Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby — Season 2

In this Christmas special, Giles and Monica travel to Kulm Hotel, St Moritz. This Swiss Alpine hotel was the birthplace of winter tourism more than 150 years ago. The Kulm's owner, Johannes Badrutt, made a bet with summer guests that if they returned in the winter and didn't enjoy themselves he would pay for their stay. The guests stayed for the season - and a new industry of winter leisure and sports was born. The current managers of the Kulm (one of whom was born there!) try to embrace the hotel's history whilst finding new ways to attract younger generations. Giles launches into the traditional grand hotel's life by being fitted up for a bellboy's uniform to work alongside veteran head concierge Silvio. Monica helps joint MD Jenny transform her office into a private dining room for the evening.

Giles Coren and Monica Galetti fly to the other side of the world to work in one of the world's most luxurious eco resorts on the small island of Tetiaroa in French Polynesia, not too far from Monica's birthplace - Samoa. Here, surrounded by a beautiful coral reef and an abundance of marine life, they both work alongside the staff of the exclusive Brando Resort to serve 5-star luxury to guests paying up to an eye-watering ú11,000 per a night. The hotel was the brainchild of Hollywood star Marlon Brando, who wanted to preserve Polynesian culture and marine life - and Giles meets Tumi, Brando's granddaughter, who strives to deliver his vision. Infused with Brando's environmental ethos, the resort is now one of the favourite hideaway destinations for the rich and famous - from Pippa Middleton to Leonardo di Caprio and Barack Obama.

In the second episode, Giles and Monica travel to the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar in Oman. It is the highest five-star hotel in the Middle East and a resort seeking to blend local tradition with modern tastes. Built to resemble an ancient Omani fort, and situated 2,000 metres above sea level on the rim of a dramatic canyon, the hotel has recently made the most of its location by constructing a jaw-dropping via ferrata and zip-wire rope course along the cliff edge. Led by the hotel's mountain guru Maher, Giles and Monica undertake a test-run of the stunning adventure course before it opens to guests, facing 30-metre drops and Giles's prolific fear of heights.

Monica Galetti and Giles Coren head to the foothills of the Swiss Alps to experience a very different type of travel - health and wellness tourism. This luxury hotel houses not only multiple restaurants, spas and golf courses but also Olympic-standard sports facilities - and a high-spec clinic boasting 80 medical staff, who offer guests everything from sleep therapy to dietary advice and surgery. Grand Resort Bad Ragaz lies in the shadow of an ancient gorge, the thermal waters of which have lured visitors for centuries.

Monica Galetti and Giles Coren hop across to Ireland to scale the imposing and ancient ramparts of Ashford Castle. Set in 350 acres, it was founded 800 years ago by the Anglo-Norman De Burgo family, and much later became the family home of the Guinness family. With the help of hotel historian, Fintan, Giles discovers that the castle has had a rollercoaster journey through the centuries, sporadically reaching moments of real jeopardy, only to be saved by a turn of events or new owners. As recently as 2011, the hotel went into receivership but was bought in the nick of time and, after undergoing a ú50 million restoration, has the ambition to be the best hotel in the world.

Giles Coren and Monica Galetti travel to South Africa - where they experience a land of contrasts through working in two very different hotels. The Silo is an industrial-chic, luxury art-themed hotel in the heart of Cape Town. It sits in the former elevator shaft of a 90-year-old, 187-foot grain silo (once dubbed the tallest building in sub-Saharan Africa) and on top of the new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa - the African equivalent of the Tate Modern - within the same re-purposed historic building. The redesign of the silo building was led by British star designer Thomas Heatherwick, who created 96 stunning windows which contain over 5,300 individual panes of glass overall and cost ú50,000 each to construct.

In this insightful and entertaining programme, Monica Galetti and Giles Coren travel to South America to work in Hacienda Hotel Vira Vira - a unique hotel near Pucon, the adventure capital of Chile and gateway to the Andes and the country's Lake District. Nestled within a 23-hectare native park along the shores of Liucura River, the hotel overlooks an active volcano which regularly spews ash and lava.