Q. How long have you been a hotel and restaurant inspector for the AA?

Seven years. I answered a magazine advert, thinking I'd stay for a couple of months. I'm still here!

Q. Do you work under cover?

Yes, I'm a "mystery guest". I make a reservation in my own name, and then arrive usually in the afternoon. I don't want anyone to know who I am, or that I'm coming. It has to be a test of the hotel as it functions normally.

Q. Is it exciting? Do you feel like a spy?

Initially, yes, it's a bit like that, but that feeling wears off. Sometimes, though, I still smile to myself in secret. Especially if I hear a proprietor waxing loud and lyrical to his guests about his utterly wonderful hotel, and unbeknown to him, I'm sitting in the corner thinking, "You wait till I speak to you tomorrow morning!"

Q. Do you examine everything in the hotel?

We have a list of things to check, and obviously a large five-star hotel has more elements to check than a small guesthouse. But I report on the hospitality and service when I check in, whether I'm escorted to the room, how my baggage was handled, I'll go down for afternoon tea, look round the business centre and other facilities, send myself a message to see if it reaches me, and so on.

It's quite an intense job, because I have to keep detailed reports on everything, so that when I meet the proprietor the next day, I can deliver concrete evidence of the good and bad points. So when I ring room service, I'm sitting with a pen poised to note down how many times the phone rang, whether the chap used my name, and so on. You have to be focused and very thorough to be able to give a blow-by-blow account of your stay.

Q. When do you reveal yourself?

After I've checked out, the next morning. I hand over my business card to the receptionist, and ask if the General Manager or Proprietor is free. Sometimes the receptionists turn quite pale when they see the card. Then you sit with the General Manager and go through all the points, and let them know whether they've maintained their rating, improved it, or slipped. The AA star system gives a percentage within that rating, so a 70% three-Star hotel will be better than a 59% three-Star. Obviously what I do affects their ratings.

Q. Do you ever have any difficult situations?

Yes, some proprietors can get very angry. We have a rule, now, that we always put our bags in the car before we reveal ourselves, because one of our inspectors was thrown out of a hotel by the Manager, who kept her luggage! But most Managers and Proprietors are great, and are obviously extremely keen to know every detail of how their hotel is running.

Q. Do you enjoy the job?

Yes, very much. I like the interaction with hotel proprietors, and the satisfaction of knowing that the job you do is well received by the public, too. We have two masters, really. I also get to see the whole of the British Isles, and it's very beautiful. It's staggering to find areas that are still very unspoilt.

Q. What don't you like?

Being in a different bed three or four nights a week, with a duvet one night, blankets the next, a cold room one night, and a hot room the next - you can get a surprising amount of bad nights' sleep! And also the traffic on our roads - in parts, it's horrendous.

Q. Are there any problems with the job?

Yes, the weight you put on! I've gained two stone since I started - I have to have a cooked breakfast at each hotel, as well as full lunch and dinner, and sometimes afternoon tea and room service, too. And I can't opt for low calories alternatives, either. Sounds like heaven, I know, but that's why I was up at 6.00 this morning, hobbling down the road to try to work some of it off!

Q. Does being away up to four nights a week affect your family life?

Obviously it does, but we don't have children - none of the women who work for the AA as inspectors have children. It's not hard to work out why that is! Fortunately my partner likes his own space, too, and we're both quite independent, so it works out well. We always have plenty to talk about when we see each other.

Q. Have you ever been bribed?

I'm not sure, but at one hotel I did find a pile of jewellery in one of the drawers - the same jewellery the hotel was selling in the lobby. I still don't know if it was a bribe, or if they were trying to catch me out, but when I took it back to the proprietor she went very red.

Q. What's the worst thing you've found in a hotel room?

Most unpleasant - an abandoned condom under the bed in the honeymoon suite. Now, if ever I'm offered an upgrade to honeymoon suites, I politely decline!!

Q. And finally, I have to ask… do you ever bounce on the beds?

Well, I used to. But since I've added a few pounds, I tend to press them gently in the middle!

The AA has 8,000 business properties, hotels, guesthouse accommodation and Bed & Breakfast premises in its Star and Diamond rating schemes. All these premises are inspected annually. For a chance to win your own free copy of the brand new "Business Hotel Guide" from the AA, which features over 2,000 business hotels and 700 golf courses, simply click here