Murphy's Hotel - Hotel Hell Update - Open or Closed?

In this Hotel Hell episode, Gordon Ramsay visits Murphys Hotel in Murphys, California.

Murphys Hotel is the town's oldest building and is surrounded by vineyards.

The hotel was built 150 years ago, it is a registered landmark and has hosted notable persons including former presidents.

Three friends, Bryan Goss, Kevin Clerico and Joel Lacitignola are the current owners. They bought the hotel less than a year ago.

All three work at the hotel, Bryan runs the dining room, Kevin is the bar manager and Joel is the chef.

There are historic rooms and modern bedrooms with outdated furniture but no one is responsible for maintenance.

The bar/dining area is used as a party location that keeps the guests in the hotel awake most nights.

Upon arrival Gordon is impressed with the historic status of the hotel.

Conetha Smith greets him and lets him know it gets busy and there are 16 tasting rooms around their location.

Gordon comments on the decor being dated and not historic.

She has been with the hotel for a year and a half and believes the problem is the owners management skills.

She thinks they are using the hotel as a personal playground and has seen the owner giving drunk lap dances.

Gordon is taken to the Presidential room where President Grant slept and there’s a glass viewing box for tourists.

An actual tour group comes into the room as Gordon is still in there!

Conetha says that isn’t a surprise to her, it has happened before to a paying guest and no one has done anything about it.

Gordon doesn’t like the decor of his room very much.

Later in the evening, he goes down to the very pink dining room and meets Bryan who made himself employee of the month.

Kevin is revealed to be the lap dancer of the three and Gordon gets to meet the other owners, Kevin and Joel.

They all believe they are in charge and hotel management has nothing to it.

Bryan serves Gordon but has forgotten the specials so must consult Joel in the kitchen.

Gordon hates the escargot in a red wine garlic sauce. He thinks that it tastes rancid and cold, he has Bryan taste it and he agrees it is awful.

Kevin serves him water and tells him they don’t have a local wine list but they have been working on it.

The lamb shank meal is a mess and the steak meal is also off, Kevin and Bryan admit it’s awful and they were tasting their cooking for the first time.

Joel joins them in the dining room and Gordon finds out none of them have eaten the food, checked into the hotel or changed anything in the hotel.

Gordon says every aspect of their hotel is a mess.

Gordon observes a dinner service and all the staff are busy.

The reception is closed with a note for new guests to meet the bartender to get checked in.

Later that night there is a party right outside the windows of the guest rooms.

Gordon is still looking around and walks into their freezer.

There’s raw pork and cooked chicken side by side and mold on a lot of items.

The owners and kitchen staff claim the freezer is cleaned out twice a week but he shows them moldy tortillas and many other moldy food items.

Gordon says the freezer reflects their hotel. He gets upset at their relaxed attitude.

The owners proceed to clean the freezer but end up joining the party at the bar.

At 1am Gordon is still awake due to the noise. He tries to find a quieter room but ends up in the bar and sees Bryan getting rowdy and having his shirt sleeve ripped.

Bryan has an exchange with Gordon saying that he is upset and what happened in the freezer was unacceptable.

Gordon is moved to the modern rooms at the back but he can still hear the noise and he thinks that the decor is far from modern.

Gordon had a bad night’s rest and the next morning he calls the staff together for a staff meeting.

The staff say their owners are unprofessional and treat the hotel as their frat-house.

They are not handling reservations properly with the phone in the noisy bar.

Bryan thinks he has been great with the staff and threatens to eliminate the role of a receptionist with online bookings.

The staff say their jobs have been threatened before especially when Kevin is drunk.

Gordon asks one of the three to step up and take charge. Bryan volunteers and Joel and Kevin agree with this.

Gordon lays down the rules: no drinks on the floor, no working the floor and growing up.

Gordon has a one-on-one with Bryan to ensure he is ready to take on the responsibility.

Gordon’s team works overnight to modernise the hotel. First to be revealed is a new lobby with an online booking service set up.

The Presidential Suite has been updated with the show glass still in place but tours will have to be diverted when guests are using the rooms.

The modern rooms have also been updated and the staff are impressed. Next is the dining room which is no longer pink.

They now have a brand-new dining room menu and a wine tasting menu that will pick up business from the other local tasting rooms that close by 5pm.

Gordon’s favourite dish on the menu is a lemon meringue pie inspired by Bryan’s hair.

On relaunch, new guests checked in are attended to promptly, they love the new rooms and the wine tasting menu is going down well.

What Happened Next at Murphy's Hotel?

One regular visitor posted on Trip Advisor that they thought the changes that Gordon had made in the restaurant were wrong, with many favourites being removed.

These comments aren't felt by all as others are thrilled with the new menu on offer.

Trip Advisor reviews are mixed as are the Yelp reviews.

Planning a visit to the hotel? Check out their website

Murphy's Hotel aired on September 09 2014, the episode was filmed in June 2013 and is Hotel Hell season 2 episode 8.

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