Channel 5 Hotel Inspector TV programme to be shown on July 31st @ 9 pm

Welsh Living on the film set of the Hotel Inspector

Being invited to appear on The Hotel Inspector
as Interior Design experts was a fantastic
privilege and opportunity to raise Welsh
Living’s profile. We were introduced to the
film crew and host Alex Polizzi and spent the
evening being filmed for the show. We were
also invited alongside Josephine and Graham
owners of Exquisite Days a wedding,
catering and event planner.

Alex Polizzi and her array of film crew invited
Welsh Living magazine to the grand unveiling
of the West Usk Lighthouse in St Brides,
Newport. The Lighthouse overlooks both
the Usk and the Severn Estuaries and the
Bristol Channel. Owners Frank and Danielle
Sheahan, bought the semi-derelict property
in 1987 and restored the lantern room
in 1997 with a grant from the Wales Tourist
Board and CADW. The lighthouse is a grade
11 listed building and is over 180 years old.
As it is exposed to the elements, the restoration
work was never quite complete.

Alex the new host to the series has a wealth
of Hotel industry knowledge as she is the
proprietor of the Hotel Endsleigh near Tavistock,
in Devon, she is the daughter of hotel
designer Olga Polizzi and niece of hotelier Sir
Rocco Forte. She trained at the Mandarin Oriental
in Hong Kong, worked at Rocco Forte
hotels in Cardiff, Rome and St Petersburg,
and assisted at her mother’s hotel, Tresanton
in Cornwall, she is the perfect candidate to
cast her expert eye over the featured hotels.
With her practical advice and interior design
knowledge in the hotel industry, Alex helped
bring the Lighthouse up to scratch and
showed Frank and Danielle the light.

Her passion and warmth shined through and
acts as the perfect candidate to rejuvenate
not only the Hotel Inspector brand but the
properties featured. It was an honour for
Welsh Living magazine to be invited to the
unveiling and learn about the transition from
chintzy clutter to an elegant New England
feel.

The rooms that Alex targeted were the entrance
to the Lighthouse, as this provides an
immediate impact and first impression. Alex
embodied the idea that less is more, and let
some of the original Lighthouse pieces stand
out, including elegant blue prints and photos
of the Lighthouse over a period of time and
transition. Alex felt that it was important
not to infringe on Frank’s unique and quirky
personality but helped him tame some of
the pieces that littered the lighthouse. She
wanted the Lighthouse to have a personality
of it’s own without being overpowered with
quirky memorabilia. Now there are some
humorous pieces including a life size Dalek,
signed by John Pertweel hidden behind the
stairway to heaven and a telephone box
where you check in.

The bedroom has taken on a New England
feel with crisp white and navy blue linen that
is evocative of the Buenois Aires Belle Maison
Polo collection, which will be featured
in this edition of Welsh Living. A nautical
theme is featured without it being overpowered
or becoming a cliche. It’s elegant, clean
and above all a relaxing haven.

The piece de resistance and the highlight of
the filming experience was in the Lantern
room. We were invited to sit up in the lantern
room with a glass of champagne looking
out at the panoramic views and admiring
Alex’s design ideas. The space was opened
out and a relaxing seating area with padding
nautical blue and white striped seats that
surrounded one side of the panelled room.
A perspex material was placed in the core of
the room so that you could see all the way
down through the centre of the Lighthouse,
of which the dog found very intriguing.

The whole experience was overwhelming
but relaxing at the same time, everyone was
enchanted by the atmosphere in the room
and we were transfixed on the views from
an industrial view to beautiful green scenery
and watching the tide roll in. It would be
an amazing location to watch the sunrise,
sunset, enjoy the mystery of a full moon
reflecting on the waters surface and to be
centre stage in an electrical storm.

www.westusklighthouse.co.uk
Feature in Spring 08 Welsh Living 21