The Hotel Inspector visits The Pack O’ Cards

Say whatever you like about Alessandra Maria Luigia Anna Polizzi di Sorrentino – better known as Alex Polizzi – the woman knows her stuff when it comes to the hotel trade.

Her mum, Olga, is the daughter of none other than Charles Forte, the Italian-born Scottish hotelier who founded the business that would eventually become the Forte Group, while Alex’s uncle, Sir Rocco Forte, is the chairman of Rocco Forte Hotels.

So, it can’t have come as a surprise when she took on the management of the Hotel Endsleigh, near Tavistock in Devon, while last year her and Olga joined forces and open The Star in Alfriston, in East Sussex.

Alex also worked for Marco Pierre White, which is a CV in and of itself, but she’s best known for fronting this series, in which she dispenses her unrivalled wisdom about the hotel industry to struggling proprietors – whether they like it or not.

She took over the role in 2008 from original host Ruth Watson and has absolutely made it her own. Alex’s no-nonsense approach has seen her clash with more than one business owner, and she often has her hands full. In many an episode we see her brow furrow at dreadful decor, or dated menus, while she tries her hardest to help plucky, stubborn or just plain exhausted people turn their flagging hotels around.

Invariably she gets everyone facing in the right direction, on the same page and moving toward success, even if they are tiny steps to start with.

Alex is faced with quite the challenge in this edition, where she visits The Pack O’ Cards, an inn with rooms in Combe Martin on the north Devon coast owned and run by husband-and-wife team Chris and Debbie.

This quirky Grade II-listed monument to lady luck was created in 1690 after local member of the gentry George Ley won a game of cards.

When Chris and Debbie bought the place 26 years ago, they hoped to make their fortune and quickly move on, rising high on north Devon’s reputation as a tourist hotspot.

Unfortunately, this 17th-century beauty turned out to be a complete money pit and, with minimal winter trade, the couple have been left stuck in a cycle of feast and famine.

Now tired and desperate to put their feet up and retire, it’s time for Chris and Debbie to lay their cards on the table.

Alex discovers their food offering, decor and local reputation – the unholy trinity – need to come up trumps if the business stands any chance of turning a profit.

However, it seems as though Alex could have met her match in Chris when it comes to interior design – or will Chris take a gamble on her bold idea?

Maybe the couple have been too busy keeping their business afloat to catch the previous 17 series, so they might not know the miracles she’s worked before she got to them, but if the odds are in anyone’s favour of being able to reshuffle the Pack O’ Cards, they’ll be with Alex.