Hotel Hell

[ness]

The River Rock was good, too.

Didn't think it might be possible, but that guy actually made a turnaround.

[ness]

Oh, for those wondering about last week's hotel (The Keating) the place was almost as hard and tough as the owner's car (which was what he based the design on). The restaurant also was NOT connected to the hotel, and roomservice looked like takeout (and apparently tasted even worse).

He stressed out his workers through giving them all these ideas and demanding they be enacted. This caused the chef in particular to become so stressed (he had 150 dishes to create) he passed out while talking to Ramsay.

I do agree with Ramsay, the owner had NO RIGHT to blame the chef's fainting on Ramsay. The guy would've done it even if the cameras and Ramsay weren't there. What I liked was seeing how much care Ramsay had for the chef during that - when he interviewed him the next day (the chef had been dehydrated and stressed mildly) he had no cameras inside - and later on showing him how to make these dishes. It had an impact because the chef was crying in happiness seeing he could cook again and have fun.

They turned it around and hopefully it works out.

Of note though - only one room - the one Ramsay slept in - was redesigned as was the check-in. The other rooms, based on their site, were not nor was mentioned as to why.

Saw that.

The Roosevelt guy was crazy.

The Keating guy was a complete tool.

HOW that chef --- that POOR SOB --- managed to "work for" that guy for the length of time he did, I'll never know. Most anybody else would've told him where to go and how to get there so fast he wouldn't've known what hit him.

THEN the guy ACTUALLY WENT BACK TO WORK THE NEXT DAY TO work with Gordon!

Wow.

And I liked how Gordon respected him by going to his house to check on him and NOT permitting cameras in, then, when calling him about coming in, ASKING HIM IF HE FELT WELL ENOUGH TO DO SO.

I sure hope that place STAYS turned around!

[jadewarlock]

I noticed those details about Ramsay in this show - he makes sure to respect the workers and even the owners (no matter how much of a tool they are) when he does these things. It's like he's saying "I may be here to help but I'm still a customer so I have to give you respect. I think that helps him get the people to agree with him.

The only quibble I have - not his fault: Do they REALLY need to show the scenes of Ramsay stripping down to his birthday suit, especially when we know it's going to be blurred out? (no, I don't want to see his bum - I just kinda find this absolutelly ridiculous).

[AJane]

Ugh, jade, that's what I mentioned after the first show...I could do without seeing his pasty Scots arse. Those are the scariest shower scenes since Psycho.

Also, the opening sequence is cringe-inducing. And I thought nothing could be worse than the HK opening.

[ness]

Gordo in the shower is NOT high on my list of priorities, BELIEVE me!

But the ONLY reason I can think of that they show it is to actually SHOW how ridiculous some of these "hotels" are. You can SAY all day long that a shower is crappy (e.g., too small, showerhead too low/high, tiles/tub disintegrating, etc.), but if you actually SEE an actual person having difficulty with it, well, then, that's a WHOLE different bar of soap!

Example:

The blacklighted bed linen scenes. Oh. Boy. BUT, if Gordo just described the filth that is in these bed linens, we'd never really GET it. But when he turns a blacklight on supposedly "clean", "laundered" bed linen that God only knows HOW many people have slept in/on, those suckers light up like a nighttime sky, and we're reduced to clapping our hands over our mouths to keep from hurling . . . Well, a VERBAL explanation from Gordo of anything he'd seen without US having seen it, too, wouldn't be NEARLY as effective to get us to realize that these places have SERIOUS issues that need to be addressed. IMMEDIATELY.

Just an observation.

Oh, and AJane . . .

I TOTALLY agree with you about the opening sequence. If I didn't care enough to stick around and at least TRY to check the show out, that opening would make me switch channels in a HURRY.

I've done it before!

They DEFINITELY need to revamp that, if they're planning on trying to keep this show around.

[Bearcata]

Saw part 2 of the finale, the Roosevelt Inn. Yeow. I hope they made it just for the wife's sake.

[Bearcata]

Watched the Keating episode. $800 a night for a room. Who are these people that they have that much money to burn?

[Bearcata]

Oh, checked the Keating room rates not all are $800, most are in the $190 - $270 range.