Latest news with #AlexPolizzi
Daily Record
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Inside The Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi's life from triple miscarriages to famous mum
Alex Polizzi has been a familiar face on our screens for years, thanks to her role as The Hotel Inspector. But what do we know about the woman behind the expert hotelier exterior? Alex Polizzi has been a television mainstay for years thanks to her starring role on The Hotel Inspector. The hospitality expert first graced the Channel 5 programme back in 2008, stepping into the shoes of Ruth Watson. Ever since, she's won over countless viewers with her no-nonsense approach. Never one to mince her words when critiquing the venues she visits, Alex has built a reputation for her brutally honest assessments. Beyond her television career though, Alex enjoys wedded bliss with her seldom-spotted baker spouse and raises two youngsters. But what do we know about the person beneath the professional hotelier facade? Alex Polizzi's celebrated family background Alex Polizzi entered the world in Poplar, London on August 28, 1971. It appears the hospitality trade flows through the TV personality's veins, given her distinguished family heritage in the sector, reports the Mirror. Her grandfather was Scottish hotel magnate Lord Forte, who established the Forte Group empire, encompassing well-known names like Travelodge. Meanwhile, Alex's mother Olga Polizzi works as an interior designer and previously served as a Westminster City Council representative. Tragically, Alex's father, Count Alessandro Polizzi, passed away when Alex was merely nine years of age. "It made my mum quite fearful for us, so she was a pretty strict mother and tried to keep us very close to her," Alex previously revealed regarding her father's passing. Alex told Best magazine: "I became determined to be fearless and had to really fight to be allowed to go off backpacking to southeast Asia for the first time at 18. It was an argument that went on for months." Alex's relationship with her seldom-seen husband Alex is smitten with her husband Marcus Miller, a baker by profession. The couple have been an item for several years and exchanged vows in 2007, after waiting 12 years to tie the knot. According to Alex, there was a rather candid reason behind the delay. In a chat with The Sun, she admitted: "I still wanted to f*** around, if I'm honest! Who wants to get married at 22? I'm a much better wife than I was 10 years ago. "Partly, you really realise that this is the person you're with for the rest of your life, so there's no point p****** them off." Alex on why she believes she's a 'terrible mum' Alex and Marcus are the proud parents of two children, daughter Olga, 17, and Rocco, 12. In a past interview, Alex confessed that she considers herself a "terrible mum". She told The Sun: "I'm a terrible mum in that I find it really f****** boring. My lovely, adorable, gorgeous boy says to me: 'Mummy, come and play with me,' and I say: 'You know I don't play.' I'll take him for a cycle ride, I'll have a game of football with him – I'm quite continued: "I'll construct a huge camp for them, but don't make me play in it. I'm better at being a hotel inspector than I am a mother. Alex's sorrow following miscarriages In 2013, Alex openly discussed her heartbreak following multiple television personality disclosed that after the birth of her first child, Olga, she endured three pregnancy losses, including one that occurred just past the five-month mark." It is just so shocking to find out that one's body lets them down in this way," she told MailOnline at the continued: "Once you've had a child, it seems unusual that one couldn't have another one. You're not expecting it, and it comes as such a wallop."
Daily Mirror
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Inside The Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi's life from being a 'terrible mum' to famous parents
The Hotel Inspector's Alex Polizzi is a firm favourite with viewers but who exactly is the woman behind the award-winning hotelier? Alex Polizzi has been a staple on screens for years thanks to her role on The Hotel Inspector. The hotelier first appeared on the Channel 5 series back in 2008, taking over from Ruth Watson. Since then, she's become a firm favourite with viewers. Not afraid to speak her mind, no holds barred, about the establishments she visits, Alex is renowned for pulling her punches. Away from the TV shows though, Alex is happily married to her rarely-seen baker husband and is a mum to two children. But who exactly is the woman behind the expert hotelier exterior? Alex Polizzi's famous parents Alex Polizzi was born in Poplar, London on August 28, 1971. And it turns out hospitality runs in the TV star's blood, as she comes from a well-known family in the industry. Her grandfather was the Scottish hotelier Lord Forte, who founded the Forte Group, known for including brands such as Travelodge. Meanwhile, Alex's mum Olga Polizzi is an interior designer and was a former councillor for Westminster City Council. Sadly, Alex's father, Count Alessandro Polizzi, died when Alex was just nine years old. 'It made my mum quite fearful for us, so she was a pretty strict mother and tried to keep us very close to her,' Alex said previously about her father's death. Alex added to Best magazine: 'I became determined to be fearless and had to really fight to be allowed to go off backpacking to southeast Asia for the first time at 18. It was an argument that went on for months.' Alex's marriage to rarely-seen husband Alex is loved-up with husband Marcus Miller, who is a baker. The pair have been together for several years and tied the knot back in 2007, after 12 years of waiting to get married. And according to Alex, there was a rather blunt reason she wanted to wait. Speaking to The Sun, she confessed; 'I still wanted to f*** around, if I'm honest! Who wants to get married at 22? I'm a much better wife than I was 10 years ago. 'Partly, you really realise that this is the person you're with for the rest of your life, so there's no point p****** them off.' Alex on why she thinks she's a 'terrible mum' Alex and Marcus are proud parents to two children, daughter Olga, 17, and Rocco, 12. And in a previous interview, Alex admitted that she is a 'terrible mum'. She told The Sun: 'I'm a terrible mum in that I find it really f****** boring. My lovely, adorable, gorgeous boy says to me: 'Mummy, come and play with me,' and I say: 'You know I don't play.' I'll take him for a cycle ride, I'll have a game of football with him – I'm quite physical. Alex added: 'I'll construct a huge camp for them, but don't make me play in it. I'm better at being a hotel inspector than I am a mother.' Alex's heartache after miscarriages In 2013, Alex candidly spoke about her heartache after suffering several miscarriages. The TV star revealed that after welcoming her first child, Olga, she had three miscarriages, including one that came just over five months into her pregnancy. 'It is just so shocking to find out that one's body lets them down in this way,' she told MailOnline at the time. Alex went on: 'Once you've had a child, it seems unusual that one couldn't have another one. You're not expecting it, and it comes as such a wallop.'
Daily Mirror
06-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi reveals one 'grubby' city she'll 'never return to'
For years Alex Polizzi has been helping to turn around the fortunes of struggling hotels, but she has recently revealed how there is one place that she will never return to The Hotel Inspector star Alex Polizzi has revealed she will never return to Hong Kong after finding the city "overcrowded, dirty and polluted". Since 2008, Alex has appeared on the Channel 5 show where she tried to revive the fortunes of some of Britain's ailing hotels to prevent them from closing down. During an interview with the Times she revealed that one negative experience during a trip abroad means she will never return to the destination. Recalling her trip to Asia in the 1990s, she said: "One place I'd never go back to is Hong Kong, where I trained at the Mandarin Oriental for three years in my twenties. I found the region overcrowded, dirty and polluted." Despite her damning take, Alex conceded that the destination would have been better suited to the more wealthy, adding: "It's a fun place to visit if you're really rich, but not if you're not." With a population of 7.5 million fitting into just 430 square miles, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the world, trailing just Macau, Monaco and Singapore. After originally starting a wholesale bakery business with her then boyfriend in the late 90s, she made the decision to pursue a career in hotel management. Starting out at her mother Olga Polizzi's Hotel Endsleigh in Milton Abbot, Devon, it was in 2021 that the mother and daughter would join forces and open The Star in Alfriston, in East Sussex. However, Alex is possibly best-known for her broadcasting career and more specifically hosting The Hotel Inspector on Channel 5, taking over from Ruth Watson in 2008. With her stock continuing to rise during her time on the show, she has also been seen on various other shows including BBC's Alex Polizzi: The Fixer, Alex Polizzi: Chefs on Trial as well as Alex Polizzi's Secret Italy and Alex Polizzi: My Hotel Nightmare on Channel 5. Alex is also the niece of Sir Rocco Forte, one of, if not the most notorious name in the industry. Starting his hotel empire with his sister Olga Polizzi, in 1996, Sir Rocco owns and operates an impressive 14 luxury hotels across Europe. The company currently has two locations in the UK, Brown's Hotel, London and The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. The Hotel Inspector is set to return to our screens tomorrow evening (Thursday, August 7) at 8pm on Channel 5.
Times
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Alex Polizzi: ‘The place I'd never go back to? Hong Kong'
Alex Polizzi, 53, is a hotelier, businesswoman and TV personality best known since 2008 as the presenter of The Hotel Inspector on Channel 5. In the show she visits struggling British hotels to try to turn their fortunes around by giving advice and suggestions to their owners or managers, often undertaking renovation projects on their behalf. Her uncle Sir Rocco Forte and her mother Olga Polizzi co-founded the Rocco Forte Hotels group. Polizzi owns the Polizzi Collection of three UK hotels. She lives in London with her two children, Olga, 17, and Rocco, 12. I travel all over Britain for The Hotel Inspector, and I always feel I've seen it all. On a trip to the Scottish Borders, just before the pandemic, one young couple proved otherwise. They had a pub with rooms that had been donated by a parent, but they had absolutely no interest in it. The husband droned on about hand-churning butter while the place fell apart. I stayed the night and agreed to meet his wife downstairs at 9am with our crew of eight. At 10.30am she finally arrived, dressed in a kangaroo onesie. I was really cross — it had taken us six hours to get there and she couldn't even be bothered to get out of bed. I loved growing up around hotels and always took it for granted. A hotel always stands out for me if it has good service. A not-particularly-beautiful hotel becomes somewhere special if the staff are amazing. I love working in my own hotels, and people are amazed when they see me. They say, 'Why are you working?' But I like clearing and cleaning tables, sorting things out. There's the odd unfortunate moment, though. In my East Sussex hotel, the Star at Alfriston, a lady complained recently because the coat she'd hung up had disappeared — it turned out another guest had worn it in the garden because she was cold. • 18 of the best hotels in Venice The last time I stayed at a five-star hotel that wasn't one of my uncle's was the Ritz in Paris in 2019. I felt it was snobby — we weren't quite their target clientele, and it was full of extremely rich, soignée ladies with expensive shopping bags, while I was there with my daughter and we were in trainers. My favourite hotel, for a luxurious weekend, is the Aman Venice overlooking the Grand Canal. It's extraordinarily expensive but with a wonderful sitting room, bar and high frescoed ceilings. For a countryside retreat, it has to be Le Mas de Peint in the Camargue. I also love the hotel L'Arlatan in Arles, Provence, where there are so many brilliant food markets. One place I'd never go back to is Hong Kong, where I trained at the Mandarin Oriental for three years in my twenties. I found the region overcrowded, dirty and polluted — it's a fun place to visit if you're really rich, but not if you're not. The hotel was wonderful, though, and the training was dedicated and professional. I think they had three times as many staff as guests and wages were very low. My mother had to send me money every month so I could work there. • Revealed: 100 Best Places to Stay in the UK for 2025 I grew up in Bayswater in west London. My mother was widowed when I was nine, and we always had the same family holidays after that: winters skiing in France at her friend's chalet, and summers in the Algarve. My grandparents stayed in their hotel, the Dona Filipa, and rented a villa nearby for 13 grandchildren; I was the eldest. We had a rigid schedule: breakfast at 8am, lunch at 1pm and right on time for dinner in the hotel. My grandfather played golf all day with my uncle while we swam, and he let me drive the golf buggy if I didn't chat too much. Once, aged ten, I drove it into a bunker and they had to tow it out. In later years my sister and I would sneak out of our bedroom window to a local nightclub with a gang of teenagers that went every year. My first trip as a grown-up was backpacking from Thailand to Malaysia with my friend Felicia when I was 18. Felicia had her passport stolen and we had no phones, but at that age you feel invulnerable. We stayed in hostels with no showers and were incredibly grubby, so it was a real highlight when Mum paid for us to have two nights at Bangkok's Mandarin Oriental. They looked us up and down when we arrived. We didn't leave for a day, and we had room service and shower after shower. Reality returned in Malaysia when we arrived at our hostel and an enormous live rat fell through the ceiling. I'm a much more anxious person now than I was then and my children don't enjoy being with me so much. I loved holidays when they were little and wanted to play with me on the beach, in places like Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean. I recently visited New York with my daughter and had to find a hotel where I could afford two rooms. Only my son is young enough not to mind sharing a room with me!The Hotel Inspector airs on Thursdays at 8pm on Channel 5 In our weekly My Hols interview, famous faces from the worlds of film, sport, politics, and more share their travel stories from childhood to the present day. Read more My Hols interviews here
Scottish Sun
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
I'm TV's hotel inspector – here are eight red flags you've booked a bad room from poached eggs test to hot tub
The Hotel Inspector star Alex Polizzi reveals the subtle clues your hotel room is not up to scratch, including why you should be cautious when booking a 'boutique' hotel ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT I'm TV's hotel inspector – here are eight red flags you've booked a bad room from poached eggs test to hot tub Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FROM badly-cooked eggs to peeling stickers on the window, sharp-tongued hotelier Alex Polizzi says there are plenty of red flags to watch out for when booking your next stay. With more than two decades in the game and her own successful hotel chain, the 53-year-old star knows exactly what makes a stay memorable, and what turns it into a nightmare. 8 The Hotel Inspector star Alex Polizzi reveals the subtle clues that scream that your hotel room is secretly not up to scratch Right now, she admits, the industry is going through a difficult period, and it's hitting the guest experience directly. 'It's miserable at the moment,' she says. 'The challenges facing hoteliers are enormous. I wake up every day and wonder why I'm still doing it. 'But there are small things they can do to make a big difference. Many people go into this industry with no experience. 'They will not survive without taking their heads out of the sand and taking a look around them at what works and what doesn't.' Here Alex — whose new series of The Hotel Inspector returns to our screens this week — reveals her top red flags, the subtle clues that scream that your hotel room is secretly not up to scratch. 1. IT'S A 'BOUTIQUE' HOTEL 8 Stay away from fancy descriptions and staying at a 'boutique' hotel doesn't mean you'll get a better bedroom Credit: Getty THIS word is bandied around so much now and has become completely meaningless. Hoteliers use words like 'sumptuous' and 'luxury' in a bid to lure in customers. But most customers know you aren't getting luxury for a few quid. Ignore fancy descriptions. Instead look at the photos and the facilities on offer. Watch out for the type of place where every surface is covered with fake cacti and there are bits and bobs everywhere. It's untidy and potentially unhygienic. Clear, clean surfaces are best. 2. LANDLORD IS LAZY YOU need energy and enthusiasm to run a hotel. If the landlord looks slovenly and won't show you to your room, it's a red flag. One hotel landlord in Dartmoor from this series was so lazy. Some people think, once they've got their own business, they can lie about on the sofa all day. Actually you are now chief cook and bottle washer as well. The day never ends. If they won't show you to your room, what else are they not doing? The Hotel Inspector's Alex Polizzi reveals the struggle she's had with a hotel owner over a restaurant interior 3. BAD EGG 8 If the hotel kitchen can't cook a decent poached egg, best to eat somewhere else Credit: Getty THE true test of a hotel kitchen is the poached egg. So many hotel chefs can't cook decent ones. I always order them as the ultimate test of what is going on behind closed doors. If they can't do a decent job of this, I wouldn't expect much from the food on offer and would find somewhere else to eat. 4. THEY HAVE A HOT TUB 8 Every bad hotel has a hot hub, which are a breeding ground for germs Credit: Getty THERE'S a huge trend for hot tubs right now. Every crappy hotel I go to has one and hopes it will make them a profit. They don't. And hoteliers either spend all day keeping them clean, or they are dirty. I am not someone who would get into a hot tub. They are a breeding ground for germs — repulsive things. Incidentally, beware places that advertise that they have a spa, when what they actually have is an eight-person hot tub. 5. COFFEE OUT OF ORDER 8 If your room features a broken coffee machine, it's likely there's more stuff inside the hotel that won't be fit for purpose Credit: Getty THE first thing that greeted me at The Railway Rambler's Rest in Dartmoor was a broken coffee machine. If it doesn't work, why not just throw it out? If that's out of order, it's likely there's a ton of other stuff inside the hotel that won't be fit for purpose. It gives a bad first impression. 6. CIGS OUTSIDE FRONT DOOR 8 Hotels with cigarette butts outside the front door shows your hotel isn't clean Credit: Alamy FIRST impressions count. Dirty entrance halls and dirty windows with peeling stickers on them. Fag butts outside the front door. If I arrive and see this stuff, I panic and think: 'Here we go again'. Socks under the bed are also a red flag, as you'll wonder when was the last time the place was hoovered. We need cheap hotels, but why can't they be cheap AND clean? 7. TOWEL ON THE BED 8 A hotel with towels on the bed shows poor thought and design Credit: Getty WHO started the trend of towels on the bed? It's not a good idea. You need one in the bathroom. It's no good having a shower and then having to walk dripping wet through to the bedroom to pick up your towel. It shows poor thought and design. You never see a towel on the bed at a five-star hotel. It's only acceptable in Disneyland, where the staff make the towels into fabulous animal shapes for the children. That's fun. 8. LOO LABEL LUNACY 8 Hotels which say your loo has been sanitised should make you worried about the hygiene in the rest of the bedroom Credit: Getty MANY cheap hotels have a cover over the loo to tell you it has been sanitised. I should hope so! You don't need to tell me. I take it for granted that it has been cleaned. If they have to tell me, I'd immediately start worrying about hygiene in the rest of the bedroom. It's the same with making the pointy bit at the end of the loo roll. I don't want someone touching my loo paper, especially the end I'm going to use. The latest series of The Hotel Inspector begins tomorrow on Channel 5 at 8pm. Episodes will be available to stream on My5.
