Four in a Bed sees us heading towards Judgment Day for this week’s Four in a Bed series on Channel 4 – but who will take the crown?
Tonight’s episode saw contestants swap the sunny skies of Southport, where they visited The Stamford guest house yesterday, for the grey and rainy skies of Yorkshire as they called in to stay at the Fauconberg Arms.
After enjoying a fun afternoon at Southport Footgolf in blazing sunshine on Wednesday’s episode, guests looked soaked as they visited a local alpaca farm.
They all looked impressed with their first sight of the Fauconberg Arms, a traditional country pub in the wide open spaces of the North Yorkshire Moors which feisty mum and daughter Annelies and Claudia took over three years ago. There are eight rooms available, costing up to £145 a night.
Carl and best friend Sharon, who run the Driftwood Luxury Lodges glamping site in Derbyshire, struck gold when they landed the best room, with a glorious four poster bed. They were very impressed with their stay, giving great scores.
Simon and Joe, from the Grantham Arms in Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire, were not quite as lucky, bagging a smaller room where the bed was too small for Simon.
Sarah and Ricky, from the stylish The Stamford guest house in Southport, found themselves in a creaky bed with a noisy boiler keeping them awake.
All the guests were excited to see whether their breakfasts lived up to their high expectations, after Annelies revealed in an earlier episode that she is a trained chef.
Annelies said: “You can’t have a really good room and an average breakfast.”
It was a change from yesterday’s episode, where The Stamford in Southport sparked debate over their approach of using an automated system to send details to their guests’ phones to allow them a relaxed, stress-free check-in. Instead of providing breakfast on-site, guests at The Stamford are instead offered the chance to explore one of the many superb local restaurants and cafes on their doorstep, being situated right at the centre of the seaside resort.
The Stamford owner Sarah Blaney said in tonight’s episode: “We don’t host in the way that they do. But we are really happy with the things we are good at, which are the things we focus on.”
They have certainly made a good impression locally, after finishing runners-up in last year’s Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards in the Best B&B / Guest House category.
Tonight was the last chance to view one of the guests houses before Friday night’s reckoning, with the contestants keen to find out more about The Fauconberg hosts Annelies and Claudia, and how they came to take over the pub.
Annelies told them: “I have always been in this game. It is what I have done for years.
“I came into the pub and it looked bleak. We have brought it round from being a dive.”
Mum and daughter impressed at breakfast, with Annelies in chef’s whites in the kitchen and Claudia acting as front of house.
Sharon said: “It’s good quality produce, well cooked, and delivered with a smile.”
Hosting and Breakfast received the best marks with some 10s, although the views on Cleanliness, Facilities and Sleep were mid-range as Sarah and Ricky highlighted the boiler noise, the stains on the bedding and the creaky bed.
Sarah said: “We have highlighted a few things, but they are all easy fixes.”
Claudia said: “I am ready for a fight tomorrow! I am ready to find out who the real Rick and Sarah are.”
The final results will be revealed on Friday…
- Four in a Bed, featuring The Stamford guest house in Southport, will be screened on Channel 4 over five evenings from 22 March 2021, from 5pm.
● For more details about The Stamford, on Bath Street in Southport town centre, please email: stamford@sleepenjoy.co.uk or call: 01704627061 or visit: thestamfordsouthport.com
