Cleaning up down under

I have always wanted to work in Australia. It's the lifestyle that appeals to me. When I was posted to the Middle East, I said, "Why can't I go to Australia?" Well, I'm finally here, not that I've had much time to enjoy it so far. Melbourne's Park Hyatt hotel opened in May and I've been completely taken up with that.

At the moment I'm working far too hard, 12 hours a day, but I hope eventually to get a life. I arrive at the hotel about 7am. I live in Brighton, about 15 minutes away. There's a beach there, I think, but I haven't had a chance to see it yet. My primary role is the cleanliness of the hotel, both front and back of house. I'm also responsible for floristry and increasingly I get involved in other things, such as window cleaning and gardening.

I have a team of 27 in housekeeping, two in floristry and six in laundry. I'm trying to hire more men and break down the perception that housekeeping is a female domain. In the Middle East it was the other way round, and my team was all male. I like to have a mixed team. If it's all women, it can get a bit bitchy. If it's all men, it tends to get boring. I've got one man working or me here. He used to be a lorry driver, but wanted a change. He now drives the van that takes the laundry over to our sister hotel, the Grand Hyatt.

I would like to have a laundry on site, but it doesn't make financial sense at the moment. Linen is collected throughout the day but is taken over to the Grand Hyatt only at night. I work on a four-par linen system - one set on the bed, one in storage, one ready just in case occupancy levels rise, and one in the laundry.

This hotel is every housekeeper's nightmare because it's full of stainless steel. It looks gorgeous, but it's difficult to keep clean and free of finger marks. Suites here go for $1,000 (£415) a night, so guest expectations are very high.

Room attendants work from 10am to 2pm in teams using a credit system. Each person has to achieve 22 credits per shift, but these don't necessarily relate to 22 rooms. A suite, for example, can carry up to seven credits. If a room is particularly messy, then I give more credits.

Room attendants don't have trolleys -I don't like seeing them in the corridor. Instead they have baskets, which they carry from room to room.

I spot-check rooms, and when we have VIPs arriving, I always check the room myself. It's annoying when people have been in a room on a show-around because we have to go back. They may only have touched one thing, but one dirty finger mark is one too many and we have to clean it.

I love housekeeping. It's often overlooked because it's seen as unglamorous. I got into it by accident. I wanted to join the Army but decided to stay in housekeeping after a temporary summer post as a housemaid at the Lygon Arms in Broadway, Hereford & Worcester.

The best thing about the job is that it has allowed me to travel. I like working indifferent cultures. You learn the rules and abide by them. I always try to remember that I am in someone else's country and that I must earn their respect.

I finish here about 7pm.I haven't had much of a night life so far, but there are loads of good bistros and restaurants. Still, I'm trying not to eat too much. Having given up smoking after 23 years, I'm now trying to lose weight. Aussies are really health-conscious and I feel guilty about being a slob.