The Hotel

It’s the start of the summer at the struggling 90 bed Cavendish Hotel in Torquay. The roof is leaking and finances are at rock bottom, so desperate for a new lease of life owners Vicky and Andy have agreed to take on hapless hotelier Mark Jenkins for the season as their new entertainments manager. What could possibly go wrong? For one thing there’s Mike, the Cavendish’s feisty head barman who doesn’t take kindly to finding Mark Jenkins on his patch. “He messed up three of his hotels, if he messes this hotel up, I’ll mess him up”. Cue comedy and fireworks as Mark kicks off by bragging that he can fill Mike’s deserted bar in his first 24 hours on the job – “the impossible is my speciality” – and goes hell for leather to come good on his boast. There’s also the fact that Mark has been his own boss since the age of 19 so, as his old pal Alison points out, trying to manage him is going to be a nightmare. For Mark’s employers and workmates at the Cavendish it’s looking like a long, hot, make or break summer. This week we also meet divorced barrister Tim who tries his eccentric best to make up for lost time on a last minute break with grown up son Freddie. Freddie starts the weekend by asking “How am I related to you?”, so will the Cavendish’s unique brand of hospitality – including a leak and a broken loo - put a dampener on their bonding?

Hapless hotelier turned entertainments manager Mark Jenkins is a week into his new job and determined to prove he can put Torquay’s struggling Cavendish Hotel back on the map. However as Mark warns “The Cavendish is almost an anagram of vanished and that doesn’t bode well.” He kicks off his grand scheme by secretly announcing to the press that in 48 hours’ time the hotel will make a record-breaking attempt to bake Britain’s biggest scone. News is out before Mark has asked permission from his bosses or told highly strung head chef Gerry that he will be the man responsible for cooking the giant cake. As Mark admits: “I would hate to be my manager. I’m a nightmare. I don’t listen to anyone”. With less than two days to go, owner Vicky is convinced Mark’s monster scone is a recipe for disaster as baking, even on a small scale, is not Gerry’s forte. “We’re supposed to be the boss and we don’t know anything that’s going on… What if it sinks all in the middle, what if it’s rock ‘ard?” Unconcerned by such practical considerations, Mark’s sights are set on creating “a taste of history” as he gathers a crowd of several hundred ready to witness Gerry’s greatest ever culinary test. The harried chef is convinced Mark’s scone will make him famous: “I’ll be in the record books for strangling him”. But when Mark finally return from a local baker’s industrial sized oven with something closely resembling “Britain’s biggest flapjack”, is his biggest idea yet doomed to failure? As far as the guests are concerned love is in the air this week. Mark’s help is called on by reformed rock ‘n’ roller Damien as he secretly plots to stage a romantic re-proposal at the Cavendish. Damien popped the question to wife Jamie first time round in a car park but will things go better this time? Has Damien even remembered the all-important ring? We also meet 15 year old ladies’ man Wes, on holiday albeit reluctantly with his single dad Nick and twin brother Keane. But while his dad has put his love life on hold and concentrated on bringing up his kids, Wes is soon polishing up his chat up lines and it looks like a teenage romance could be brewing at the hotel.

Hapless hotelier turned entertainments manager Mark Jenkins continues to create chaos at the Cavendish. This week he’s determined to take on the biggest obstacle to his mission to bring much needed holiday sparkle to the hotel – cantankerous Bar Manager Mike. “Everybody knows that Mike and I haven’t had the best of starts”. Faced with a deserted hotel where “the till is still”, Mark discovers all the guests have gone to the theatre and vows that next week he’ll put on some spectacular entertainment so that residents stay put. Hearing a coachload is heading down from Scotland at the weekend, Mark plumps for a special Scottish themed night “It’ll be a tribute to their homeland… doing Scottish night in the week is perfect because by Wednesday the Scottish people are probably going to be homesick”. To ensure the event’s success Mark will have to win Mike over but how realistic is his plan to transform the grumpy barman into a willing apprentice? “I do see sort of potential… I don’t think he’s not a complete failure” says Mark. But will Mark’s idea of Scottish culture - battered Mars Bars, a stag’s head and plenty of booze – find any favour with his Scottish guests who’ve driven over 400 miles to sample the delights of Devon? They certainly ring alarm bells with his bosses, who take their maverick new employee to task over his spending habits… “I am getting really frustrated because the family don’t want to spend a penny… They’re even tighter than Scottish people” comments Mark. This week we also meet the Varol family who have come to the Cavendish from just down the road in Torquay to enjoy some quality time together. Mum Jane hopes it’ll be a chance for her daughter Yasemin, who’s not had a chance to spend much quality time with her brother since his girlfriend recently moved in. But she finds out there’s an old flame from her past working at the hotel when she bumps into Bar Man Mike… Meanwhile Ian and Lisa, who have been married for 16 years but don’t share a bed, are hoping the Cavendish can put the spark back into their marriage.

It’s the half way point for hapless hotelier turned entertainments manager Mark Jenkins and his five week mission to bring holiday sparkle to Torquay’s struggling Cavendish Hotel. Whilst he’s already transformed the entertainment on offer with his special events like Scottish Night, Mark’s convinced there’s something else crying out for an upgrade: customer service. “If they don’t get customer service right in this hotel they won’t have a hotel” he says. Thanks to the power of Tripadvisor, “these days the review is king, guests can go on the internet and moan from Torquay to Turkey”. And moan about the Cavendish they do but Mark’s convinced the only way to improve the hotel’s rating is with 5 star service, starting in the hotel dining room. Tackling the restaurant however means taking on acerbic headwaiter Paul who, after 30 years experience in the business has developed his own unique brand of hospitality. “I’ve already made one child cry this morning, that’s not bad going” he boasts. “Why would I change? That’s my personality!” So what hope has Mark got to alter Paul’s ways in just a few short weeks? It’s going to be an equally tall order impressing guest Ryan who’s brought girlfriend Kelly back to Torquay to celebrate their engagement. Kelly used to work in customer service and admits “Whenever I check in I have actually got my professional hat on and am looking for certain things”. Within 24 hours the couple have noted and photographed broken tiles, dead flies, stained carpets, insisted on a new mattress after sleeping in a deckchair for the night - and taken umbrage at headwaiter Paul’s banter. Perhaps Mark stands more chance with the Ryan family also staying this week. Trying out his new strategy to cut complaints by “checking out the guests before they check in”, Mark googles the Ryan’s home address and noting their impressive detached four bedroom house decides a free upgrade is in order. Once Mark finds out dad Matt is a three times Olympic gold medalist, he goes all out because “if we can impress them we can impress anyone” but what chance has he got to convince owners and staff they must change in order to turn the hotel into a winner?

It’s high season at the Cavendish in Torquay but entertainments manager Mark Jenkins has hit a low. “I’m not making enough money and I’m running out of time.” To get his mission here back on track, Mark’s big idea is Carnage at the Cavendish, a wrestling spectacular he hopes could turn the hotel into a centre for the sport. But Mark’s decided that one event at a time isn’t enough “So far I’ve been juggling with one ball and no one’s impressed by that. I need to get more balls in the air” says Mark. His new plan is to get bar manager Mike to start running events of his own. Mike quietly gets on with plans for a Seventies Night… Disaster soon strikes when Mark finds out his wrestling event can’t go ahead as the hotel doesn’t have a license for professional fighting. With a crew of wrestlers on their way expecting to fight, “this time you really are going to get your head kicked in” warns Alison. It looks like Carnage at the Cavendish is doomed but could Mike’s more humble event save Mark’s bacon? Will Seventies Night be enough to transform his fortunes? Checking into the Cavendish this week is birthday girl Jade from Wiltshire, here to celebrate her 21st. After she reveals to Mark she’s mad about penguins, he goes all out to create a unique holiday memory for her. Mark gets all the staff involved in creating a special surprise, but they have no idea how much this birthday means to her. “I’ve only just turned 21 and I’ve been so much already” says Jade. Five years ago Jade suffered liver failure and received a transplant. “It makes me appreciate my life a whole lot more”.

With time running out for Mark Jenkins in his role as entertainments manager at the Cavendish, this, he decides, is the right moment to give the hotel a new lease of life by swapping their usual old aged clientele for a younger class of guest. “The Cavendish is like an old peoples’ home…what we need is families. It could become Torquay’s number one family destination”. But there’s one obstacle to Mark’s plans to make the hotel more child friendly. As he freely admits, “I don’t really like children”. Nonetheless plans for a Family Fun Day give Mark the perfect opportunity to tackle another problem he believes is holding back this family business, namely eldest son and general manager James. James, Mark believes, is not an effective manager: “He can’t make a decision, he has to check with everyone else first”. So Mark gives James the test of running Family Fun Day in the hope he can learn to be more decisive and stand up to his meddling mum and boss Vicky. However with the news headlines suddenly dominated by the impending Hurricane Bertha that is threatening to wipe out the outdoor fun day, Mark now has more than hotel management on his mind. Vicky decides they must cancel in the face of the looming storm, but can James find the strength to overrule her and prove he finally has what it takes to run the hotel? When the day of the big event arrives however there is another dark cloud on the horizon as Mark receives shocking news about his own mum Stella... Checking into the Cavendish this week for a nostalgic holiday are fun loving brother and sister Andy and Julie, here to recapture memories of times spent together in Torquay as kids. Also booked in, especially for Family Fun Day, is Daragh and expectant Mum Kelly Phelan on a last special holiday with five year old daughter Eleanor before the new baby arrives.

In this moving final programme, it’s the end of the summer season and time for entertainments manager Mark Jenkins to say goodbye to the Cavendish Hotel. But this week Mark has more than hotel business on his mind as his mum Stella is recovering in hospital following a stroke. Despite the worries about his mum, Mark is nonetheless determined, in his words, “to go out with a bang”. He plans to secure his legacy at the hotel and restore his reputation in Torquay by hosting a lavish Black tie gala celebrating local family businesses like the Cavendish. But it’s years since the hotel has put on a function on this scale and at first the owners are reluctant to give the go ahead. With his characteristic can-do attitude however, Mark soon changes Vicky’s mind. As she admits, “All summer Mark has had this knack of making me do things I do not want to do. He talks and talks until in the end you give in… give me strength! ”. Hotel staff now spring into action preparing food and covers for 70 guests, but when the day of gala arrives, Mark shares a guilty secret with ex-colleague Alison. Tickets sales are in trouble and with just hours to go he’s only sold 23 seats. Can he and Alison turn things around in time? And just as importantly has Mark achieved enough this summer to ensure the struggling hotel now has a future?Meanwhile behind the scenes, staff are preparing a secret event of their own: an emotional send-off for Mark whose madcap ways they have come to appreciate and will certainly miss when he's gone. This week checking into the hotel is single mum Alice with her chatty four year old, Noah. She calls him her “surprise” as she only discovered she was pregnant at around eight months, a week before Noah was born. Also staying this week are the Olivers from Cornwall and dad Jeff reveals why he swapped a highflying career for a quieter life in the country.