Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby — Season 4
Enjoy some of the most prestigious hotels on Earth without the eye-watering bill. Join Giles Coren and Monica Galetti as BBC Select takes you behind the scenes of destinations synonymous with luxury i
About this season
Enjoy some of the most prestigious hotels on Earth without the eye-watering bill. Join Giles Coren and Monica Galetti as BBC Select takes you behind the scenes of destinations synonymous with luxury in this travel documentary. There are sumptuous suites, exquisite cuisine and scenery that money can't buy. How do these unique places offer unforgettable experiences to their ultra-rich clientele?
Episodes (6)
1. Icelandic ION Adventure
Aired 30 November 2021 • 60 min
If lazily sipping cocktails in the sun is your idea of a dream vacation, then look away now. In this unique BBC Select travel documentary, Monica Galetti and Giles Coren visit Iceland's ION, an adventure hotel levitating out of a dormant volcano. Guests expect the icy experience of a lifetime, exploring lava flows and glaciers. But how do you keep guests safe when a volcano starts erupting?
2. Reid’s Palace, Madeira
Aired 7 December 2021 • 60 min
Desperate to sleep in the same spot as Winston Churchill? Join Monica Galetti and Giles Coren as this BBC Select travel documentary visits Madeira's Reid's Palace which first welcomed the world's glamorous elite 130 years ago. Contemporary cool, extreme luxury and astonishing attention to detail is coupled with stunning scenery. But why is Monica cleaning crabs out of a historic swimming pool?
3. Grand Park Rovinj, Croatia
Aired 14 December 2021 • 60 min
Get ready to experience luxury, glamor and contemporary chic. If you can find it. As Monica Galetti and Giles Coren learn in this unique travel documentary for BBC Select, Croatia's Grand Park is a design classic that blends into the incredible scenery that surrounds it. Art and high cuisine come with a Croatian edge. But will Monica be able to learn how to clean Europe’s biggest glass window?
4. Nimb Hotel, Copenhagen
Aired 28 December 2021 • 60 min
A Moroccan inspired grand hotel in the heart of Copenhagen? Why not! In this illuminating BBC Select travel documentary, Monica and Giles drop into the unique Nimb Hotel in historic Tivoli Gardens. Oozing luxury with a quirky twist, Giles rides one of the world’s oldest wooden rollercoasters, there's a trip to an avant-garde restaurant while Monica tries something altogether more horrific.
5. Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort
Aired 15 February 2022 • 60 min
The astonishing Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, deep in a Middle Eastern desert, conjures up many questions. How do you build a luxury hotel in such an inhospitable place? And why? In this envy-inducing travel documentary for BBC Select, Giles Coren and Monica Galetti investigate unmitigated splendor amongst the sand dunes and scorching heat. But how do the staff cope in this harsh environment?
6. The Lanesborough, London
Aired 22 February 2022 • 60 min
You're in for a treat. For the first time ever, you're invited behind the scenes at London's most expensive and exclusive hotel. In this unique travel documentary for BBC Select, Monica Galetti and Giles Coren visit the Lanesborough, near Hyde Park. The suites, costing up to $35,000 a night, are often rented for months at a time, and even the cheapest rooms come with a dedicated butler.