Shanks for the crazy weekend
BBC1, 8pm MASSIVE, noisy and inexplicable, The Shankly Hotel in Liverpool is a full-on party place like you’ve never seen before.
“If you’re not shocked, then I’ve failed,” says the owner Lawrence.
Guests turn up in their hordes to celebrate weddings, hen dos, baby showers and birthdays, in Instagrammable themed multi-bedded suites named everything from “OMG” to “WTF”.
But spare a thought for the housekeeping team, which has just hours to transform post-party chaos into pristine rooms.
Housekeeper Nicola said: “The state the rooms are left in is shocking. There are spillages everywhere, broken glasses – the women guests are really messy.”
Meanwhile, the maintenance team is in high demand with complaints from guests creeping up as they fix leaky ceilings and peeling paint.
Down in the lobby, staff from guest services crack open the bubbly to distract waiting visitors. Lawrence and his wife Katie actually live in the hotel with their twins, about to turn four.
She rallies the events team to brainstorm their ambitious circus-themed birthday party for 150 guests. There’s mention of stilts, a ferris wheel and a “child-friendly human claw machine”.
Then, taking a different tone, cameras follow bride-to-be Kaylea and groom Mark, both 33, who have been together 14 years and have two children.
They’re a last-minute booking, and staff must whip up the perfect wedding day for them – the event having been brought forward because Kaylea has terminal cancer.
“I don’t take anything for granted any more,” said Mark.
There are rose petals, a violinist, an impressive bridal suite and plenty of tears.