Season 5 2009

The Crown Inn is owned by former care assistant Karen Lloyd who invested her life savings into opening it two years ago. All was apparently going well until a number of bad internet reviews (damn these people) turned up complaining about paying £70 a night to sleep in filth and Karen started losing money. If that wasn’t bad enough the hotel was stripped of one of its three stars by the tourist board Visit England.

The Walpole Bay was once at the epicentre of the Margate tourist trade. But much like Margate itself, this once grand old dame has seen better days. The Edwardian hotel was on the brink of closure until the Bishop family attempted to rescue it. But with no previous experience of the hospitality industry, it has not been a smooth ride for them.

Alex Polizzi attempts to help the struggling Sunnyside Hotel in Blackpool. In a bid to boost the B&B's pitiful occupancy rate, the owners plan a huge refurbishment - but refuse to take on Alex's suggestions. Can she get them to incorporate her design ideas and improve the lousy service?

Alex visits the market town of Wisbech, where the 300-year-old Rose and Crown is in crisis. Can the hotel inspector convince owners Jacquie and Jonathan to eliminate the mountains of paperwork strangling their business?

Alex visits the 14th-century Swan Hotel in Norfolk. With 15 empty bedrooms and a deserted restaurant, the Swan is struggling to stay afloat. Can Alex breathe some life into this lame duck?

Alex climbs aboard floating hotel the African Queen. With the boat running at just 30 per cent occupancy, owners Bonny and Andy are at breaking point. Can the hotel inspector throw this beleaguered couple a life jacket? South Africans Bonny and Andy Cowley previously ran a successful hotel and restaurant on the Isle of Wight. When they bought 85-year-old Dutch barge the African Queen they were full of hope for their new project. "We thought, 'We're gonna fly!' but it didn't work like that," says Bonny. The eight-bedroom floating hotel is failing to turn a profit - and even when the couple have guests, the heavy workload of running the boat is taking its toll.

Alex Polizzi sets out to improve the fortunes of the Glangrwyney Court guest house in the Black Mountains, Powys. Despite its five-star rating and reasonable occupancy rate, owners Christina and Warrick Jackson reveal they are rapidly losing money. Alex is taken aback by the amount of clutter in the rooms and the low prices being charged, and informs the couple that if they make changes, their salvation could lie in targeting the lucrative corporate market.

British couple Liz and Michael Callis emigrated from Britain and bought a 14-bedroom guest house in the Swiss Alps, but their hopes of a stress-free retirement have been ruined by a heavy workload. Alex Polizzi outlines her vision for the future of the hotel, including smart uniforms for the staff, a drop in food prices and a transformation for an unused formal dining room - but is unimpressed with the results when she returns a month later.