A PUBLICAN celebrated 25 years of owning The Farmers Boy Inn surrounded by friends and family by watching the airing of Channel 5’s Hotel Inspector episode in which the pub is featured.

However, Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi wasn’t impressed with the pub on her arrival at Longhope on the Herefordshire / Gloucestershire border and saw its ‘dodgy décor’ and pictures of pies above the guest beds.

But she later praised the owner Phil Kiernan for implementing the changes she had suggested and making it an inviting space.

Phil, despite winning numerous awards for the pub’s pies, the 54-year-old father of three triplet children, contacted the programme to help him turn the pub’s accommodation, a courtyard of eight bedrooms, into a viable business as the occupancy rate had plummeted to 42 per cent.

On arrival, Alex immediately spotted that there was no signage to indicate the pub even had accommodation and observed: “He is a missing trick,” and in the guest bedrooms, she remarked: “I’m a broadminded woman, but sleeping under a picture of a pie maybe a step to far for me,” and said that it would have to go.

“I get it, Phil likes pies. However, I dislike the ‘piedaway’ sheds in the garden, it’s a relic from the covid pandemic and needs to go,” and she wasn’t keen on the over-the-top AI produced menu either.

She told Phil: “You need to cut the craic and concentrate on attracting far more customers to his accommodation.”

Alex told him that the rooms need to work hard for him and demonstrated this by visiting the Ye Old Ferrie Inn at Symonds Yat to show him the stylish decor in the guest rooms.

She suggested he should take inspiration from the area in which the pub is located- the Forest of Dean and decorate it accordingly.

Phil set to and transformed the pub garden by removing the piedaways and installing new unbranded parasols on the tables, after which Phil observed: “It looks cared for now.”

Alex transformed four guest rooms at £60 each, with simple artwork and soft furnishings along with a room name change away of anything to do with pies.

Plans were then put forward to have an open day - just 24 hours later. People attending the event were asked to view the four rooms that had been given a makeover and the rooms that remained just as they were.

Alex said: “I want to remind people that the Farmers Boy is still firmly in business after 25 years and let’s hope people approve of the revamped rooms.”

The rooms that underwent a make over got the approval of the public.

Phil told Alex: “That word ‘atmosphere’ is what you’ve done in helping bring up the quality at the Farmers Boy.”

Alex concluded by saying: “This is a little gem of a business, and it does Phil proud. The prospect of having new business relationships, courtesy of the open day, his worries should be a thing of the past. He has a pub to be proud of.”