
Desperate to sleep in the same spot as Winston Churchill? Join Monica Galetti and Giles Coren as this BBC Select travel documentary visits Madeira's Reid's Palace which first welcomed the world's glamorous elite 130 years ago. Contemporary cool, extreme luxury and astonishing attention to detail is coupled with stunning scenery. But why is Monica cleaning crabs out of a historic swimming pool?
Read MoreGrand Park Rovinj, Croatia
Get ready to experience luxury, glamor and contemporary chic. If you can find it. As Monica Galetti and Giles Coren learn in this unique travel documentary for BBC Select, Croatia's Grand Park is a design classic that blends into the incredible scenery that surrounds it. Art and high cuisine come with a Croatian edge. But will Monica be able to learn how to clean Europe’s biggest glass window?
Read MoreNimb Hotel, Copenhagen
A Moroccan inspired grand hotel in the heart of Copenhagen? Why not! In this illuminating BBC Select travel documentary, Monica and Giles drop into the unique Nimb Hotel in historic Tivoli Gardens. Oozing luxury with a quirky twist, Giles rides one of the world’s oldest wooden rollercoasters, there's a trip to an avant-garde restaurant while Monica tries something altogether more horrific.
Read MoreQasr Al Sarab Desert Resort
The astonishing Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, deep in a Middle Eastern desert, conjures up many questions. How do you build a luxury hotel in such an inhospitable place? And why? In this envy-inducing travel documentary for BBC Select, Giles Coren and Monica Galetti investigate unmitigated splendor amongst the sand dunes and scorching heat. But how do the staff cope in this harsh environment?
Read MoreThe Lanesborough, London
You're in for a treat. For the first time ever, you're invited behind the scenes at London's most expensive and exclusive hotel. In this unique travel documentary for BBC Select, Monica Galetti and Giles Coren visit the Lanesborough, near Hyde Park. The suites, costing up to $35,000 a night, are often rented for months at a time, and even the cheapest rooms come with a dedicated butler.
Read MoreChristmas Special 2024 - Wildnerness Hotel Inari
Rob Rinder and Monica Galetti visit Wilderness Hotel Inari, an adventure hotel above the Arctic Circle in Lapland. Working in sub-zero conditions, Monica learns about the indigenous Sami culture before prepping some reindeer stew, while Rob gets all hot and bothered maintaining saunas before taking a cold-water plunge in a snow hole. But will Rob finally witness the wonder of the northern lights from the comfort of his own room?
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