Fawlty Towers Motel all nude, Florida motel turns into all nude resort, A Cocoa Beach, Fla., motel is looking to raise profits by allowing guests to go "clothing-optional." The owner of the Fawlty Towers Motel reportedly made the decision after years of bad business and increasing competition from larger hotel chains. Nude guests, however, will be allowed only inside the motel and could face criminal charges if they go outdoors.Back in the mid-1970s, in Torquay, an England seaside town in the county of Devon, visitors to the area could stay overnight at a charming hotel known as Fawlty Towers. It was owned and operated by Basil Fawlty and his wife, Sybil. Any guest looking for a place to sleep would likely be content. But someone hoping for rest and relaxation might be bothered by the scornful Basil, whose thinly-veiled condescension was only slightly more conspicuous than his animosity for anyone who spoke or happened to be standing in the same room during one of his seemingly endless rants.Fawlty Towers was a UK show that ran for two six-episode series, the first in 1975 and the second in 1979. It was created by Monty Python alum John Cleese, who also starred as the neurotic hotel proprietor, and Cleese’s then-wife, Connie Booth, who appeared on the series as Polly, the hotel’s maid who handled multiple tasks (sometimes working behind the desk, in the restaurant as a waitress, etc.). Prunella Scales played Basil’s domineering spouse, Sybil, and Andrew Sachs portrayed Manuel, the porter and waiter from Barcelona whose English was significantly limited.The comedy in Fawlty Towers comes from all sides: the husband/wife bickering, Polly helping Basil hide something from Sybil, Basil’s frequent misinterpretations of guests’ intentions or identities. But the highlight in a ceaselessly entertaining show is the interactions between Basil and Manuel. Evidently, Basil, when hiring Manuel, informed Sybil that he understood Spanish. This was clearly a fabrication, as he knows only a few words, and the simplest command for Manuel results in the two men futilely speaking back and forth. One of the best scenes, from the premiere episode, involves Basil asking Manuel for the wine list. Eventually, Basil resorts to pointing to the desired item on a table behind Manuel and – when the Barcelonan still doesn’t comprehend – picking up the wine list and handing it to Manuel so that he can give it back.

The show likewise does a marvelous job of relating all the comedy to the hotel itself. Basil deals with builders working on the hotel, gets word of a surprise visit from hotel inspectors, and is constantly troubled with orders in the restaurant and the bar. The guests, too, provide much humor. Another amusing sequence, also from the first episode, is a guest signing in and asking for a single room, before quickly changing it to a double because he’s “feeling lucky.” Basil, for his part, is conservative, going out of his way to please a visiting lord and refusing to allow a non-married couple to rent a double room – not even offering two adjacent singles.One of the show’s best episodes is “The Germans”, the fifth episode of Series 1. It’s noteworthy in many ways, one being that it’s the only episode that doesn’t open with an exterior of the hotel (and its sign altered in some fashion). It begins at a hospital, where Basil is visiting Sybil, who will be undergoing surgery for an ingrown toenail. Basil heads back to Fawlty Towers, where he is anticipating the arrival of German guests. Though he boasts of being able to finally run the hotel properly (sans his unruly wife is the insinuation), he cannot even handle a fire drill. After reminding as many people as he’s able of the impending fire drill, Basil inadvertently triggers the burglar alarm, causing guests to head for the door. He stops them and insists that the burglar alarm sounds distinctly different from the fire bell, which is “a semitone higher.” Then he hits the fire bell but won’t let anyone leave, as he’s merely demonstrating the difference between the sounds. Once that’s settled, he announces that the fire drill will commence in 30 seconds and is visibly annoyed when everyone stands in the lobby and waits (“I don’t know why we bother; we should let you all burn!”). Not surprisingly, when an actual fire starts in the kitchen, Basil believes that an agitated Manuel is overreacting.

“The Germans” shows that Basil cannot honestly function any better without Sybil. In fact, he’s far worse, it seems. And she’s still controlling, with a copious amount of phone calls from the hospital bed! After Basil suffers a concussion and is hospitalized, he heads back to the hotel, against the doctor’s wishes. The result is an even more reckless and unrestrained Basil, who manages to offend the German guests at every turn. To Polly, he warns her, a little too loudly, in his now immensely popular quote: “Don’t mention the war!”Though Fawlty Towers only ran for two series, it’s become common for British TV shows to only run for two or three series, regardless of popularity. Both The Office and Extras, created by Rick Gervais and Stephen Merchant, ran for two six-episode series, Christmas specials aside. The same is true for The Young Ones from the early 80s. There were only two series for the successful shows, Spaced, 15 Storeys High, and Green Wing, and Black Books and The League of Gentlemen never made it past a third series. The sketch comedy show, Little Britain, really only had three series, as Little Britain USA is generally regarded as a spin-off. The creators of these shows often resist pressure to continue their shows, typically to deter waning quality with additional episodes.

Advocates of humor in British shows sometimes deem it more sophisticated than the U.S. equivalency, while adversaries may find it excessively pompous or stuffy. I disagree on both counts. Fawlty Towers is funny on a global scale. There’s wordplay, physical comedy, a barrage of insults, and quirky characters. It’s a celebration and adoration of the many faults of Basil and his hotel. And the appreciation of its humor is not dependent upon your nationality or locale. It’s funny just because it is.
Fawlty Towers is a sitcom co-written by and starring John Cleese as Basil Fawlty, the eccentric and put-upon owner of a small hotel in England. Coming not long after Monty Python's Flying Circus wrapped up, it's kind of surprising how standard a show it is, but it manages to be very funny regardless, and with him playing so many small parts while working as a member of Monty Python, it's hard not to say Fawlty is the best character Cleese ever played. The show takes place almost entirely inside the hotel, and the plots revolve around the mishaps and misunderstandings that seem to occur on a daily basis, as Fawlty butts heads with his wife, his dimwitted Spanish waiter, and the various guests who rent rooms. Other recurring characters include a couple older longterm renters with a few running jokes and Polly, a part-time assissant played by Cleese's writing partner and then-wife Connie Booth, but who doesn't do much besides occasionally help Fawlty with his elaborate attempts to conceal problems from his guests and his wife.

The show is a little hit and miss, because while it's almost always funny, some of the episodes revolved around plot ideas that are fundamentally frustrating for a viewer. I realize that it's sitcom convention for small lies to balloon into big ones very quickly, but when the small lie that starts things off seems unnecessary in the first place, it can lead to a whole storyline being irritating to watch even while the individual gags can still be quite funny. The best parts of the show are when Fawlty is matched up against a guest who happens to be a huge pain in the ass to begin with, and the comedy comes from both his befuddlement and abrasive rudeness in response. Things usually escalate in a remarkably madcap fashion, often ending in complete chaos at the end of the episode. The best one was probably the finale of the first season, which begins with Basil running the place by himself while his wife is in the hospital and ends with him trying to do the same while heavily concussed and failing to avoid upsetting a group of German guests. I don't think anyone will ever call Fawlty Towers much of an innovative show, but that doesn't prevent it from still being wonderfully entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny over 30 years later.
Cocoa Beach, FL (written by Susanne Cervenka/Florida Today) --

Dozens of empty lounge chairs dotted the kidney bean-shaped pool in the courtyard of Fawlty Towers Motel on Thursday, a problem that owner Paul Hodge said has only gotten worse as time passes.

But his solution to get bottoms -- albeit bare ones -- in his chairs and hotel rooms, has some locals raising their eyebrows.

Starting Tuesday, Fawlty Towers turns into a nudist resort.

"It's just a niche in the market. There's no competition in 100 miles," Hodges said.

Hodge said the switch to a clothing-optional resort is a last-ditch effort to save his business. Snowbirds flock to rent condos where they avoid the bed taxes hotel guests have to pay, and his 32-room motel struggles to compete with larger chains that he said were "building hotels like it was going out of fashion."

"It's sort of a make-or-break situation. We can't pay ourselves in winter. We had to scrap health insurance," he said. "Every year it gets a little bit worse."

Hodge started researching the idea about two or three years ago, but thought his ex-wife, with whom he co-owns the motel, wouldn't go for it.

But with business struggling, Hodge said she jumped at the idea when a colleague mentioned it to her.

"I wish I had told her ages ago," he said.

Only about 10 rooms are booked for the opening day, but the weekends are filling up quickly, Hodge said. Guests without rooms can buy a day pass that gives them access to the pool and tiki bar at $25 per person, an option that Hodge said might turn out to be more lucrative than overnight stays.

Hodge said he has been flush with potential customers, many from Cocoa Beach, stopping by the motel ever since two nudist magazines wrote features about his transition.

"I didn't think there would be so many nudists right here," he said. "It looks like we'll do well."

Over the winter, Hodge hired an attorney and sought the help of the American Association of Nude Recreation. Both said there was nothing on Cocoa Beach's books that prevented the motel's new dress code.

Cocoa Beach City Manager Chuck Billias confirmed that.

"If you go to a Holiday Inn and take off all of your clothes is that illegal?" he said.

Whether it's legal is one thing. But people in the beachside city have differing opinions on a nudist resort in their community.

Tony Perrera, a cab driver who works in Cocoa Beach, said people he's talked to are none too happy about the new venture. The motel is only three doors down from Shepard Park, which will be filled with children every day as soon as summer hits, Perrera said.

"Is this the right thing to do? No. Not there," he said.

But Annie Abercrombie of Cocoa Beach sees no problem.

"I think it's a good thing. Why not?" she said. "Key West has places like that and they do good business."

Hodges added new screening and and taller balcony fences to block any views. The doors have coded locks to prevent people from slipping into the hotel and signs warn guests where clothing is required.

All staff will be fully clothed in new uniforms except for the bartenders, who will be topless.

Hodge said he has rules in place to ensure Fawlty Towers is a non-threatening, not a place for sexual perversions. Swingers, or talk of it, is banned. So is sexually provocative clothing and cameras.

"We don't want to get the other side of it," he said. "We want to stay as we always have been -- family oriented."
After the lysergic looseness of "Monty Python's Flying Circus," "Fawlty Towers" finds John Cleese in reactionary mode as Basil Fawlty, hotelier extraordinaire. Basil Fawlty tries to repress everything into a sort of militaristic perfection, and of course, that's how you wind up with bloody riots as the towers are farcically and metaphorically brought down. Priceless is the "help" provided by English-deficient waiter Manuel, wife Sybil and the lovely Polly. Classic.