Episode 2 The Millionaires' Holiday Club

Imagine going to some of the most luxurious holiday destinations in the world.

For some people, money is no object.

Welcome to The Millionaires' Holiday Club.

Richard has booked an extravagant holiday in the Caribbean,

to pop the question to his partner, Martyn...

I'd rather be doing this than stuffing a turkey.

Happy Christmas. Cheers.

Little egret there.

..while after over 50 years of wedded bliss,

Peter and Christine are blowing the kids' inheritance

on five-star trips.

Which side did the Prince of Wales sleep on?

This guy come over and started talking to her,

and it was Richard Gere!

Just chatting to her on the beach.

Hoping to make all their holiday dreams come true...

I am working on a nice one at the moment, which is about £70,000.

..is the business of one specialist tour operator.

We're creating perfection.

Thank you very much.

The answer is yes. Now, tell us what you want.

That one has set them back £115,000.

Mm.

Happy days!

And after two years in the concierge team...

Is there any specific type of car you'd like,

or is it just "as long as it's black"?

..Katie is off to the Far East,

in search of the ultimate holiday experience.

I'm all about a three-star all-inclusive.

-You're like a new woman.

-I'm getting there.

Martyn and his partner, Richard,

are just beginning their fifth luxury holiday of the year.

Nicely hot.

Here we are.

Welcome!

'What are the differences between a normal holiday

'and a luxury holiday?'

Um... Well, do you know?

I don't know what a normal holiday is any more!

Here we are.

Oh, hello.

Most holidays that we go on would be a five-figure amount.

Thank you very much.

Where's that car, then?

And I think, occasionally, we have gone over the £30,000.

-Will they all go in? Have you enough room for all these bags?

-Yeah.

-HE CHUCKLES

-Thank you.

But when you're paying that sort of money,

we're having a dream holiday every time, basically.

So how far to the villa, then, driver?

-It's probably 30 minutes.

-This is rush hour in Barbados.

Yes, rush hour in Barbados.

The couple's Caribbean vacation begins with two nights

in an exclusive villa in Barbados.

A typical holiday villa can cost around £1,000 a week.

Martyn and Richard's is ten times that amount.

As usual, their holiday has been arranged

by a specialist travel operator based in Chester.

Good morning, thank you for calling ITC Luxury travel.

You're speaking to Katie.

We've got a VIP meet and greet service in Antigua,

cos we've got our office there,

so they'll be met and guided through.

You'll be able to go straight to the terminal,

then get onto your helicopter straight away,

so there won't be any waiting around for you.

Here, the telesales team sell over £90 million worth

of luxury holidays every year.

It's a total price of £10,836.

If there's a £15,000 holiday, that's pretty normal.

That's what we do.

Bread and butter, day in, day out.

The remaining balance on there is £6,324 for you,

and how is it that you'd like to pay that?

You know, £100,000 is a little bit more unusual,

but we do it, every week.

If you think of anything else before you travel, then let me know.

So there comes a certain expectation

with what the client's going to get for that.

You do have a private butler included within your villa package,

so we can actually arrange for him to be your private chef.

We create perfection. We create and sell perfection.

For Richard and Martyn's first two nights in Barbados,

the travel team have chosen their villa for them.

-Have we arrived?

-Amazing, isn't it?

-Oh, my God.

-Wow, look at that.

They've also arranged for a butler, a housekeeper, a chambermaid,

and a personal chef to be on site.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

-We welcome you to your villa.

-Very kind of you.

Do you think you're both demanding?

No.

Thank you very much. Oh, lovely, thanks.

'I think we are demanding.'

Hello. Hi, pleased to meet you.

Yes. And I would...I would say Richard's more demanding than I am.

-Shall we go in?

-Oh, that smells nice.

-Hello.

'That's a fair comment, isn't it?'

-No.

-No?

-Yeah, no, probably, yeah. I think I am demanding.

Wow. What a welcome!

Yeah!

-Would you guys like a tour?

-I'd love to.

I always say, "If you're not walking into somewhere

"that's better than your own home,

"then we're not selling the right product."

Wow, look at this!

So you have to walk in and go, "Oh, my God, this place is amazing."

Wow. This staircase is amazing.

You don't have to even peer into the kitchen,

cos obviously you've got your staff to sort that out,

and you've probably got a bedroom for every night of the week.

-Ooh.

-And this is the master room.

-Let's see the bathroom.

I'm quite fussy about bathrooms.

You know, bathrooms can make or break a holiday.

-Oh, nice.

-Everything we need is in here.

'I quite like a bath.'

-Fantastic.

-And a his-and-his sink is always quite good.

Ooh, that's a nice wind.

A villa like that would be £10,000 for the week,

something like that, maybe slightly more,

depending on the time of year.

This is it. I've found it.

Paradise.

What are we going to do, Martyn? Are we going to just relax?

What time will dinner be ready?

It could be ready whenever you're ready.

INTERVIEWER: What made you go for the villa option?

We don't normally. We normally go to a hotel, actually,

but we just thought it would be quite nice to relax here,

get away from the world for a couple of days -

after London, it's rather nice.

We thought it'd be quite nice for somebody to do all the waiting on us,

and the indulgence and the extravagance of it, really.

Do you think it'll be strange,

having people waiting around for you, or...?

Oh, I'm sure I can cope with it for a couple of days!

-We'll manage, won't we(?)

-The worry is that we might get used to it.

The travel team's involvement does not stop

when the guests reach their destination.

OK, so that's only feather pillows in the room, that's absolutely fine.

We can have that arranged.

My department is Concierge and Client Services.

Is there any specific of car you'd like,

or is it just "as long as it's black"?

So basically, I make all the bookings amazing.

Ten bottles of still water,

not Evian.

What I'll do, I'll send you the different options,

so you can pick from them.

If someone wants a specific cigar, I'll find them that specific cigar.

If someone wants to dine on a certain table,

I'll get them on the certain table.

If someone wants to go swimming with dolphins in the ocean,

when they're not allowed, I'll make it allowed.

I'll make it possible.

We give the clients something that they couldn't get.

All of the finer touches, if you like.

"I want to propose to my girlfriend, I want a dozen red roses,

"I want them to be flown in from wherever",

so that's the kind of concierge service

that Katie and the team manage.

It's like, "The answer is yes. Now, tell us what you want."

I've already confirmed a sun-down tour for her,

which takes her into the desert,

and then they'll have a huge Bedouin dinner

in the middle of the desert, under the stars.

22-year-old Katie joined the team two years ago,

after completing a college course in tourism.

When I first started here, it was a bit like,

"Oh, right, I've got to think twice before I say something."

-HICCUPS

-Oh!

If I was just talking to someone, I'd be like,

"Ee, go have a look at that."

But, when I've got an ITC e-mail, it'll be like,

"I've sent you this for your perusal."

What are you making for us?

It's a rum punch I'm going to serve you to get started.

-Are you going to try rum punch also?

-Yes, please, yes.

Is this your speciality?

Richard is an award-winning architect,

noted for designing the interiors

of some of the most iconic buildings in London.

Is it going to go and blow my head off?

-Please enjoy this.

-Thank you very much.

Here's to Barbados.

Martyn is a manager at a specialist hospital.

If I was going on a luxury holiday every month,

I think I might take it for granted.

This has got a bit of a kick, hasn't it?

A bit of a kick, yes.

I need to have a few bad weeks at work

to be able to appreciate the relaxation.

Let me give you a little top-up, please.

Or even a large top-up.

-Having two, meaning that's like the icing on the cake.

-Oh.

-You don't just go for one.

-So what do you do if you do three?

You do three, then you're taking it to a different level.

THEY LAUGH

And I quite like that three, four-month cycle,

that we've sort of got ourselves into.

It's not a bad life.

So I think I'm going to do shrimp, tuna, and then some steak.

-Is that too much?

-No. Whatever you want.

You can actually come back for the steak afterwards if you want.

-What do you reckon?

-Sounds good.

-Is that OK?

-You on vacation.

INTERVIEWER: What would you say to somebody who thought that it was slightly extravagant?

Well, we don't have children,

and we don't spend money on other things.

Bearing in mind yesterday, I was in client meetings,

and having all the stresses of work,

and we had breakfast in Balham, and now I've got people serving me

a wonderful salad and lovely fresh fish,

caught in the morning's catch.

I mean, it's slightly different, isn't it?

We sort of live for our holidays, really.

Amazing.

And that's where we...we are extravagant.

-It's our thing, isn't it? It's our thing.

-Yes.

It's our time together, and it's our special thing.

-Could I clear your plates, please?

-Yes, that'd be lovely, thank you.

And this holiday may be more special than most,

as, after 16 years together,

Richard is planning a surprise proposal.

Peter has been married for 54 years.

-We've been expecting you.

-Yeah.

-Do come in.

-You remember Christine.

-Hi, Simon.

-Hi, Chris, hello. How are you?

-I'm fine, thank you. And you?

-What are you baking?

I've got a quiche in the oven, and I've just made some mince pies.

Before he retired,

Peter was chairman of an international clothing business,

Cheese and onion.

..and Christine was responsible for raising their three children.

Do you like cheese and onion?

This was painted ten years ago, in Christine's 60th year,

by a guy called John Edwards.

He's had commissions to paint the Queen,

and it was put on display.

Was it expensive, to get a royal painter in?

A few thou.

-Worth it?

-To me, very much worth it.

Once their children left home,

Peter and Christine began to travel the world,

taking five-star holidays.

Our daughter thinks we're away "all the time."

It's not quite true, but we are away a fair amount of time.

-Good driver.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice and safe.

We've been to Nepal and Thailand and Malaysia and China.

South America, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Mauritius...

So on, and so forth.

-You're spending your kids' inheritance?

-Yeah. Skiing.

Spending the kids' inheritance. Yeah, we're doing that.

We don't want to leave them too much. They wouldn't like it.

Enjoy your flight, thank you.

-What do you call it?

-Skiing.

Spending Kids' Inheritance.

I'm going to get my pound back.

-Do you consider yourself wealthy?

-No.

He's going to get his pound back on the trolley.

What I can say is that I'm still pretty numerous,

and I'm pretty good with money.

-You watch the pennies.

-No, forget those.

You've got to watch the thousands.

Today, Peter is taking Christine away

for a romantic holiday in India.

Kerala, in the south,

has one of the most exclusive hotels in the country.

Set in 25 acres of coconut groves

are 59 traditional-style luxury villas.

Kerala is known as "God's own country."

And this is one of the best parts.

Staff work around the clock to keep the hotel in pristine condition,

and this colonial resort has even received a royal seal of approval.

This is where the Prince of Wales

and the Duchess of Cornwall have stayed.

We got to meet them, and they thanked us personally,

which is kind of a rare honour, I would say.

This is the main bathroom of the suite,

and we have redesigned it for the royal couple,

as they wanted a tub.

Previously, we just had a shower,

so we added on this bathtub just for their visit.

Peter and Christine fell in love with India seven years ago,

and have been back every year since.

"Memories abound of what you have done.

"Perhaps out of all, the very best one

"Is of being where green land meets the Arabian Sea.

"India, of course, where else could it be?"

INTERVIEWER: Bit of a wordsmith. Is that one of your own?

Yes. But don't... Not on there.

Peter and Christine's India excursions

have all been booked by Nikhil.

I think Marari Beach Resort will certainly be a better option.

As I always say, "There's nothing that can prepare you for India,

"even if you've been many times..."

-Welcome back, welcome back.

-Hello, nice to see you.

"..because it's not what you know, it's who you know in India..."

"..and it's not what you do, it's how you do it."

That's why we keep coming back!

-Will Peter and Christine get the "wow" factor?

-Every time.

Thanks, Kari. Thanks.

I know that they will have a wonderful time,

there's no doubt about that.

I'm quite confident to surprise them,

to look after them and pamper them.

-What have you got up your sleeve, Nikhil?

-Surprises.

We're not going that way, we're going this way, sir. Please.

-We're going this way?

-Yes.

This is where you're staying this time.

-Oh, right.

-Oh, wow!

Nikhil has arranged for Peter and Christine

to be upgraded to the Royal Suite.

-Oh, just think, Prince Charles has stepped over here.

-Please.

-Thank you.

-Please, come in.

-Oh, isn't that gorgeous?

I don't believe it.

-Yes, this is where the royal couple stayed.

-Yes.

INTERVIEWER: Are you quite patriotic, Peter?

I think I am, very, yeah.

I love this country.

This is God's own country,

whatever they think in Kerala.

-This is the bedroom.

-Oh, that's lovely.

-Sanjay, there is one important question.

-Yes?

Which side did the Prince of Wales sleep on?

We don't know that.

I'm going to guess it was that side.

-Are you?

-How do you feel, being in this room?

Uh, I don't know! I have to get my breath back.

But it's, er...

It's very special for us. Very special.

In addition to the upgrade,

the concierge team has helped Peter

plan a surprise romantic trip for Christine later in the holiday.

What have you got that you need help with?

Whilst Katie helps perfect these opulent breaks,

the sales team are expected to sell over £10 million worth

of dream holidays in the peak winter months.

Oh, hi, good afternoon, Alison, it's Laura here, from ITC.

Laura is the singularly most positive person

I have ever met in my entire life.

Hi, I'd like to speak to room reservations, please.

She gets up at 5am to curl her hair.

She comes to work like she's going night clubbing.

OK, I'll do that for you, no problem.

Last week, just on her own, she did quarter of a million pounds.

We're looking at a price of £13,268.

In a year, she'll do well over £2 million worth of holidays.

Well, you know me, whatever we've got to do to secure the booking,

and to get a happy client.

She's a great seller.

Let me know what we need to do to get it booked.

The company is about to pay for Laura to go on a research trip

to the top resorts in Thailand.

These trips are an essential part of our job.

If we didn't do them, then we'd be just reiterating

information from a book, or a website.

And it's exciting. It's glamorous.

You get to travel, you get to go to lovely dinners,

you get to see a place in the world

that I wouldn't never have been able to see in another job.

It's a bit gutting, really,

when you see someone jetting off to go on a work trip for a week,

and you do sit there going, "Oh, God, why couldn't that be me?"

While this will be Laura's third reccy trip of the year,

Jen has decided another member of staff will also be going.

I was just counting up, we've done 33 trips this year,

and I know you've seen lots of friends and colleagues

go to all these far-flung, glamorous locations.

-And being very jealous, yeah.

-And being very jealous,

so I want you to go on one of our long-haul trips.

Have you ever been to Thailand before?

KATIE GASPS

No.

You want somebody in the business that's got a sparkle.

Laura...

And Katie's got a sparkle.

-I'm coming to Thailand with you.

-Yay!

LAUGHTER AND CHEERING

-It's going to be great!

-Oh, my God.

-Are you made up?

Yeah, I just need to go buy things now, OK?

In Barbados, Richard and Martyn have settled into their villa.

We came down and we had a lovely breakfast,

prepared by our own chef.

Yeah.

Richard's told no-one about his secret plan to propose,

not even his 78-year-old mum, Jackie.

-So now Martyn's having a swim.

-Oh, yeah.

-Can you see?

Oh, yes.

Is that the staff bustling about?

There's people there, yeah, everywhere.

There's more people here than there are guests.

The couple's villa comes with access to the facilities

of the Sandy Lane Hotel,

one of the most exclusive on the island.

-Hello, hi, how are you? Lovely to see you.

-Nice to see you.

The tour operator's rep in Barbados, Kerin, is organising the staff

to make sure Richard and Martyn have the perfect day on the beach.

INTERVIEWER: Are you quite an organised person?

I'm very organised. But you need to be, you have to be.

It takes a lot of coordination for the end result that you see.

I'm taking down the towels,

make sure that the beach bed is already out,

and the drinks must be in the fridge,

and they're having champagne,

so champagne glass and everything is all set up there, waiting for them.

Richard and Martyn have decided they don't want to be chauffered.

-So we go down this road here to the main road, turn left.

-Yeah.

Oh, we're here. "Country club and Sandy Lane." Yeah.

And you reckon that's, what, 25 minutes?

-We'll walk slowly.

-Walk slowly.

-Wear my hat.

-It'll be OK. It'll be quite nice to...

-Let's do that, it'll be nice.

-Explore round here.

Hats, some sunblock...

We're probably like mad Englishmen, aren't we?

Walking in the heat. Midday heat.

And I don't think...

I think they'd rather us go in a car, but we like walking.

And it's good to see the area, I think.

Where do you go on holiday?

I go to the UK.

I do, I love the UK, it's lovely.

Especially when it's raining, it's quite nice.

Get away from some of the sunshine.

So you've read the directions?

When I lived with my parents, we never went abroad at all.

Do you think this is right?

And then when I went to college, university...

Wow, these are amazing, these houses, aren't they?

..I started to explore.

'And I did the usual things, inter-railing,

'I did the round-the-world backpacking.'

-Excuse me, is this the right way to the beach?

-Yeah, straight down.

-Straight down, Sandy Lane, yeah?

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

'And clearly, I've moved up the luxury scale.'

I've seen it, at the bottom,

and I'm now having a taste of it, sort of, at the higher end.

-Um...

-What's it taste like?

It tastes good, yes.

I just like things to be neat and tidy, that's all.

Just neat and tidy and done properly, yes.

I don't want to go back to work now.

I want to stay here and have a swim.

INTERVIEWER: Is this where Simon Cowell lives?

I don't know.

I think he comes here for Christmas, doesn't he, quite often?

As soon as the X Factor's finished.

I've got three sisters,

so there were six of us went on holiday,

all piling into a great big caravan and a big car,

and we used to drive down to Cornwall.

Something always seemed to go wrong.

There always seemed to be a car overheating, or...

I remember the wheel came off the caravan once.

So, yeah, we don't go in a caravan any more.

HE CHUCKLES

So this is the private beach

for the people who own or stay in villas in the Sandy Lane estate.

Next door to us is the Sandy Lane Hotel.

So I think it gets lots of celebrities,

which is why there's all these paparazzi here.

What's really funny is everyone is now staring at US,

-thinking we're somebody famous!

-HE LAUGHS

Little do they know it's Martyn and Richard from Balham!

At the colonial retreat in Kerala, guests are attended to by 180 staff.

Hello. Hi.

And as a regular visitor, Peter knows most of them.

Ramesh is a very, very good gardener. Well done.

Well done.

I was very ambitious.

I ran a company that produced work-wear and corporate clothing.

INTERVIEWER: And where do your ambitions lie now?

Mine now?

Keep breathing.

I still miss work, but on the other hand,

the evening that I concluded my working life,

I walked around the factory, got back to my office,

and I said out loud, "And now for the rest of my life!"

This morning, Peter's decided to leave the resort.

One needs exercise, and there are things to see.

Well, this is the real world.

So you've got the resort, with all its niceties...

..and then this is the real part of India where people live.

Hello.

We're not the people to sit in the resort and twiddle our thumbs,

or to read all day.

We like to get out...

Hello!

'..and we do get to know people.'

It's making a bit of connection with people.

-HORN HONKS

-Wait.

He nearly got me.

Hi.

Hello. Would you like some sweets?

Those? Would you like some of those?

Yes? There we are.

They are from England.

Thank you!

'I had three children within five years,

'so they were all little at the same time.'

Ta-ta. Ta-ta!

Do you miss your kids not living with you now?

Yes, I do.

There is an empty space there for a while,

but we've been all able to share and enjoy

their upbringing of their children.

It's a great responsibility.

It's a great financial responsibility.

But it's not all about finance.

It's about love and care and so on.

In our case, I provide the finance and Christine provides,

-mainly, the love and care.

-Mmm.

Or providED, past tense.

For the past six years, Peter and Christine

have been visiting 15-year-old Ashna and her family.

-Are you going to give me a kiss?

-Yes!

-Thank you. Thank you. How are you?

-Fine.

We have a little gift.

It's hand cream, for your hands.

Thank you so much.

Do not fight with your mother over which colour.

No, no, no!

That comes from a very big shop in England.

-I'm going to show you the shop.

-Yeah.

It says M&S.

Here it is, and every city in England has one of those stores.

INTERVIEWER: What would you say to people who might say

it's slightly patronising to give presents to people?

No, I don't think it's that.

We don't take presents for them because they haven't possibly got

any hand creams, for example. But we know they haven't got an M&S.

In the Indian way, it's because the pleasure is for the giver.

So if you ask me what I get out of it,

I get the pleasure of being the giver.

-It's a nice drink.

-Very nice.

-Nice and cold.

-It's nice and cold.

-See you...

-Have a great time!

..in two weeks, yeah. Yeah, two weeks.

-Have a safe journey.

-All right.

-Enjoy.

Oh, you'll see it all on Facebook, Cerys.

Katie's first work trip is about to begin.

Bye, home. See you in a week.

She and Laura are leaving for Thailand.

Everything that we do, from start to finish,

it will just be a "wow" experience - she'll love it, she'll love it.

-Morning.

-Hi! You all right?

-Yeah!

-Oh, this is so exciting! We're going to Thailand!

-Yay!

This is awesome!

What sort of holidays would you go on?

We went down Cornwall and down south a lot when I was little,

so I think I've just kind of...

That's how I grown up with it, really.

I'm all about a three-star all-inclusive, every day.

That, or give me a caravan down in Cornwall.

Bye.

Give me a little, tiny, automatic car for a week. Sorted.

Hi, Laura!

Katie and Laura are flying business class.

Cheers, babe.

Cheers, Laura. Cheers!

The first leg of their Thailand tour

takes them to the tropical island of Koh Samui.

-Hello.

-Good afternoon, I'm Jeff, general manager. Nice to meet you.

-Hi. Lovely to meet you.

-Pleasure to have you with us.

For the next two nights, the girls are staying in a four-bedroom villa

that can cost at least £4,000 a night.

-Oh, my goodness.

-Wow!

I don't... I don't know how you'd describe this right now.

-This is amazing!

-This...

Now this is luxury.

-Gorgeous.

-This is...

Look at the size of the pool!

-Oh! Oh, my God.

-Wow.

-Wow.

-This is fab.

Let me introduce you. This is called Oak.

-Oak will be your butler throughout your stay.

-Hi.

So if you need anything, anything at all, whatever, you know,

from making up the room, making your breakfast, organise your meal,

you just need to let him know.

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much.

Where does the butler live, then?

All right, so the butler is actually staying underneath the living room,

so they will be on standby for you 24 hours, throughout your stay.

Did you know that you would have your own butler?

-No.

-What do you think about that?

It's insane. Right, I'm just going to pop that there.

Oh, thank you very much.

Oh, being spoilt here, aren't we?

This is my kitchen.

Is there anything strange

that people have asked you to cook for them?

The guest wanted to eat bat.

Batman.

Bat.

One guest wanted to eat bat?

Bat. Yes, bat. Batman. So...

..we can. Whatever they like, we can find for them.

What does bat taste like?

Chicken.

-Really?

-Chicken, chicken.

You eat chicken, it's better, believe me!

I've got a few clients, actually, that I think would really like this,

so now that I'm here, I can give them a call when I get home

and see if they're interested in this, because this is amazing.

-That's it now. Anything after this will be slumming it.

-SHE LAUGHS

Five-star. I can't get over it. This is huge.

It's absolutely huge. It's amazing.

So obviously this is the main bedroom.

Going to enjoy sleeping in that tonight.

So this is kind of like just all a huge bathroom here.

And then Jacuzzi...

..and then an outside shower.

You're now "Five-star Katie", aren't you?

I am five-star. I'm club. I'm five-star. I'm business.

I'm here. I've turned left. Officially. For everything in life.

At the villa in Barbados, preparing breakfast for Richard and Martyn

takes a staff of three.

They've been going on luxury holidays together

since they met 16 years ago in London.

Where did you two meet?

-So we were in the lonely hearts section...

-Lonely hearts club.

In the classified section at the back of Time Out.

And I've still got the Time Out magazine.

What year is this?

It's 1999. "Tall, athletic."

Don't read it out!

When Richard walked in, was it "bingo"?

Richard ticked a lot of the boxes, yes.

-A lot? You mean all.

-THEY LAUGH

Richard and Martyn try to visit four countries every year,

and have now holidayed in over 70 exotic destinations.

We've had a few cases actually when we've been away

and we've checked in and the receptionist has said,

"Now, the booking is just one bed. Have we got that right?"

I think we can help, you know, by just being not embarrassed

and normal and straightforward, and just get on with life, really.

A lot of it with my parents was unspoken.

We didn't talk about it.

Ironically, actually,

Richard has only met my parents about two weeks ago.

For the first time.

-MALE INTERVIEWER

-1: Why was that?

I think I invented problems in my head

and I thought, "Well, we'll just maintain the status quo."

They were nervous, I think.

What was really sweet was that my mother sent us a Christmas card

and it said, "Happy Christmas to both of you."

And Martyn's dad was lovely

because I said, "One thing you must not do is ever worry about Martyn",

cos I said, you know, "We have a great lifestyle,

"and we, you know..."

And he said, "That's really nice to hear.

"You look after him and he'll look after you."

Yes, we've moved to the next level. We've turned a corner.

On the work trip in Koh Samui,

Katie and Laura have requested a fried breakfast.

Oak, the butler, who lives below the villa, is also the chef.

This is your toast. We have whole wheat and white toast.

-Thank you.

-This is our family style. We set like this.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have a family?

Yes, I have a family. I have one son.

He's about five to six years old.

His name is Airport.

-For you.

-Aw, you've been working hard this morning? Thank you.

His name is Airport?

Yes, it's a strange name

because I met my wife at the airport.

This is your poached egg.

You keep in touch with your family on social media?

Yes, social media. Yes.

I try to tell my son, "Please understand me,

"I work for you, I work for our family."

Yes, they understand.

The work trip involves visiting nine hotels in seven days.

It'll be the longest Katie has been away from her boyfriend.

INTERVIEWER: What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Cabin crew.

When I ended up meeting my boyfriend and then it got proper official,

and then we bought a house,

I didn't want to be away for hours and days on end,

so I put my dream back for him.

It's all good.

Thank you very much for staying with us.

Thank you so much.

-Thank you. You've been so lovely.

-Thank you so much.

Do you think you'll marry him?

Oh, aye. I've been telling him I want him to propose for ages,

but he won't do it.

I said a Haribo ring will do, but he said he won't do that.

Please come back again. Please, please. Bye-bye.

Do you love him?

Oh, course. He's my babes.

In Kerala, Peter and Christine

have chosen their favourite spot to eat,

overlooking the freshwater lake.

That looks nice.

It's good.

When you pay a high amount,

definitely the expectation will go high.

We will try our best to keep that level.

Especially English guests,

they don't want any mosquitoes around,

so we try to eradicate all the pest side.

Second thing is the level of service and the quality of food.

English people are very easy to handle,

but they're very fussy on their tea.

The tea should be perfect.

INTERVIEWER: How long have you been married?

'We've been married for 54 years, yeah.'

Look at these jackfruit. They're massive things.

Cor, that's so heavy.

What's people's normal reaction when you tell them that?

They look at my wife and say,

"You don't look old enough to have been married that long",

and then they look at me and just nod.

-That's always looks like a Wild West carriage.

-Yeah.

Doesn't it? Nutmeg tree, without nutmegs.

'I was 19, she was 16.'

It sounds incredibly young now,

but it didn't feel like that at the time.

Here's the leaf picker-upper, keeping it all nice and neat.

It's a constant job. Very good.

'I was just fortunate that this very pretty girl actually fancied me.'

It's quite a pretty flower, actually.

-I thought that. Delicate.

-It's the sort of thing

my brother sells in his garden centre for perhaps £3 a time.

I mean, this must be half a million quid's worth here.

We were at a village hall,

and he was with another person, dancing,

but somehow I just thought, "Oh, he's rather nice."

Was it love at first sight for you?

It was, yes.

There was something about that man dancing with someone else

that made me feel I wanted him all for myself.

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand,

is one of the most popular stopovers for travellers visiting Asia.

Oh, thank you.

-Lovely to meet you. I'm Laura.

-So nice to meet you.

-Lovely to meet you. I'm Katie.

-Lovely to meet you.

Laura and Katie have come to inspect

one of the most exclusive hotels in the city.

-Wow!

-We've booked you in our grand deluxe suite category.

Thank you.

-I hope you like the view.

-It is gorgeous.

A top suite here can cost £3,000 a night.

Ooh! I love this. This is amazing, isn't it?

-It is.

-Right, we need to get ready.

You think, "Well, the money they're spending in some cases

"could be a deposit on a house, could be an actual house."

It's a lot of money that they're putting down on one trip.

Right, let's go.

So, it needs to be right,

and if they've got a list of things that has to happen, then, you know,

we need to make sure that it does.

So, this is our peninsula suite.

So, this is around 364 square metres in size.

It's a two-bedroom suite, basically. This is our topmost suite.

They will ask about, you know, an extra room for the nanny,

someone will want a gym in their room,

some will ask about bodyguards.

Rooms need to be private and on their own

for certain celebrities,

so there's a lot of things that can be quite important to clients

in the luxury market.

This area, you will see a dining area

and you also have a kitchenette, cos some of our guests

would actually prefer to have their own chefs.

We also provide butler service for all our theme suites.

When I first started, I had a gentleman call, going,

"I've made this booking and I'd like to hire a yacht."

I was like, "Right, OK, absolutely fine."

Dive in, lie on that.

And then I went back to him with a quote and he went,

"It's not expensive enough."

So, I went, "OK, so what would you like to spend?"

He went, "Well, I've got about £45,000 to spend",

and that blew my mind a bit at that point

cos I'm like, I save for two years to go on a grand holiday.

The hotel boasts four fine-dining restaurants,

with gourmet food from around the world.

When the client spends that kind of money,

they're expecting a certain kind of standard.

Here's our selection of seafood with some lobster.

We have tiger prawn.

We have three different kind of oysters,

-all from Australia, different areas.

-Lovely.

They tend to be chefs that will be from all over the world.

They'll be able to create masterpieces,

seven-course, gorgeous dinners. But it's not just that,

it's about tailoring it to their needs,

making sure it's right for them.

Can I get the chicken?

But I'm a really fussy eater, so can I get that with just

-like plain chicken and chips?

-With...?

With, like, chips. Like, potatoes?

-Plain chicken and plain chips?

-Yeah. Is that OK?

-Absolutely.

Oh, fabulous.

INTERVIEWER: Does anything faze you, Katie?

Erm...food does. I'm just really weird with food.

Thank you.

What is your favourite food?

Pizza, has to be. Pizza or cake, all the way.

You know, luxury is about making clients happy,

and if a hotel can look after them

and not make them feel uncomfortable,

then they've done their job right.

We're quite foodie, winey people.

A good dinner in the evening is quite important to us.

We don't dress up, but we wouldn't go in shorts and flip-flops.

We'd sort of put a shirt on, long trousers,

and look forward to dinner.

Hello.

You know, dinner is sort of the highlight of each day, really.

We're going to The Cliff restaurant, which is quite famous,

on the west coast,

and we've been quite lucky to get in on a Friday night.

And we haven't eaten all day. We've just had breakfast.

-We've deliberately not had lunch.

-Yeah, we've saved ourselves.

Looks very smart, doesn't it?

-Hello. How are you?

-I'm very well, thank you.

-Nice to see you.

-Welcome.

I love your decorations. They're amazing.

Well, I knew you were coming, so it was especially for you.

-How are you, sir?

-Fantastic.

The concierge team have managed to secure Richard and Martyn

one of the best tables in the restaurant.

-This is our nice, romantic corner, is it?

-Yes.

Now, who will be the wine connoisseur this evening?

That's him.

That's you, by popular request.

Can we have something sparkling, just to get going?

-As in the drink, or in water?

-Oh, no, as in the drink.

As in the drink, OK.

What would you like, some bubbly?

Yeah, that would be good.

I love these flames, actually, don't you? I think they're great.

INTERVIEWER: Love at first sight?

Yeah, probably.

-Can I just ask you, the mahi-mahi...?

-Yes.

Is that really dolphin?

No, it's not. It's actually a dolphin fish.

-I couldn't eat it if it was dolphin.

-Of course. We wouldn't serve it.

I don't think you're allowed to kill dolphins, are you?

I can remember it so vividly.

Walked into the bar and Martyn was sitting at the back of the bar.

I saw this pitcher with a bottle of wine and two glasses,

and I thought, "Oh, not only is he good-looking,

"he's also got a bit of style to him as well."

Oh, wow, here we go!

Wow! What have we got? The swordfish.

That looks amazing.

Wow, that looks good! Thank you.

-He was late, actually.

-I was late.

But we got on straightaway. We... That was a good evening.

-INTERVIEWER: Are you guys married?

-No.

Do you think you will get married?

-Maybe.

-Good question, isn't it?

Now that I've got the problem with my parents out of the way...

It makes life much easier, yeah.

Well, I've always said that we wouldn't get married

unless Martyn had told his parents.

But you've told your parents now.

I've told my parents now, yes.

You're not trying to force us into some kind of proposal, are you?

Next year is a leap year as well.

Oh, my God.

What does that mean, a leap year? It means that the woman can...

What does that mean in gay terms?

It doesn't mean anything, does it, in gay terms, no.

But then you see we're not sure who should ask who.

That's the challenge.

Tomorrow evening, Richard and Martyn will be leaving

for the island of Mustique.

It is 5:40 in the morning.

-INTERVIEWER:

-And what on earth are we doing up at this time?

-Yoga.

-On the roof.

THEY CHUCKLE

Wow! This is amazing.

Wow!

In Thailand, the hotel staff are ready to run any exercise class

their guests desire.

-This is a once in a lifetime. How cool is this?

-Yeah.

And inhale.

Exhale.

I get up at about 5:00 every morning,

go to the gym for an hour,

although it doesn't look like it - I'm not a size zero.

Do a workout and then head in to work,

and I'm ready for half-eight then.

Inhale.

-INTERVIEWER:

-You're very smiley for this time.

Are you always this smiley?

Of course. And Thailand is land of smile.

What if you don't want to smile? What if you're in a bad mood?

We have to understand that the guest would like to see our smile.

Do you feel like a new woman?

I'm getting there.

Oh, God.

What do you enjoy doing for fun, Katie?

Oh, my fun is chilling and doing nothing, literally.

I'm the most unexciting person you'll ever meet in your life.

At the weekend, I want to stay in bed until the afternoon,

have a brew, sit on the couch.

Might do a bit of gaming cos I like to play Xbox.

So, what do you want to do with your life?

Just want to enjoy it, really.

You never know what the day is going to bring.

You just take what comes at you and just roll with it, really.

I have bad days, but you just get over them, don't you?

You have a brew, have five minutes, and then carry on.

-INTERVIEWER:

-What's your philosophy on life?

You've got to make the most of it.

You've got to make the most of every day.

You've got to...

Well, you've got to enjoy yourself.

I was about 40 when I was diagnosed with cancer.

They said it was quite serious.

You know, doctors never say things are serious, do they?

So, you think, "Oh, my God, it must be serious."

Did you think you'd see 50?

Wasn't even sure I'd see 41 at the time.

You've got to contemplate this could be it, you know,

I could die.

And then I saw a fantastic consultant, who said,

"Well, the cancer has been removed,

"and you've got an 80% survival chance now",

and my job is to make that 80% go to 100%.

And once I realised, you know, there was a good chance that

I would get through it, it has made me think we need to enjoy ourselves,

be supportive of each other, and get the best out of life.

Do you think you do make the most of it?

I think I make a good fist of it, yeah.

Yeah, I try very hard to enjoy most days. Yeah.

They're going to come straightaway. Yeah.

Goodbye to our lovely stay.

Yeah. We've really enjoyed it. We should have come for longer.

-Save a bit for next time.

-Yeah.

As their stay is coming to an end,

Peter has organised a surprise for Christine.

They're going to spend their last few days taking a romantic cruise

aboard a traditional Keralan houseboat.

Whoa!

Look at this! Oh, isn't that lovely? Valentine's Day.

You've got two swans made of the bath towels.

And what are they doing on Valentine's Day?

They're either pecking one another to death, or they're kissing.

It is extremely a luxury experience for the guest to be on board

with three staff members - the captain

and engine driver on the back and the chef.

The chef is going to be like a butler,

so it's going to be like king and queen.

You're going to make me cry again, aren't you?

-INTERVIEWER:

-Is Peter romantic, Christine?

Very.

There's always a spark there.

You still got your spark?

-Yes.

-Absolutely.

-Definitely.

-Absolutely.

It's lovely.

-It may be chicken soup, but it's chicken soup with a difference.

-Mmm.

Richard and Martyn are off on

the second leg of their Caribbean holiday,

a short flight to the private island of Mustique.

A favourite with A-list Hollywood stars,

the retreat costs £2,000 a night.

Richard and Martyn will be staying for ten nights.

At Barbados Airport,

Kerin is on hand to give her clients a VIP escort through to departure.

You look browner than ever.

Oh, really? We've only been here two days.

You say all the right things.

Wow, look at the airport! It's packed.

With thousands of passengers travelling

before the Christmas break,

today is the busiest flying day of the year.

Richard and Martyn have spent an extra £1,500 to travel in comfort.

Mustique Airways. Here we are.

We chose to charter our private plane.

I suppose we wanted it to be quite special

and we didn't want to have other people on the plane.

-INTERVIEWER:

-It doesn't seem that busy.

It's not busy here, is it? It's busy over there.

It's nice and quiet in Mustique. That's what we're going for - quiet.

Tasha is going to take you down to the aircraft.

-Are we going now?

-Yes.

She'll come for you and see you right through.

Really? So, no queuing?

-You have a good Christmas.

-Bye.

-Bye.

-Are you saying goodbye here?

-I'm saying goodbye here.

One hour after Richard and Martyn's scheduled departure time,

their private plane has yet to arrive.

The flight can't be cleared to come out of Mustique

because of congestion here.

-INTERVIEWER:

-Too many planes?

Yeah. This wasn't supposed to happen this way, was it?

Most people go with an expectation that they're paying a good price,

they work hard, they want a perfect holiday,

and they're going to get one, and more often than not, they do.

Inevitably things go wrong. That is the nature of life.

That's what makes life colourful, and stressful.

SHE LAUGHS

So, we were at the gate.

We sort of thought we were going, and then they came up to us and said

that we have to go tomorrow morning.

Apparently it's just so busy here that the planes can't even land.

That's the problem.

Hotels in Barbados are usually fully booked at this time of year.

Despite that, Kerin is expected to find somewhere

for Martyn and Richard to spend the night.

Our clients expect to get what they want,

and they don't take no for an answer, and neither do we.

If a room isn't available, we make that room available

because we say, "Come on, I've got this really important VIP.

"They need this room."

I say "try" is a not word that the brain understands,

and neither is "no."

Where are you putting us?

-I don't know. Where's that?

-Is it good?

Is it a good hotel? OK.

OK.

OK. See you tomorrow.

If they have to find us another flight,

or they have to book us in another hotel

because we've missed a flight, we'd expect them to be good at that.

It is disappointing.

You're paying extra money for that safety net.

So, what I need from you is your full name.

Is it just one for the two of us?

-Just one room for the two of you, yes.

-OK.

I'm going to get the bed separated

-because they didn't tell me anything.

-Oh, we're OK.

-You're OK?

-We're happy with a nice, big bed.

-OK.

Thank you very much.

-I hope you enjoy your stay with us.

-Thanks a lot. Thank you.

Sea view.

-MALE INTERVIEWER:

-Where would you rather be, the villa or here?

-It's got a sea view here.

-What do you think?

-What do you think?

-I said I wasn't sure.

-HE LAUGHS

-You were lying.

I was being very diplomatic. We don't need a butler.

Who needs a butler?

Katie and Laura are at the end of their Thailand research trip.

Throughout their stay, they've been sending regular updates

back to Jen in the office.

Look at this. I feel like I'm with them.

Oh, she's done a good job. Marketing will be chuffed.

She looks like she's going to topple over.

It looks like they're having a ball.

MOBILE RINGS

Hello?

-'Hello, is that Laura?'

-It is.

How are you getting on? I'm just checking in.

'I've just been looking at the picture of you at the top of

'the Peninsula doing yoga at sunrise. How was it?'

Oh, it was amazing, wasn't it?

Katie, did you like the yoga, darling?

I tried my best at it.

I'm not the most flexible person ever, so...

THEY LAUGH

'And the most important question, of course, Katie,'

is how's the diet going? What are you eating?

'Are you eating chips with every meal?'

LAURA LAUGHS

Nearly every meal. I've been quite good, Jen.

I've been trying.

Katie tried some coconut chicken soup.

Yeah, that was amazing.

My goodness. You're being exotic, Katie.

You're a changed woman for life.

THEY LAUGH

'I'll definitely see you Monday, then, ladies.'

Safe travels. Bring a bit of Thailand

back to Chester for me, will you, please?

-Here she is.

-With the congestion cleared,

Richard and Martyn are finally on their way

to the exclusive island of Mustique.

-This is the time to fly. Are we flying today?

-Yes.

-Are you sure?

-I'm positive.

Our plane has arrived, so we're definitely getting to Mustique.

-Definitely going to Mustique.

-Yes!

Thank you very much.

Woo! Hi, how you doing?

Guests are only allowed to set foot on the private retreat

if they're booked into one of the island's boutique rooms.

-So, are you excited, Richard?

-Really excited.

From start to finish,

perfecting Richard and Martyn's dream holiday has taken 15 people.

Peter and Christine's latest five-star tour of India

is nearly over, but they're already planning their next.

We did say this time that perhaps India may be our last holiday,

but we arrived and within two days we were saying to each other,

"How could we possibly leave this behind and not come again?"

This is a very nice room,

where the Prince of Wales stopped three years ago.

-INTERVIEWER:

-Why did you think this time round

it might be your last time?

Well, I just think because we're both in our 70s now,

that 12 months is a long time,

and you don't quite know what's round the corner.

We've got to get back up yet.

-Down we go.

-That's the easy bit.

At 76, I don't really feel old.

It's only when I look in the bathroom mirror that I realise,

oh, yeah, I've got to that stage.

This man appears cleaning his teeth, look,

or he's having a shave.

Hi.

We've gone round the lap pretty well,

we're now in the home straight

and the finishing tape is not too far away.

Here's a lady knocking the living daylights out of her washing.

Do you ever think about the fact that you may not be around?

Yeah, I do think about that, and in one major respect,

and that is my wife.

Lady here is submerged in the water.

I know that she'll be OK financially,

but I know that she will be, to a degree, lost.

Old lady fishing for her supper now. She's caught something.

Oh, yeah, she's got a fish.

Tonight's supper. It's wriggling around.

It saves going down to the supermarket.

For me, it would be difficult, because he is my rock

and I would find it very hard to adjust life without him.

Life is finite, but of course, in saying it's finite,

none of us ever know when.

Uh!

-Don't do that.

-THEY CHUCKLE

-Look on the bed, Martyn.

-"Welcome."

Richard and Martyn eventually made it to paradise in Mustique.

This is heaven.

Are you going to be able to cope with this, Richard, for Christmas?

This is heaven.

And Richard finally popped the question.

-INTERVIEWER:

-What did you think when Richard proposed?

I was a bit thrown because although it wasn't a total shock,

I wasn't expecting it to happen on Christmas Day.

So, what sort of wedding are you going to have?

I would like something low-profile, discreet, not too much fuss.

-And I want something big and flash...

-And brash.

So, we've got to have a compromise.

And I'm not sure what that middle ground is, Richard, if I'm honest.

Do ITC do weddings?

Do you think we're always going to need luxury tour operators?

I'd like to think so.

Perfect. I'll speak to her this afternoon, Nathan,

hopefully with some good news and a booking.

We are a successful society and therefore people are always

going to want the best of what the world can offer.

Would that be something that you're interested in doing,

like, associating it and connecting it

with a private dining experience as well?

It will always rain in Britain.

Is it La Mamounia that you're interested in staying at?

The weather will always be bad...

Are they wanting Mahe, or a private island?

..therefore everybody is always going to want holidays.

I can see you're flying into Barbados,

so you'll be staying there for the two-week duration.

When I got home, I like lunged my suitcase in

and I just looked at my boyfriend, sat on the couch,

and I was like, "You should be carrying this."

Is it just basically a private airplane that you'd like

just to be able to use whenever you'd like throughout the two weeks,

do a bit of island-hopping?

I'm all right now, but the first week back it was a bit like,

"Oh, I'm thirsty. Oh, I'll have to stand up myself."