Merlot, Michelin stars and murder... just another day in the life of a hotel inspector

The life of a hotel inspector may seem like an easy one. After all, who would complain about staying in some of the best places in the world, eating the finest food and drinking vintage wines for a living?

We caught up with Nina who helped to co-found (with her husband and a business partner) the Hotel du Vin Group, owns and runs boutique Hotel TerraVina in the New Forest National Park, and who holds the record for being the youngest ever hotel inspector.

Here she shares her secrets. Warning, contains actual murder. Seriously.

Nina, you became an inspector at 21. Tell us how it all started.
Chewton Glen was my first job after graduating from Westminster College Hotel School, and I arrived there the day after my graduation. I read a job advert in the back of the Caterer, the industry’s bible. I spied an advert for the position of an AA Hotel and Restaurant Inspector, imagining staying in top 5 star hotels every night, eating in Michelin star rated restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner... The fact I'd only just turned twenty-one with only a year’s experience didn’t even cross my mind. My passion and drive took over.

So I applied, full of bravado. After many tests, interviews and short, one-off working projects to test my knowledge and abilities, I was overjoyed and shocked to eventually be offered the position to become a Hotel and Restaurant Inspector for the AA, at 21 years old - the youngest ever and still remaining so to this day.

That's incredible. So what was expected of you? After all, you were a bit of a newbie!
During my time at the AA – four and half years - I was tasked with setting up a new classification scheme which is still used today (albeit it will have been tweaked and refined over the years). I then went on to recruit a number of very prestigious properties and collections into the scheme. It remains a very popular rating with hoteliers as it gives better flexibility and is perceived as being a luxury brand classification.

What makes a hotel special?
Personally, I think a hotel should be run with passion, commitment and an understanding for the needs of your guests. We have always run our own hotels as we would want to be looked after as a guest in a hotel. We try to offer super friendly service, in a relaxed but professional way, with tasty food, terrific wines and a team of people working with us who are passionate about what they do. Fantastically comfy beds and superb showers are also a must. Many guests say that coming to our current hotel is like a home from home and they are drawn back regularly- for us that is the biggest compliment they can give us.

So. Now for the juicy goss. Tell us about your worst ever experience in a hotel.
I once did a visit in a tourist hotspot in the middle of winter. The hotel was very quiet as it was out of season. It wasn’t part of the AA scheme but wanted to be. I stayed overnight, had a terrible meal, an awful room which was cold, with a leaking roof, uncomfortable bed, no hot water and the hotel was dirty. There wasn’t one redeeming feature to it or the owner. When I declared the next morning I was a visiting inspector and explained the reasons why the hotel would never be accepted into the scheme unless he made considerable effort to completely renovate and change his attitude to guests, he took great offence and kept me locked in the hotel for hours explaining over and over the points to him, which he did not agree with at all. No one had a mobile back then, and no one knew where I was! Eventually he let me escape, but it was an unpleasant experience and a complete waste of time.

Sadly he was stabbed to death a week later by one of his guests!

That's definitely memorable! So which hotel left a lasting impression with you (in a good way - with no locked doors or homicides)?
Chewton Glen was where I learnt so much from the owners, Martin and Brigitte Skan, regarding how to look after guests and your staff and never compromise on high standards. Also, it was where I met my husband, Gerard, and business partner Robin Hutson. All those years later, when we opened TerraVina, it was a great moment when Mr Skan told us how proud he was of us both.

The Gordelton Mill at Sway in Hampshire is a favourite, run by Liz Cottingham. She's created a very pretty, cosy hotel, full of quirkiness, with a fantastic riverside location. I used to inspect the Mill when it was under different ownership and Liz has bought a charm to it that was missing before. She works hard and it is obvious that she is passionate about the place, and that makes it feel special.

Obviously your experience must be invaluable to running your own boutique hotel. What have you used to make your place special?
I take all the good bits that made an impression on me from my inspecting days and we run the place as we would like to be looked after as guests. It's that simple! We won't stand still though, we want to constantly improve the experience both from the service side and in terms of what we offer in bedroom comfort. It’s a never ending story which is what makes being a hotelier so exciting and rewarding (most of the time).

You mention reviews. When you started word-of-mouth was a great way to let friends and family know where to stay and where to avoid. Now, it's all online. What's your opinion of review sites like TripAdvisor?
Personally I see them as a necessary evil which I would prefer to have nothing to do with. However, like them or loathe them, they're an increasingly important factor in the decision of where to stay when customers are considering their hotel choice.

I've blogged about this before. Constructive comments are welcomed, but guests often don’t understand other industries, so it can actually have a very adverse effect on the business, staff morale and team spirit.

So finally, what did you love most about your job?
Everything! Its diversity, the different people I encountered, the challenges I faced. I worked with a fantastic team and was supported by so many great people who were there to guide and help when needed. I loved being ale to offer advice to hoteliers, it was so rewarding when they actioned my ideas and saw the benefits to their business. I was very fortunate to visit some fantastic places, to eat in some magnificent restaurants and to meet so many wonderful people in the business along the way.