Unpacked: Pamela Goodman visits the Polizzis' latest venture, The Star at Alfriston

Paul Massey

Let’s be honest, there aren’t many hotel refurbishments which have an accompanying TV series but then there aren’t many hoteliers of such pedigree as mother and daughter team Olga and Alex Polizzi who could command our attention for three hour-long episodes.

My Hotel Nightmare charts the painful rebirth of medieval coaching inn, The Star, in the East Sussex village of Alfriston, following the hotel’s progress from ‘pig’s ear to silk purse,’ as Alex so neatly puts it. The attendant anxieties of undertaking such a project are all there – endless requirements to up the budget (£4 million by the end), rigorous planning regulations to be met, unexpected discoveries made that throw everything out of kilter. Tears, laughter, anguish, joy, fear, frustration – the series is an emotional two-year rollercoaster, its deepest trough being Covid which, as we all know, walloped the hospitality industry almost like no other.

Fast forward to 2022, however, and the hotel has been open for a year, having settled comfortably into its new guise as one of the most desirable places to stay in south-east England. Charles Forte, Olga’s father and Alex’s grandfather and founder of the original Forte empire, must surely be smiling down on a hotel that he once owned. The wheel has turned full circle.

Anyone familiar with Tresanton in Cornwall or The Endsleigh in Devon (the two other hotels which make up The Polizzi Collection) will know what to expect at The Star (and likewise if you have watched the TV programme). If you haven’t, the first thing to be aware of is that the medieval section of the hotel, the bit that started out as a hostelry run by the monks of nearby Battle Abbey, is relatively small, fronting Alfriston’s High Street with its attractive black and white timber frame and ancient oriel windows. There is now only one bedroom in this part, the Heritage Suite, consequently considered the top pick; the remaining 29 are found in two adjoining, 20^th century blocks at the back, many overlooking the car park.

Despair not. The second thing to be aware of is that no matter what you overlook, car park or otherwise, your room will be beautifully appointed. Olga Polizzi is a genius at this, a past master of detail, always considering ‘the fly not the elephant’ in her decorative schemes. So while there’s no escaping the fact that the blocks aren’t enormously beautiful from the outside (though they are infinitely more attractive since Olga and Alex got their hands on them), on the inside the rooms are calm, pretty and exquisitely comfortable.