We spot Luke outside cleaning all of the windows so we give him a quick wave and a thumbs up before we continue cleaning the dining area and living room. We check that the remote controls are in the right place and every cushion is plumped and placed neatly on the sofa.

We give everywhere a thorough vacuum and check that all the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are working ready for your stay. We set up the tea and coffee neatly and ensure that you have a carton of milk (ready for that much needed cup of tea upon arrival). As this lodge is a VIP lodge, we put your gift of wine in the fridge so that’s it’s chilled and ready, just in case you don’t fancy that cup of tea.

After our floors are all mopped and smelling fresh we let our manager, Mel, know that we have completed the lodge and it’s over to the Quality Controller for the final seal of approval.

As we walk to the next lodge we speak to one of the boys from the maintenance team who is working hard to clean and fill all of the hot tubs, whilst the other one is sweeping and cleaning all of the decking and another is working hard to make sure the grass is neat and tidy. At this time of year, our wild flower patches are looking beautiful and there are always lots of dragonflies or butterflies enjoying them.

We usually complete five lodges every time we come to work and we always make sure that each lodge is as perfect as the last. The next lodge needs a new knife set and so we call one of the porters, Chris, who duly brings one to us and stops to ask us how our day is going. We complete the same routine in the next one but I call on our professional oven cleaner this time to give the oven a fresh clean. We like them to look brand new ready for your arrival.  As we’re completing this next lodge, Ann (another member of the team) comes in with her bags of dishwasher salt and rinse aid, she does this regularly to every single lodge.

At lunchtime, we gather in our teams to eat. We take turns to have a break so that we always have teams on the park the whole day. We chat about work and have a quick chat with Tom, another porter, about the linen that needs to be collected from the lodges we completed. Off he goes in his favourite buggy (we all have our favourite ones!) to collect used linen to sort. We’re usually briefed by the supervisor, Debbie,  about how the day is going and what we need to do, it’s all hands on deck and if another team needs a helping hand we always join forces- we’re a team after all!

After lunch, we complete more lodges. Some guests who are staying for a week stop to chat to me about the wildlife they’ve seen during their stay. They’ve seen bats and pheasants. I tell them if they are really lucky, they might spot Snowy the white pheasant. The horses in the field on the way up were a big hit with the little girl and the adults comment on the herd of deer that they spotted whilst drinking their early morning coffee on the balcony. Today, they are off for a walk through the trees and down into the village for a spot of lunch at the local pub. Later on, I spot the same little girl on her bike with her dad running behind her. Their laughter makes my day. I love that the guests love it here. Meanwhile, the porters are busy collecting linen and bringing us items we have requested (that might be a clean oven tray or it might be a brand new bottle of washing up liquid). At 3:30pm we have all finished cleaning the lodges and on my way back up to the hangar, I always glance back at the park and I’m satisfied that we have prepared your lodge with care and attention- I’m proud of that and I’m proud of the work we do as a team. On my way home, I then think about my own cup of tea or that bottle of wine I left chilling in my own fridge. ‘Happy Holidays’.

Written by Kadie