In this Hotel Hell episode, Gordon Ramsay visits River Rock Inn in Milford, Pennsylvania.
River Rock Inn is owned by Ken Pisciotta.
Ken is hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
He has also been forced to sell his house to help keep the Inn afloat.
Ken now lives in one of the rooms there.
Gordon arrives at the Inn but isn't greeted and can’t find the reception.
He only sees a desk in a hallway which he is later informed is the check-in desk.
Gordon is finally greeted by Assistant Innkeeper, Karen.
He shows ger the dust and dirt he wiped from behind the desk.
While showing him to his room, she gives him a brief history of the hotel.
It was built in the 1880’s and Gordon jokes that it still has the original decorations.
She shows him the closet which is full of hangers and extra carpeting for the floors.
Gordon finds dead insects and a live cockroach.
Karen informs him that they had an infestation in the past.
There’s a chair kept awkwardly in the corner which is the spot with the strongest Wi-Fi reception.
Seeing it through his eyes Karen admits the room was filthy to the other staff.
Gordon tries to watch the old tube TV but there's no reception.
He isn’t impressed and says the rooms are unfit for use by the public.
Gordon is hopeful about dinner since the inn boasts an American Bistro and the owner Ken, is a chef.
Ken reveals he no longer works in the kitchen.
He oversees everything and the food is made from scratch.
Ken rates the rooms 4-5/10 and the dinner 7-8/10.
Gordon sits down to sample the menu and food on offer at the hotel.
The menu confuses Gordon as it has Mexican, Thai and Italian dishes instead of local dishes.
James, the headwaiter, recommends a trout dish which isn’t fresh but Gordon orders other dishes.
James says the menu is set by Ken.
He controls the kitchen, doing the food shopping instead of the Chef.
The appetiser is a Thai dish which he finds bland and not fresh.
Gordon speaks with the bartender, Ann-Marie.
She informs him that Ken micromanages everything but she’s loyal, so she stays.
The main dish arrives, and the portion is massive.
Gordon isn't impressed and returns it to the kitchen.
After the disappointing meal, Gordon sits down with the staff.
Gordon finds out the rooms are dirty because Ken didn’t check them.
The Head chef Seth has been cooking for 18 years.
He goes along with Ken’s menu because he’s the boss.
Ken says that the Inn is losing $5000-$7000 a month.
Gordon tells Ken he isn’t the captain of the titanic but the iceberg about to sink his Inn.
Before going to bed, Gordon uses a blacklight and sees stains he suspects are semen stains.
After the grim discovery he chooses to sleep in a sleeping bag instead.
In the morning, he takes a shower but Gordon is too tall.
The shower head is positioned too low to shower properly.
Gordon calls the staff to his room which has all the current guests standing in it to discuss the hotel.
They give feedback about the bath drains not working properly.
The guests think the shower head is too low and there are insects and hard bed springs.
They all said they wouldn't stay at the Inn again.
Gordon then shows Ken, Karen and a staff the stains on the mattresses.
They find it disgusting and Gordon compares the inn to a brothel.
Ken is apologetic to the guests and Gordon about the state of the inn.
All the staff are put to work cleaning the Inn thoroughly.
Gordon takes the sheets out to a dry cleaner to be throroughly cleaned.
Going back to the Inn, he goes to the kitchen and finds passive aggressive notes from Ken to the staff.
Gordon asks Ken about the notes and Ken reveals he has trust issues and he finds it hard communicating with them.
Gordon sets up a staff meeting and has Ken watch on a monitor in another room.
They speak honestly that they find Ken passive aggressive.
He discourages them so they can’t work effectively.
Ken is hurt by their comments.
When brought back into the room he apologises for his management style and realises he must change.
Gordon meets Ken alone to find out what else troubles him.
He reveals he got funding from his brother and mother to buy the Inn.
The stakes are higher for him and there is a lot of pressure on him to succeed
. He also reveals he doesn’t have a significant other or time for a personal life due to being busy running the Inn.
Gordon invites Ramesh Sadhwani to the hotel to give them a lesson in hospitality.
He is the Vice President of Hotel Operations at Caesars Palace.
Karen shines during the exercise.
Barbie, a Hollywood Stylist, gives Ken a makeover.
They hopes by boosting his confidence that he can try and meet someone.
Gordon struggles to access the Inn’s website.
When he finds the basic website he finds it cheap looking and unprofessional.
Ken shows his new look to the staff who are full of praises and Gordon takes him out on the town.
They meet some ladies who reveal they have a single friend.
They are invited to the relaunch of the hotel the next day.
Overnight, the Inn is transformed with improvements to the rooms including new televisions, mattresses and bedding.
There is also a new sign outside and a new Wi-Fi router to improve web access.
They have a new reception area, dining area and a new website.
The staff are happy with the changes and are excited about the relaunch.
The ladies from the bar come for the relaunch with a single friend for Ken.
He is now free to mingle since his staff are now being trusted to do their jobs.
Seth is invigorated by being able to cook from the new menu that Gordon has created.
Ken’s brother and mother have also come to the relaunch and are happy to see the Inn thriving.
Gordon leaves after making sure that Ken gets the single lady’s phone number.
What Happened Next at River Rock Inn?
Yelp reviews after the show was filmed were very mixed with regards to the food in the hotel.
Some diners reported long waits and problems with food.
Trip Advisor reviews were more positive..
A loyalty programme was introduced for regular diners at the restaurant.
A new menu was introduced.
River Rock Inn closed in December 2014.
The hotel reopened under the previous ownership.
It reverted back to the Laurel Country Inn.
Trip Advisor reviews are mostly positive.
River Rock Inn aired on September 03 2012, the episode was filmed in January 2012 and is Hotel Hell season 1 episode 5.
Read About More Hotel Hells
Next episode - The Roosevelt Inn
Previous episode - The Keating Hotel
i want to know if the owner ever went out on a date with that woman lol.
ReplyDeleteOn the episode I saw it said they have been dating ever since. So I assume they at least went out a couple of times :)
DeleteJust watched the episode. Such a shame
ReplyDelete