Episode 2 Hotel 24/7

This time on Hotel 24/7...

Only two for me, thank you!

..it's a tricky balancing act for events manager Michelle...

Do you want to just follow me?

..maintenance men Dave and Graham hit the roof

over a leak in the sauna...

This is going to be an absolute nightmare.

..and as a top-secret VIP guest checks in,

all lips are sealed.

We're not allowed to reveal any information regarding any VIPs.

This is a week inside the Celtic Manor Resort,

a behind-the-scenes look into the life of its hardworking staff,

seven days of ups and downs

as they cook, clean and cater for their guests.

This is Hotel 24/7.

The Celtic Manor Resort is the largest five-star hotel in Wales

and hosting high-profile events is part of its daily business.

So Valero have their tablecloth,

which I believe will be covering their tables,

but I'm not sure if it will go on ours as well.

Events Manager Michelle Jenkins is especially keen

that everything runs smoothly for today's guests.

Big-business oil refiners Valero are over from the USA,

and have chosen the Celtic Manor

to host their first UK charity golf event.

Let's go into service first.

It's a big event for them.

They are raising a lot of... lot of money for charity.

So they've got their big boss over from Texas as well.

They have spent a lot of money to come with us and play golf,

but they are with us overnight.

We've had, obviously, months and months of correspondence

going back and forth,

two menu tastings, which is why it's so important

that we are just right with everything this evening.

Is it good enough to eat, Chef?

-Always.

-Did you get my garbled message earlier?

-What's that?

"Extra five main course and dessert."

Well, I've done well on 16, yeah?

-So that should be plenty, yeah?

-OK.

-With vegetarians as well.

Wonderful. One vegetarian, one gluten-free.

Thank you very much, Chef.

With everything in place for her important American guests,

Michelle takes the opportunity for a quick break.

Mrs Cleggers, how the devil are you? Sorry, on with the flats.

Oh, OK, so, when we're out in the public areas,

I have to wear my heels.

And it's a long day today, so I'm obviously going to be

working about 14 hours today, so as soon as I come back in the office,

kick 'em off, just to try and make the most of getting some flats on.

Right, breakfast, breakfast.

Trying to start the day off being healthy, anyway,

but I've got Mars bars there.

It's my anniversary on Wednesday, I haven't booked dinner yet.

If I don't book it, I'm not going to be married another year.

That's a dead cert.

I don't know, that might not be such a bad thing!

Shall we have a little bit of Jeremy Kyle?

That'll be enough to throw us over the edge, won't it?

OK, so 1016.

Sandra done the room today, didn't she?

Downstairs, hotel housekeeping managers Gaynor and Grace

are starting their morning shift.

OK, we've 386 dirty rooms,

11 stay-overs.

Have a good day, let's go.

That room perfect up there, is it?

Yes, Agatha?

Hang on, Pete.

Hang on a tick.

Can you come to my office about 20 past, half past nine?

Marvellous, thank you, bye.

OK, we'll see you about 20 past, half past nine.

Ivana.

With over 400 rooms,

it takes an army of cleaners

to make sure the hotel is kept spick and span.

Spot checking. Spot checking 1016.

To ensure each room meets the five-star standard expected...

-Housekeeping.

-..Gaynor and Grace carry out random checks.

Right, so...

starting at the main door...

-As far as I can reach.

-Yeah.

-OK, that's fine.

-Fine, so...OK.

Skirting board.

No, that's not good.

-That's not good, but then it's good here, you see.

-Yep.

Bible, bear with me.

What are you checking the Bible for?

People tend to leave lady calling cards

in the Bible, or sign, if they are non-believers or whatever.

But that's where they usually put things like this.

Just down to the side.

-OK?

-Yep, everything's fine.

Kettle.

I don't think our guests will moan about one milk missing,

but it's not the standard, and that's what these spot checks are,

just random, all over the place.

-The glasses.

-Oh, boo-boo-doo.

-Not good.

-No.

Picture.

Another cwtchy place for...

..little books and things.

What type of books?

Um, men books. What do you call them? Men reading?

Adult men books?

Adult books.

Adult books.

OK, we're doing the shower.

In the shower.

With a reputation for five-star luxury,

many celebrities check in to the resort on a regular basis.

-Welcome back, Mr Davies.

-Nice to be back.

-How was your journey here?

-All right, yeah. Easy.

Welsh rugby star Jonathan Davies has been invited

as an after-dinner speaker

at tonight's Valero golf charity dinner.

-I don't usually get this!

-KIRSTY LAUGHS

Only here.

I'm usually in a Travelodge.

So are you happy with the suite, then?

How can you not be happy?

Kirsty McKean looks after VIP guests at the resort,

and today there's a rumour

she's got a top-secret celebrity on her hands,

but all lips are sealed.

We're not allowed to reveal any information regarding any VIPs.

I could start singing now, but I won't.

In order to give you a clue!

I've met quite a few VIPs.

He's up there with them, most definitely.

He's a very talented artist.

It's not the music I listen to, mainly,

but I do listen to his stuff on occasion.

He's pretty high up.

And he's probably the coolest person I've met.

Everyone gets a bit excited, don't they? Everyone tries to hang around,

skimps off their normal duties just to try and get a glimpse.

If you want to know anything further, talk to my boss.

She does as she's told.

We can refer to him as "the rapper."

-"The rapper"? Oh, OK.

-That's all we can say.

"The rapper" has asked Kirsty

to send a driver out for a new laptop charger.

Who's the charger for?

The bodyguard.

The bodyguard? Oh, right, OK.

You need a signature for that?

No, no, it's fine. Cheers!

The Celtic Manor's international appeal

is bolstered by its three world-class golf courses

spread across the estate's 2,000 acres.

Have a good game, have a good game. Keep going.

Follow them!

The Valero charity golfers are keen to try out the Twenty Ten Course,

built for the Ryder Cup four years ago.

And Michelle is there to make sure the day runs without a hitch.

So nobody lost?

Everybody out to their holes?

SHE GASPS Here we go.

BANG

Let's go!

-Get in.

-Oh!

-Oh!

That was good. Good play!

But the one thing that Michelle can't control is the Welsh weather.

It's raining over there.

I know, that's coming, I think, so everyone get in - quick!

The storm clouds are threatening to rain on Michelle's parade...

but just in time, the last golfers make the safety of the clubhouse.

Yes, yes!

It was forecast for two o'clock.

-That was what we thought.

-Great timing.

-Yeah!

Yes!

-Do a happy dance!

-Amazing timing.

-Do a happy dance!

Oh, yes! Phew!

Yeah!

The luxury spa with its pool, sauna and steam room

is one of the major attractions at the hotel,

but a persistent leak means the sauna is out of bounds.

Leisure director Will Hewitt and head of maintenance Nick Perry

meet to decide on a plan of action.

It's definitely a leak,

there's definitely water coming in from somewhere.

It's not the floor, it's not the drainage.

You see all the water underneath there.

-How long has that taken to come to that?

-Two hours.

-OK.

-So...

-We've got to have a look above to see where the water's coming from.

-You either cut an access panel here...

-Yep.

We can't cut one out here...

..cos of the curve of the ceiling.

But with the repairs that are due in here,

we could possibly take this down early.

At least you'll have the sauna working then.

It's a key part of the hotel, a big facility for our spa guests

and also for our membership,

so getting a quick turnaround on a fix like this,

is of paramount importance, really.

Come on!

You get your stuff, I'll get my stuff, we'll meet in the middle.

Maintenance men Graham and Dave have been set the task

of getting the sauna back into service.

The prime suspect for the source of the leak

is the sink and dishwasher in the bar,

situated directly above the sauna.

We're going to have to bump this ceiling down, then.

-It's going to have to come down. This is going to be exciting.

-Yes.

There's your water.

-Oh, God, it's terrible.

-I can tell you how slimy it feels up there.

-I love my job.

-We get all the good jobs, don't we?

-Yep.

Oh, here it comes!

I'm trying to punch holes in it to get most of the water out here.

This is going to be an absolute nightmare.

It's going to take most of the day to take the ceiling down.

HE GROANS

THEY LAUGH

THEY EXCLAIM

There's a pipe that's coming through the floor,

four-inch steel drainpipe.

That looks as if it's rotten

and every time that machine goes on wash,

ten litres every single time, it's on all day,

is now pouring onto the ceiling, not through the pipework.

The quicker we can solve

a maintenance issue like this, the better.

Are we thinking of working today, people, or...?

Well done!

The housekeeping department deals with much more

than just cleaning rooms.

-Yep?

-I just found this.

-Whoop-ee-doop.

-Where from?

-I've been told to bring it in to you.

-Where from?

-Digital event.

-Yesterday.

-It could be concierge.

They had 15 black umbrellas for them.

-All right?

-Yeah, yeah.

All lost property ends up in the trusted hands of Gaynor and Grace.

Another piece, yes.

"The Winning Shot."

Luck of the Irish.

Just forgot to take it home.

-We'll put some boxes away in lost and found.

-Mm-hmm, yeah.

-Yeah?

It's like Fort Knox. Mind your head. Head, head.

Put this with our...

To join the other leprechaun.

This is him here, leprechaun.

-And a Pippa Pig?

-Peppa Pig.

-Peppa Pig.

Coats, coats, coats, clothes, jackets, suits.

Whatever, whatever. This all will go to the charity shop.

Don't go for the cameras.

THEY LAUGH

To go through it all

and clear it out can take a couple of days just to sort all of here out,

-so that's a job in itself, isn't it?

-Yeah.

We just lock ourselves in here and that's it.

We never spoke about all these bags.

Despite the hotel's best efforts to be discreet,

it appears that the mystery VIP known only as "the rapper"

has revealed his location on social media.

I'm looking at a picture that that rapper

has just tweeted from his balcony.

The one that we're not supposed to talk about.

Someone's actually recognised it's us, look.

5,333 likes already.

And he's been here less than half an hour.

He tweeted a photo of his bed

and his view from his balcony.

View from his room.

"Not the kind of grass you smoke."

You need to try so hard to keep all the staff...

It's top secret - don't let it out,

because it's so much harder for us to manage it if there's flocks

of 15-year-old girls outside the front door trying to sneak in.

But then if he wants to reveal, then...

..it's his choice. Definitely, it's not us revealing, so...

-HE EXHALES

-Hello.

-Hello!

Right, one old charger.

One receipt.

They asked for a name.

For the receipt. I couldn't give them my name,

so he said, "Why can't you give me your name?"

I said, "It's not for me."

He said, "Who's it for?" I went, "Well, it's for Snoop Dogg.

"The rapper, Snoop Doggy Dogg?"

He went, "I'll just put down Snoop Dogg."

So one receipt.

-OK.

-All sorted.

-It does say "Snoop Dogg"!

-I know it does. Yeah, I know.

No way...

With the sun now shining on Michelle,

she's off to check that everything is ready

for the Valero golfers' pre-dinner drinks reception.

As they arrive, smile.

"Welcome, welcome."

Come on, guys, where are you?

I'll click my heels - "Take me home, take me home!"

OK, here we go, guys.

Careful, now. Oh!

-I thought you were going to jump into my arms.

-Later, later!

SHE LAUGHS

And it seems like everything's going to plan.

This is the first event that Valero has done in the UK.

Every year, we get together with our business partners,

do a great evening like this,

and go out and play golf

and we raise generally between 9-10 million a year

for children's charities throughout where Valero has operations.

Ty Hafan and SNAP are two that also are benefitting from the funds

here in Wales from the money we raise tonight through this event.

The staff has been amazing.

Nobody even notices the things that are getting done behind the scenes.

They're really great here.

But while the guests enjoy their drinks,

up in the kitchen, there's a problem.

We've got no lift.

But I need that lift, yeah?

Otherwise, you'll have to do it from outside there.

The kitchen is a floor above the marquee,

so with the lift out of action, service is going to be tricky.

So the guys have had to bring starters out of the kitchen.

Fortunately for us, it's a cold starter,

so, "Phew!" for that one.

But the chefs are having a little chat

to see how they're going to work it.

We're just coming to a decision

whether or not to put the meat on the trolley

and do it in one go.

So I'm going to try one, see if it works.

We are looking minutes, probably.

I'll go and speak with Chris now.

So at the moment we're coping with a broken-down lift

with service of food going out

in a couple of minutes. Speak to you later, dear.

That's my husband.

The one I will be divorced from on Wednesday,

cos I haven't booked us dinner yet.

I'd forgotten to ring him to say I'm still in work.

And I'm not going home tonight.

Yeah, if I'm doing the work, you should be doing the crap work.

THEY LAUGH

With the ceiling on the floor

and the sink up in the bar out of action,

the job in the sauna is not going to be a quick one.

Right, which side do you want to be, Dave?

Directly under it or to one side?

They're using it again.

Leisure director Will needs his spa reopened

before guests start complaining.

So what's the plan for the rest of the day now?

Basically, get a ladder in there, get up there and look at it.

See if it's repairable today.

But theoretically,

-we can do something to get the other facilities open?

-Yep.

-Just put a sign on the door.

-Yep.

And everything else will be all right?

By the looks of it, it's been going on for quite a while.

I would say...

over a year, by the looks of things,

just by the deterioration of the pipework

and by the size of the stagnant pond.

A dishwasher would have been running -

it would have been gushing through, would it?

-Like that?

-Like that.

How important would you say your cog in the wheel is?

Our department think we're very important.

Other departments don't think we're that... Oop!

..we're that important. HE GIGGLES

There it goes.

That's what the problem is - half the pipe is missing.

Half the pipe missing!

-Have we?

-Yeah.

-That's how much has come off?

-Yeah.

Hang on, I'll come on down now, Dave.

Basically, that's happened

because they haven't sleeved it going through the cement

and then lime in the cement has eaten away at the cast.

Everything we've done today had to be done.

That wasn't going to get solved, was it?

It's the fact that we'll resolve it -

-by tomorrow, it's forgotten about.

-Oh, aye, yes.

Thank you very much, sir, cos that's the only one you'll get.

THEY CHUCKLE

The Manor is the original building on the resort's estate,

and was used as a maternity hospital until the 1970s.

Gaynor and Grace are back on their rounds.

Let's have a look.

Housekeeping.

Gaynor has a personal connection with one of the rooms.

Here we go.

Ah, tidy.

This is one of the delivery rooms when it was, excuse me, erm...

..the Lydia Beynon Hospital.

Had one of my daughters in here.

What I remember is the windows.

Also, since working here, how many people have come

just to stand in this room, because that's all they can remember,

is the windows when they were having their children,

so where Grace is, you're stood on the bed.

-Stood on the bed!

-Bless!

I'm too young to have had them here.

You know, when I started here,

Gaynor's passion for the place rubs off on you.

It's definitely rubbed off on me.

We're very lucky - 95% of the time, we do enjoy...

-..the job.

-Yes.

There's not many people out there can actually say that.

There isn't many people can say that.

As Gayne said, no matter where you work, what you do,

you'll always get a bad day,

but the bad day ends, you go home and you come back the next morning.

-And face it all again, don't we?

-Yes.

-And that's it. So, yeah.

At the Valero charity dinner, with the service lift still not working,

it's a delicate balancing act for Michelle and her team.

Where are you going to go with this? Do you want to just follow me?

-Got Alan?

-Yep, got him.

Only two for me, thank you!

I'm not doing on-the-job training taking any more than two.

I know, I can't go up and down in my heels.

For the guys, cos they're next.

Oh, gosh...

-You OK with that?

-That's fine, that worked pretty well.

The only thing is the next one is hot plates,

so we'll be a little bit slower, but there's nothing we can do about it.

So far, so good -

the guests out front seem happily oblivious.

You enjoy your dinner, you enjoy your dinner.

But can the team repeat the smooth service for the hot main course?

It's all good, all good.

Gordon Ramsay don't keep as cool as you guys.

He didn't have to do any of this shift.

It was important the main course was just so.

And it was just so.

Got a good team and they did good tonight.

I am so, so happy. It's like...

Oh, I'm doing the happy dance!

Hiya, Dan.

Kirsty has a special delivery to make.

BANG, KIRSTY GASPS

Erm, I'm...

Er, I'm in the porter's lift and it just...

it stopped moving. It's moving now, but...

I'm delivering Snoop's charger just now, but Louisa's got the arrivals.

Looking forward to seeing him if he comes down.

-Probably his bouncers are absolutely massive.

-Yeah.

"Huge entourage," as he has it.

Haven't seen him yet. Later on, hopefully.

One more celebrity to add to the checklist.

-Did I tell you...?

-No.

-He'd asked me...

-He talked to you?

I thought you talked only to the bodyguards.

No, I spoke to him on the way up, and in his suite as well.

When I showed him his bedroom,

he said, "Is that your natural hair colour?"

Aww!

Then said, "I'm going to call you Strawberry Shortcake."

No way!

So when are you off today?

He also asked me that as well.

Yes, it is a rapper, if you wouldn't have guessed by now,

you know by now.

OK?

Are we going with the port?

At the Valero charity dinner,

a more local celebrity is making an appearance.

It's my honour to present to you Mr Jonathan Davies.

Thank you very much. Diolch yn fawr, croeso i Gymru.

LAUGHTER

HE CONTINUES IN WELSH

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

You get big companies coming into Wales

and sometimes they want a bit of a Welsh flavour.

It's great that someone like Valero

can come to Wales, use the Celtic Manor facility,

and make money for charity.

Everyone really tries to help each other.

Michelle has pulled it off.

It's been a long day for her...

and her feet.

Listen to them, they're talking to you!

SHE SQUEAKS

"Take me home, take me home!"

I'm going home now.

-Do you want a lift down?

-Yeah. Delirious, good night, we're going.

Good night.

But the day's not quite over for Graham and Dave.

They're finally ready to replace the corroded pipe.

Give us a holler through the hallway there.

I'll give you a shout when I'm up there, mate.

Tremendous!

-Ready?

-Yep!

Here she comes.

INDISTINCT

Happy there?

Right, it's coming up just underneath this sink here.

You see now we've got a white plastic. Replaced the steel.

That should last us years and years and years.

Hopefully, I'll never have to come back.

Hold on, mate, hold on.

As a young apprentice, I was moaning and groaning one night

because I had to stay on and work.

One of the old fellas there said to me,

he said,

"Two thirds of your life... That could be 40, 50 years, maybe?

"..you'll be working. Enjoy it."

Ever since that day, that's been my attitude.

Always have done.

-Gra!

-Yep?

-Give that whirl.

How are we looking up here, Gra?

I am bone dry!

Happy days.

-Job done?

-Job done.

Anticipation.

Oh, you just never know when they're going to show up.

Makes it easy when it's this quiet, though.

Concierge Jason is staking out the hotel lobby.

He's hoping for a glimpse of celebrity rapper Snoop Dogg.

I haven't had a chance to see him yet,

so hopefully it'll be one more to tick off my bucket list.

If you look here, he's sold 30 million records worldwide.

-135 million and living in Long Beach.

-Yes.

With a house probably worth close to 135 million.

Wonder if he wants to do a quick swap.

Finally, Jason gets the nod.

Drivers, can you make sure the front entrance is kept clear

for the next 10-15 minutes, please?

As Snoop Dogg and his entourage make their way to the car,

Jason gets his wish.

Have a safe trip back. See you again. Bye, now. Thank you.

S'up, bro?

I did, I made sure I got a cheeky handshake in.

Was that Snoop Dogg just leaving?

-Yeah, did you catch a glimpse?

-I did, yeah.

-I did see him.

-He's so tall.

-That's amazing.

He looked really chilled out, though. Brilliant. Absolutely fantastic.

Morning.

No, we don't, Gaynor...

While celebrity visits may thrill the hotel's concierge staff,

it's down to Gaynor, Grace

and their team to give the room a five-star clean the next morning.

He has checked out, but they're saying the room's pretty bad.

You said this yesterday.

It appears the rapper and his entourage

had to leave in a hurry for their next gig.

Why leave his jeans?

Brand-new.

You know, we get a lot of celebrity guests,

a lot of big, VIP guests,

and believe it or not, it's very unusual to get a room this bad.

The fact they were only here one night probably has helped a bit.

If it was two nights or a week, oh, my God, God knows what it'd be like.

Next time on Hotel 24/7...

Let's go, then, guys.

It's a busy night for 22-year-old Azmat,

in charge of service for over 500 guests...

It's a military operation going on

with them all queuing up for their plates.

..wedding co-ordinator Fran adds romance to a special day...

I think it makes it feel like their wedding night for them.

..and Sylvia has an emergency to deal with in the kitchen.

Sorry, guys, I'm late already.

Need to go help the girls who need breakfast.